Considering the paradoxical position of al-raqs al-baladi or “belly dance” in Egyptian social life, as both a vibrant and a contested cultural form, this issue of Cairo Papers in Social Science considers the impact of wider socio-cultural and political forces on the marginalization of professional performers, on the one hand, and in defining the parameters for non-professional performances on the other hand. Through interviews with professional and non-professional female dancers in Egypt, it explores the relationship between al-raqs al-baladi and the dynamic cultural repertoire that produces notions of femininity and normative personhood in Egypt. As a dance that Egyptians learn in childhood, it exposes the cardinal relationship between culture and body movement. The study received the Magda al-Nowaihi Award for best graduate work on gender studies in 2010.
Cairo Papers in Social Science 32/3
- ISBN10 9774165934
- ISBN13 9789774165931
- Publish Date 25 April 2014
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country EG
- Imprint The American University in Cairo Press
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 118
- Language English