Continuing from what Sisial wrote on March 11, 2002, I'm informed by a dancer from Lebanon that in Lebanon, most of the the women who perform raqs sharqi (which Americans know as "bellydancing") are Christians, although one of the leading dancers for a long time, Samara, is a Muslim from Iraq. But in Egypt there are many Muslim women who are professional dancers. I suppose there are degrees of following Islam, just as there are degrees of following any religion.<P>I met an Egyptian women who had been one of Egypt's top dancers. She is Muslim, but came from a family of entertainers. She started performing in public when she was a little girl, and entered an arranged marriage at age 12. She continued to dance after her marriage, and had a reputation for being very respectable. Most of her career occurred during a period of relative openness in Egypt.<P>By the time her son started university, the fundamentalists were on the rise in Egypt, and the son was constantly harassed by fundamentalist students because of his mother's profession. For the sake of her son, the mother gave up dancing, when she was only in her early 30's.<P>I saw her perform here in San Francisco (her trip here was supposedly to attend the marriage of the daughter of the teacher who sponsored her), the first performance she'd done in years, and she was very happy to be able to dance again. The dance teacher had a Halloween party, and the Egyptian women, dressed in festive traditional Egyptian dress, boogied all evening.<P>I've seen several videos of dancers in both Lebanon and Egypt, in which there are quite a few traditionally dressed women (long dresses, hair covered) in the audience, enthusiastically clapping and cheering with the rest of the crowd. So although the performers may not be strictly following the tenets of Islam, there are Muslim performers, and Muslim audience members of both sexes.<p>[This message has been edited by djb (edited April 01, 2002).]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> I suppose there are degrees of following Islam, just as there are degrees of following any religion<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Islam is no more monolithic than any other large religion; there are various subgroups, each of which has its own teachings and customs. Remember, there are Christian denominations, too, that forbid dancing, and Orthodox Jews, who can be dancin' fools, do so while strictly segregated according to gender.

Your VERY RIGHT Jeff.<BR>Sometimes thats hard to remember because the media/human nature tends to generalize.

What I was trying to say, in my sleep-deprived state, by "degrees" of following a religions might be better expressed as differing interpretations of the tenets of a religion.<P>National Geographic once did a special about an Egyptian dancer who talked briefly about how her career fit in with her beliefs as a Muslim. It's been a few years, but as I recall, she felt it was important to understand the intent of religious principles, and she didn't feel she was harming people or offending God or even going against the Quran by what she did.<p>[This message has been edited by djb (edited April 01, 2002).]

<B>Kelantan reviewing wayang kulit, menora ban</B> <BR>New Straits Times (Malaysia)<P><BR>KOTA BARU, Sat. - The Kelantan Government has set up a committee to review the ban on wayang kulit and menora (stage dance) in view of interest in them among the people.<P>State Social Unity, Tourism and Non-Governmental Organisations committee chairman Anuar Tan Abdullah said the committee would study ways to make wayang kulit conform to Islamic teachings.<P>"Priority will be given to wayang kulit so that it can be performed again to the public as there is a high demand for it, especially among foreigners," he said.<P>He said ulamah would be invited to present their views on the matter.<P><A HREF="http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/article.html?id=020331003735&query=dance" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A><P>

Just a little bit of light in the tunnel and maybe soon this will include dance...<P>From the Philadephia Inquirer:<P><B>A cultural communing brings Jews and Arabs together</B><BR>By Eils Lotozo<BR>Inquirer Staff Writer <P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Earlier this month, the Philadelphia Arab-American Community Development Corp. and the Jewish Community Relations Council co-hosted a Moroccan festival called Maimouna at an Overbrook mosque.<P>The event, with music, food, stories and poetry, was based on an end-of-Passover celebration that in Morocco traditionally includes the Jews' Muslim neighbors.<P>................<P>The members also don't spend a lot of time debating the Middle East crisis among themselves. "Everyone agrees it's a horrible situation and everyone feels really bad about it. The only answer we can make is, we like to think of ourselves as living proof that people from these different backgrounds can work together on a creative project and be successful."<P>That's how Philadelphia Orchestra cellist Udi Bar-David, an Israeli, sees his three-year-old collaboration with ud virtuoso Simon Shaheen, a Palestinian. Both men, longtime residents of the United States, will appear tonight at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, playing Middle-Eastern music arranged and composed by Shaheen.<P>"The collaboration I have with Simon Shaheen is purely about music," said Bar-David, who has launched a program called Intercultural Journeys that uses music and other arts to explore cultures.<P>But Bar-David knows that their appearances together have a deeper resonance. "When we appear, we bring both peoples together," he said. "Here is a Palestinian and a Jew, and we have no barriers. The [music] creates an atmosphere that has no room for conflict."<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/3080453.htm" TARGET=_blank><B>MORE...</B></A><P><BR>

