This is the paper I wrote for my MA Communications - Cultural Performance - it takes about an hour to read and raises alot of questions and much food for thought. Enjoy!
Abstract
This paper sets out to explore differences in positions between popular and academic discourses on non-Arabic women's participation in belly dance, in the West, from both a global and an Australian perspective. It explores the notion of a space where these discourses meet and where 'differences' converge in terms of the interpretations and representations of Middle Eastern dance. This space containing difference can create philosophical dilemmas for participants attempting to reconcile both discourses within the practice of belly dance.
This study uses feminist social research and interpretive biography methodologies to explore the lived experience of five local dancers and the researcher, in the Canberra region, set in the broader context of global popular and academic discourses.
Finally, it addresses the practice of belly dance as both a personal and a political act. It suggests a way for moving towards shared understandings of difference, especially in terms of the interpretation and representation of belly dance, as a model for unity that allows for multiple voices to be heard whilst attempting to resist resorting to conventional hierarchies and oppositions.
Interview (Part 1 & 2) with Morgan Jai-Morincome discussing accessible arts practice and her work with The Radiance Dance Project by Tim McCann from AUSDANCE ACT.
