Recently I came across a blog post about belly dancing with the title "Belly Dance Aficionados" and a secondary title of "The Underbelly of Belly Dance." I've read this through three times now and I'm still dumbfounded. This is probably the most vicious attack on Belly Dance that I've ever encountered.
This isn't the usual "Belly Dance is stripping" tirade. I'm actually used to that and for the most part I just calmly walk away from that sort of encounter. No, this blog post written a few months ago by Kidist Paulos Asrat, considers belly dance a "limited art form" in which "The hype (sequins) is much bigger than the content."
Miz Asrat studied belly dance for two years as first an exercise and then "as a way perfect a dance form" before quitting because she "realized the limited art in the field."
She refers to belly dancing movements as being overtly erotic, likening them to feats of contortionist, especially where the abdominal region is concerned. This leaves me thinking that she quit because she was frustrated by her own limits within the art form. But that is just my opinion, you'll have to read her post for yourself and make your own decision.
Her final sentence is what confuses me the most. I thought about quoting it here in it's entirety, but I don't want to spoil the surprise.
P.S. I deliberately chose the picture for this post because I love the arrogant and slightly amused look on her face. I like to think that she doesn't give a damn what anyone thinks. Sort of like me.
