The
“P” Word
No, it’s not what you think. It’s another
word that starts with the letter P—one that has been pestering me for quite
some time now. The word is ‘prestige,’ or bresteej¸
as the Egyptians say. :) It means the same in Egyptian Arabic as it does in
English, except Egyptians also apply this concept to belly dancing. I’ll show
you what I mean.
A few days ago, I got a call to perform at
a restaurant in Masr Gadida after my shows on the Nile Memphis. I would dance
to CD, change my costume three times, and collect plenty of tips. I told the agent
I would do it, and arranged for my new manager, Magid, to accompany me so I
would have representation. Upon arriving at the restaurant, however, we discovered
that there was no dance floor. In fact, the entire restaurant was no bigger
than my kitchen. It was an intimate, dimly-lit, cigar-smoke-filled, Italian-style
seafood restaurant, replete with foreign wines and liquors, and the type of
Egyptians who could afford it. It wasn’t exactly a venue for belly dancing. And
because the tables were so close together, the most I could have done was weave
through the tables and do a few chest pops. To make matters worse, the customers
were mainly drunk older men. Moneyed, though.
