PERSONALITIES VERSUS PROFESSIONALISM
By Adam C. Burke

William and I formed our group, Desert Knights, after we fell in love with "Middle Eastern" rhythms, and we've enjoyed interacting with dancers while we play our music. In our endeavors, we've learned a lot about dancers and bellydance performances. We have met many fine people and had lots of fun playing for all sorts of bellydancers. There is, however, one aspect of our local bellydance scene which has not been pleasant for us to discover. And -- as I suspect that it is not an exclusively local phenomenon -- I've decided to address the topic, generally, in this article.

It seems that there is considerable disharmony of personalities between many dancers. I don't know how many times I've heard a dancer say, "So-and-so hates me, so I won't come and dance if she's going to be there." While it is unreasonable to expect that everyone -- in any field -- should get along all of the time, this sort of conflict may become especially problematic with regard to the dance.

As musicians, we've hoped to bring together many troupes and dancers in order to present to wider audiences the beauties, the vibrancy and the relevance of bellydance in our community. We depend on the dancers to complete that process. Sadly, some of the obstacles to overcome in doing this are the egos and personality conflicts between troupes and dancers. Most dance events are broadly attended and maintain a high tone, and at the best events, personal animosities are not evident. If they are present, they may remain hidden under veils of denial or kept behind others' backs. I feel disappointed when such coverings are lifted and bitter frictions expose their faces to the light. 

Many dancers insist upon distinguishing their art from similar styles found throughout history which involved offering oneself -- through the dance -- as an alluring prospective mate to desirous onlookers. Some of these same dancers, however, unwittingly carry forward fiercely competitive vestiges of such artless tactics. Competition may be healthy at times within the arts, but jealousies or resentments which conflict with the presentation suggest less noble intentions. Besides the logistical concerns these postures may raise, such disparaging attitudes serve mostly to expose the lack of professionalism of the dancer, rather than any thing else.

William and I suspected that we could get caught up in these sorts of politics if we weren't careful. Fortunately, as musicians, we sit to the side of these gyrations. Intending never to become entangled in such turmoil, we decided that Desert Knights -- whose mission it is to provide new and live music for all bellydancers -- would not have "favorite" dancers with whom to perform, nor would we become the exclusive privilege for any dancer or troupe. The Knights will play with any dancers who want us to, without regard to personalities.

I have been involved in the arts for most of my life. Where interaction amongst artists occurs regularly, personalities conflict. The purpose of the arts, however, is to help raise humanity above the mundane and petty parts of life to the universal or even transcendent aspects of what it is to be human. When we recognize that which is common amongst us, we learn more about ourselves and our place in the world and in our Cosmos. Therefore, I believe it is incumbent upon artists to never allow our petty differences to adversely affect the presentation of our arts. If we want to address this baser human tendency, let's do so within the arts, rather than subversively or unintentionally allowing it to degrade them.