Classy or Tacky: Which Are You?

Far too many people still think belly dancing has something to do with stripping. And they're not entirely wrong. The Middle Eastern dance performances at the 1893 Columbia Exposition in Chicago became incredibly popular because they seemed deliciously scandalous to a society which squeezed its women into corsets. The popularity of those performances and the publicity caused by the surrounding scandal led Vaudeville entertainers of the early 20th century to create their own variation, which was known as burlesque. Eventually, burlesque led to the entertainment form known as striptease.

Today, modern-day Oriental dance artists (also known as belly dancers) are still fighting the question, "Isn't that something like stripping?" when they tell people what they do. As a dance community, we find ourselves confronting this all the time. It becomes even harder for us when some of our own dance colleagues do things that The General Public thinks are tacky.

Are you classy or tacky? Your clothing and behavior can make a big difference in how people view you and your dance. Here are some thoughts on how you can gain respect of your audience members, employers, and fellow dancers.

Sometimes you deal with the public when you're not in costume. You may be visiting a nursing home before the day you're scheduled to dance to examine the performance space. Or maybe you're calling on a club owner to interview for a dance job. Or maybe you're having a business meeting with a videographer you're hiring to produce a video. It's important to be "in character" as the beautiful professional dancer even in these situations.

Whatever the occasion, whenever you're conducting belly dance business, even if wearing everyday clothes, you are still seen as a representative of this dance form. If you show up for these meetings in a stained shirt and tattered blue jeans, you will leave the impression that you don't care about your appearance. A prospective employer will conclude that you probably will look ragged even when wearing the costume.

So, whenever you will be appearing in "normal" clothes but identifying yourself as a dancer, make the extra effort to look just a bit special. Wear a nice shirt with slacks, or a dress, instead of wearing a T-shirt with blue jeans. Put on just a bit of make-up even if you don't normally wear it. Style your hair attractively, and pay attention to your grooming.

It does take extra effort to do these things, but it will pay off in the level of respect that other people pay to you.

Don't stand around in full costume before your show, chatting with audience members. Wear some kind of cover-up: a nice caftan, a flowing full-length cape, a long coat, or similar wrap.

Part of the impact of your opening dance is the effect of your wonderful costume. There's something magical about exotic music, theatrical make-up, unusual lighting, and a wonderful costume all working together to make your first impression. If the audience sees you before you dance doing mundane things in your costume like chatting with friends, much of that impact will be lost.

After your show is done, change back into attractive "normal" clothes before you reappear. Pat your face and cleavage with tissues to remove perspiration or runny make-up. Your image of glamor or goddess will be lost if you come out to chat with your audience while beads of sweat run off the tip of your nose and down into your cleavage.

In some communities, it is common practice for belly dancers to accept tips tucked into their costumes. In others, people frown on it.

Let's say your community is one where dancers and audiences are all comfortable with in-costume tips. How you behave when you collect those tips can strongly influence how people view you and your dance. Here are some thoughts on how you can make tip collection seem classy, not tacky:

• Never let anyone place a tip in the cups of your bra. Direct him to either the strap high up near your neck, or on your back.
• Never let anyone place a tip in the center front or center back of your belt. Turn the side of your hip to him and let him place it there.
• Never accept a tip that someone is offering you in his teeth. Instead, scowl with disapproval and make a scolding gesture, and walk away from him and his money altogether. Your dignity is worth more than the small amount of money he is offering you.
• Never accept a tip from someone who is sloppy drunk.
• When someone is tipping you, do not let his hands linger on your body or touch you anywhere except where the tip is being tucked.

When you're dressed in everyday clothes and not representing belly dance, you're free to smoke as much as you please and drink as much as you please, within legal boundaries, of course.

However, when you're wearing your costume, or playing the role of "the dancer" at some sort of function, be careful how you behave. Even though both smoking and alcohol are both perfectly legal in Western society and widely accepted, there is still some public attitude that these activities are somewhat sinful. I don't recommend doing these things when you're acting in some official capacity as a "belly dancer".

In the early 20th century, the very same time period when belly dancing was first tainted with scandal, it was considered scandalous for "ladies" to smoke or drink alcohol. If someone who appears otherwise to be a "nice girl" does these things, people may think it's cute or glamorous. But if people already think someone's reputation is questionable, then when they see her with tobacco and alcohol it just reinforces their opinions that she's trash.

It's usually okay to:

• Place a turban or Arab headdress on someone when it's his birthday and pose for pictures with him.
• Grab an audience member's hand when pulling him or her up to dance with you.
• Touch your audience victim's hips with your hands in an attempt to make him/her try to shimmy them.
• Teach a line dance in which everyone is holding hands, including you.

However, it's generally best to avoid physical contact with audience members, especially if you are dancing in a place where alcohol is readily available and some audience members are likely to be drunk.

There are some things you should never, never, NEVER, NEVER do, except in private for your special partner! If I ever hear that you have done one of these things for an audience larger than one, I vow I will pay you a personal visit and spank you!

• Never place your breasts on either side of a bald man's head and then shake them.
• Never shimmy your breasts in a man's face.
• Never sit on an audience member's lap, even if you know him. (The rest of the audience won't realize that you know him, and they'll think you're trying to seduce a stranger in public.)
• Never engage in openly seductive behavior while dancing, such as licking your lips sensuously, doing vigorous forward-and-back pelvic thrusts, or twirling your hair around one finger while undulating directly in front of a specific audience member.

Unfortunately, too many members of the public already think belly dancing is sleazy. When we parade around in costume where the public can see us before or after we perform, or smoke cigarettes while in costume, we reinforce their belief. It doesn't seem fair, but it's reality.

So, if you want people to respect you when presenting yourself as a belly dancer, it's not enough to look and behave like an ordinary everyday person. You need to be just a little more tasteful, a little more ladylike, than a "normal" person.

• Public Perceptions: A Double Standard. Explores why the public accepts some rather sleazy portrayals in Broadway shows as good entertainment yet stigmatizes belly dancing.
• A Dance by Any Other Name. Is "belly dancing" the most appropriate name to use for this art form?

• Oriental Dance: A Dance for the Whole Family. Explores the societal role Oriental dance has in the countries where it originated.
• Dancing to Distraction. Do you want your audience to appreciate your dance skill, or to be distracted by other things? Here's a playful look at how to keep the audience focused on your artistic presentation.

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