Posted on 11/11/2003 3:48:20 AM PST by NativeNewYorker
CAIRO, Egypt -- Egypt's foreign belly dancers have been given their marching orders.
The government says it wants to protect homegrown practitioners of the seductive Middle Eastern dance form and is no longer granting new work permits to foreign dancers or renewing existing ones.
The victims, who include Europeans and Americans, say it's unfair and illogical, and they are backed by one of the Arab world's most respected dancers, Nagwa Fouad, who is urging the government to reverse its ban.
"There is not enough Egyptian talent, so obviously people need foreigners," says Palestinian-born Fouad, who retired from dancing in 1997 after a career of four decades.
"There has always been a mix of Egyptian and foreign belly dancers here. Why should this change?"
It's called belly dancing because of the intricate movements that emanate from between the performer's chest and hips. Also known as oriental dancing, it has roots throughout the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent dating back thousand of years.
American dancer Caroline, who gave only her first name, is among many performers who say that as Egyptian society grows less liberal about Muslim women dancing in revealing dress, the country is running out of local talent.
"In the places I have worked, there are people always looking for Egyptian dancers but not many are around," Caroline, whose stage name is Layla, said after performing at a glitzy wedding party at a five-star Cairo hotel.
"Egyptian women risk their reputation and that of their family if they become belly dancers," she said. "In America, nobody looks at me negatively, but in Egypt it is more difficult because of the system, pressures and attitudes."
The government says the crackdown is not about morality but about saving jobs for Egyptians.
"Belly dancing is an Egyptian thing and is not a hard job," Nawal al-Naggar of the Ministry of Labor and Immigration told The Associated Press. "It is not hard to find belly dancers from Egypt. There are too many foreign belly dancers in Egypt working at nightclubs."
She said there had been a "public outcry" against non-Egyptian dancers. Asked for specifics, she said two Egyptian lawmakers had complained in parliament.
She claimed "huge numbers" of foreigners were belly dancing in Egypt, but had no specific numbers. The foreign dancers say they only number about 30 and claim the government is adding the many women from former Soviet bloc states who perform in cabaret-style shows and aren't considered classical belly dancers.
Hassan Akef, a leading dancers' agent, praised the ban. He claimed 3,000 foreign performers, mainly from Russia and the Ukraine, are working here, and "they don't give the Egyptians any chance."
Two dancers, one from Russia and one from Australia, are challenging the ban in court on grounds of unfairness. A French dancer stage-named Ketty has asked her government to press Egypt to reconsider.
Asmahan, an Argentine-born dancer who uses one name, believes powerful people in Egyptian belly dancing circles may have influenced the decision.
"Egyptian dancers are jealous for sure," she said before a recent performance. "They see foreigners taking work and getting names and don't like it."
Foreign performers are said to charge between $250 and $500 for a show from which they pay their musicians and buy costumes, while elite Egyptian dancers command up to $1,600.
Liza Gray, an Iranian-born Briton who has danced in Egypt for four years as Liza Laziza, says she'll have to leave when her permit expires Jan. 1.
She spoke to the AP after showing her artistry at a Cairo wedding, wearing a dress that couldn't have been much tighter or scantier. As her band belted out a romantic Egyptian golden oldie, the crowd cheered each rapid-fire shake of her hips.
But it may have been her last performance in Egypt, and she said she was baffled and devastated, asking: "Are belly dancers a threat to national security or the economy?"
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