Sydney Life

I had a blast yesterday performing for a few hundred people at a family show at Marrickville. What did I do? I bellydanced.

“I didn’t know men bellydanced”, is the response I often get. The short answer is they usually don’t, which is why I do it.

The long answer is, there is an interesting history of male bellydancers. In Turkey, before being banned in 1856, sexually provocative male bellydancers (called ‘koceks’) often performed in public for other men (as women were not permitted to perform). There is research to suggest that this happened across the Arab world. More recently, Garay Menicucci (1998) argues that male bellydancers have become standard ways to imply ‘the existence of a homosexual subculture or transgressive sexuality’ in Egyptian film.

I love bellydancing for its subcultural history and a few other reasons. Firstly, it is terrific exercise. Bellydancing relies on isolating and controlling muscles all over the body (hips, abs, arms, hands, chest etc) and moving gracefully and artistically from one muscle group configuration to another. In other words, it tones you up like you wouldn’t believe! (For women, it also strengthens your pelvic floor muscles which is good for child labour apparently).

Secondly, male bellydancing fuses gender boundaries. Men and women are taught to move in different ways; to ‘perform’ their gender through socially acceptable ways of moving. Men tend to be taught to remain rigid, strongly framed and solidly built. Women tend to be taught to be fluid, flexible and graceful. Male bellydancing uses both; the male bellydancer occupies a space ‘in between’ the two gendered ways of moving. At the same time, the male bellydancer differs from female performers. For starters, men do not tend to have the size (yes, voluptuousness can be an asset!) in their hips. They also don’t have breasts (well, not the hot ones anyway!). The male bellydancer therefore tends to have more muscular arms and may have chest hair. However, the hips, belly, hands and chest can all be trained to perform the same essential movements. They can do all the shimmies, undulations and snake-like movements. They can also use canes and veils to do special dances. What you get is fluid, sensual, yet strong expressions. In one way, it is a protest against gender rules that prevent men from expressing the full range of movement that their bodies are capable of.

As far as I know, there are five male bellydancers in Sydney – I am one of them. I’ve met some of the others at various clubs and events. The rest I’ve only heard names mentioned here or there. It seems that for the most part, male bellydancing is becoming more popular and accepted. Male bellydancers now often perform to mainstream audiences in Sydney but it remains somewhat taboo – mainly due to homophobia.

This taboo played a strong role in my life. For a long time, I gave up my childhood love of dancing because of the pressure boys face to “become men” and perform masculinity. It was only years later – when I came out – that I rediscovered bellydancing as the link which brought together my cultural background and my sexuality. Bellydancing today helps me to express my identity in a healthy way that gives my audience a positive taste of Arab culture, removed from the usual representation of Arabs as terrorists or gang rapists. By watching – and often being invited to participate – my audience is challenged to express themselves honestly and with energetic joy too. I think honesty and joy is something all cultures need a good dose of. The parents and kids yesterday really appreciated that message, I think.

So now that you’ve heard all about, I bet you want to see some in action. Well where else but YouTube? Orgune is a Turkish male bellydancer. He does some excellent floor work, cane work and is a very flexible and athletic dancer. Jamil who performs in Arabic restaurants and clubs around Sydney, focuses on his hips more than his hands. He remains very masculine in his upper body (I actually think it’s a bit boring myself). But his hips are amazing.

The University of Sydney Union and Sydney University Sport both offer belly dancing courses that run throughout semester. I did the course with SU Sport which was excellent. The instructor said she had been waiting to get her first boy in the class and I was it! The course run by the University of Sydney Union is also fantastic, and I believe it is taught by the Australian bellydancing champion. They are run on different days and at different times, so your timetable will usually dictate which one you can go to.

References:Menicucci, G (1998) “Unlocking the Arab Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in Egyptian Film”, Middle East Report 206.