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Bollywood song and film takes Kandahar by storm<P>PATRICK QUINN, Associated Press on Yahoo! Newa<P>KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Nissar Ahmed can't take eyes his off "Burning Heart," an action-packed romance playing on a small television set in his cramped video club.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><a href=http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020522/ap_wo_en_ge/afghanistan_bollywood_2 target=_blank>More</a>

From the New York Times:<P><B>Noted Dancer Jailed During Visit to Tehran</B><BR>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS<BR> <BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>TEHRAN, Iran, May 29 (AP) — Iran has jailed its most famous male dancer, who lives and performs in Los Angeles but was visiting his home country, a relative said today. The dancer, Mohamad Khordadian, is charged with promoting corruption among youths, the relative said.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><BR><A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/30/international/middleeast/30IRAN.html" TARGET=_blank><B>MORE...</B></A><BR>

From the Washington Post:

March to Matrimony Turns Into Stampede

MORE...

Creative arts school finds a new location
By Cindy Arora For The pasadena Star News

EL MONTE -- Not everyone believes dance is sinful.

A month after Creative Planet School of the Arts was evicted from property owned by Christian landlords because of practices deemed "pagan' and "sinful,' it has found a new home at United Methodist Church on 3903 Tyler Ave.

The art school will not only be able to continue its after-school program where teachers instruct in everything from modern dance to yoga, but on Jan. 6 the school will expand.

"The need came up to start a day school, so we did,' said Bill Rugh, director of Creative Planet. "We had this in our heads when we first started the school but that was for five years from now ... but because of everything that's happened we had to accelerate the plan.'

Rugh and his staff of eight paid employees and a handful of volunteers were forced to close the school's doors to about 40 students on Nov. 15. The art school was on property owned by the Wesleyan Church and El Monte Christian School at 2400 Santa Anita Ave. for nearly two years.

The school opened with the approval of Wesleyan's Church's former pastor, Dave Ellis, and the church's board. But when Pastor Edgar Chacon and his board took over, they didn't approve of the curriculum being taught at the school and shut it down.

click for more

What an interesting topic! But about Islam and dance I 'm very surprised not seeing someone speaking about dervishes ?

Liturgical dancers augment services
Troupes offer praise in inspirational moves
By JoAnne Gurley / Special to The Detroit News

The Detroit-Windsor academy teaches interpretive movements, etiquette and prayer. "It's not just taking a gospel song and making up a dance to it. It's got to be deeper than that," said artistic director Debra White-Hunt.

Twenty-five women and children surrounded the inside of a west-side sanctuary on Cherrylawn Street. All were draped in white-layered clothes to symbolize the issuing of communion. As instruments played, the dancers moved in an upbeat, celebratory procession.

That was the scene inside Detroit's Oak Grove A.M.E. Church during a recent Sunday service.

In Oak Grove and many other Metro Detroit churches and synagogues, liturgical dance is part of ceremonies for diverse denominations.

click for more

I guess we're banned in Iran?

"dissent, dancing and sex"

Yep! That's strike three and out for CriticalDance.

<small>[ 08 July 2003, 05:25 PM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

I attend a very conservative church, but ballet is routinely included as part of the worship service, and the ballet company from the church frequently makes trips overseas to learn and exchange ideas with others. Why would anyone consider dancing - especially classical ballet - "bad?"