Most of the documentaries, videos, and blogs I have seen that have been written by foreign dancers in Cairo about their life here inspire feelings of an Oriental fantasyโas opposed to the real, the gritty truth of life as a dancer. There is a certain amount of glamor and mystery that surrounds dancing in Cairo, and no dancer wants to shatter that illusion with the dirty facts. It is easy to romanticize dancing in Egypt.
What is not so easy, is to admit that rejection, harassment, and discouragement usually precede even the smallest achievements. Dancers usually have faced this with silence and perseveranceโqualities essential to negotiating pre-revolutionary Egypt. The truth is that dancing in Cairo is hard!
Honestly; had I know how difficult it was going to be, I most likely would not have come. There are many reasons in my life why I am still in Cairo but dancing is only one of them; there were numerous times that I thought of giving up.
The industry as seen from the outside is nothing like it looks on the inside. Dancing with a four-member tahkt in a hotel lobby for little money is possibly not what a dancer envisioned when she thought of performing in Cairo, but even this job could have been gained at great expense.
In Cairo, the physical, emotional, and psychological stresses to which a dancer is subjected can be high. It is not easy to negotiate an industry that she most likely does not fully comprehend due to foreign language complications, culture barriers, and governmental restrictions and to maintain an image of success in the dance community.
