Audiences
One of the perks of being a contracted
dancer in Cairo is that you get to perform quite regularly. Some of us work a few nights a week. Others
work multiple times a day, depending on the venue, the popularity of the
dancer, and these days, whether there is enough business. What could be better
than doing what you love every single day. It seems like the ideal work
situation. And it is. Except I wasn’t too sure of that when I first got contracted.
Here’s why.
Anytime you turn your artistic passion
into a job, you run the risk of losing the passion. This is because a job
entails obligation, routinization, and money, whereas art is antithetical to
all of that. Art is a gift from God. It is not something we can always produce
on command. Hence, we often hear the word inspiration associated with art. Artists
seek and wait for inspiration, and when
it comes, we become impassioned and produce our best work. Since inspiration
can neither be forced nor rushed, it almost seems ridiculous to turn art into a
living the way we would law, medicine, or dry cleaning. And yet, somehow, after
a year of performing every single night, I have not lost an ounce of passion
for the dance. Rather, what I have noticed is that my enthusiasm for the dance
has increased, and is highly dependent on the enthusiasm of the audience.
