Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Akon does not know bellydancing!

Time and again I find myself driven to steer the public into understanding what belly dancing is and what belly dancing is not. It seems like a never ending battle against fighting the wrongful images that media projects about belly dancing which are almost always completely negative, misinterpreted and stereotyped.

Please understand that just because you see a image on T.V. doesn't make the image real. In fact the truth is far from it. This topic about images leads me to a very popular pop song by Akon entitled "Belly dancer"

I'll be one of the many bellydancers to step up to the plate and explain that this Akon song has nothing to do with bellydancing. The song is not a song about bellydancing, it's a song about wanting to dance "like" a bellydancer. According to Akons lyrics he doesn't know nothing about bellydancing.

A few selected Lyrics to point out (the least insulting ones anyway) :

Hey ladies drop it down / Just want to see you touch the ground / Don't be shy girl go Banaza / Shake ya body like a belly dancer

Drop down where? What is he talking about?
Touch the floor how? What kind of tacky images is he even talking about? I refuse to note the rest of the language he uses in his song because I find it degrading and insulting to the women who dedicate their lives to this art of dance.

And about that video...
And let me not even get started on that video that he produced for that song. There is not a single Belly dancer in that entire video. All the girls in the video are just models and hip-hop dancers bouncing around. To tell you the truth, I don't even know what those video girls are doing but it sure isn't bellydance I'll tell you that much!!! Why don't you see it for yourself...

This Is Not Belly Dancing!





There is nothing in that video that show cases Middle Eastern Bellydance. Every time I see the video I feel a blood rush of frustration filter throughout my body. I sit back and think, "Wow this video is one giant step backward for us belly dancers, now we have to work even harder to re-educate the public about bellydancing yet again--- all thanks to Akon.

Personally I think he is a great artist with a wonderful voice. I just can't stand his song "Belly dancer" and I hate the video even more. I wish they would ban it.

I will conclude this blog with a wonderful real bellydance performance you can check out below. Yes, this clip was once on T.V. but for once is was the real thing! Feel free to compare the fake belly dancers in Akon's video with the real belly dancers you see below. Enjoy =)

This Is Belly Dancing!