You know that feeling of being stuck in
a rut and not being able to get out of it?
That's what it's been like for me these past two months. I think it's a
combination of feeling like I've accomplished everything there is to accomplish
in Egyptian belly dance land, and that what's to come is more of the same, plus
a sense that I may have outgrown this country. I'm not faulting Egypt. I'm faulting myself. I have a tendency to get bored... with
things, places... people. And just when I was seriously starting to contemplate
a major life change, the gods distracted me with the mother of all gigs-- a
birthday party at one of the seediest cabarets in town.
You're probably wondering what the big
deal is. The big deal is that, aside from jolting me out of my
boredom, a "5-star" dancer performing in a sleazy
cabaret is a no-no. Here, if you're a
featured dancer at a 5-star hotel or cruise, dancing at low-class venues puts
your reputation and sometimes even your career at risk. That's because well-to-do Egyptians have a
tendency to be very classist. They despise whatever they consider to be beneath
them, and condescendingly dismiss lower class mannerisms, behaviors, and tastes
as baladi, or (my favorite) bee'a-- lowlife. (There are some deep historical/psychological
reasons for this, but I'll refrain from getting into them here.) If the rich owner
of the ritzy-by-Egyptian-standards Nile cruise that you work on finds out that
you moonlight at cabarets, he just might fire you-- you are now tainted. :)
