You might have seen belly dancers at Sinbad's or Oasis Cafe on a Friday night--beautiful ladies fluttering around in chiffon costumes, chiming finger cymbals to an exotic musical beat and shaking their hips to carry the rhythm.
They may be perceived as light, "cultural" entertainment, but belly dancers have been shaking their way into pop culture, and the Bellydance Superstars are looking to change your perception of the art.
The Superstars is the first professional touring dance troupe of its kind and is embarking on its second major national tour.
The group is the brainchild of rock 'n' roll manager and record company head Miles Copeland, who has managed acts including The Police and The Bangles. Copeland has also recorded bands like REM and the GoGos.
"Our template for this show was Riverdance, which took relatively obscure elements, like Irish music and dance, and put them in the right context to engage large audiences," Copeland says. "Our show is the Riverdance of belly dancing."
Obscurity is what Copeland was working with when he organized the Superstars' first tour last summer. Twenty-five of the group's 40 shows were part of the Lollapalooza Festival, which put the dancers in front of more than 450,000 alternative music fans.
"It was funny because they performed just before Audioslave went on, so the crowd wasn't expecting it," Copeland says. "But because it had such a mainstream feel, it appealed to them."
The Bellydance Superstars with the Desert Roses at the Rhythm Room, 1019 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix. 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday. $15 in advance. 602.265.4842 or 480.784.4444.
Making belly dancing mainstream is something Copeland has been working on for years. He captured his first taste of the Middle Eastern world when he produced the song "Desert Rose" for Sting and Shet Mami.
The song was a hit and was featured on the Super Bowl, the Grammy's and even a Jaguar car commercial.
Following the song's success, several Arab artists came to Copeland to have their music produced. As a result, he formed his world music record label, Mondo Melodia. The label is now a major distributor of Arab music in the United States. Realizing the popular interest in the art, Copeland got into the world of belly dancing as an off-shoot of his label.
The timing couldn't have been better. CNN.com reports that belly dancing is the fastest growing women's health activity in the United States. Following in the footsteps of yoga and Pilates, gyms across the nation are offering bellydancing classes as an alternative to the treadmill. This could also explain why the United States has more belly dancers than the rest of the world put together.
Because of the mainstream popularity, it was easy for Copeland and his team to handpick the best belly dancers in the nation and around the globe for the Superstars tour. The performers are between the ages of 22 and 38 and many are professional teachers of the art.
"People don't realize it, but some of the top dancers on the tour are teachers who make $3,000 to $4,000 a weekend," Copeland says.
Another not-so-well-known fact is there are various styles of belly dancing that are native to certain parts of the world. The Superstars' show will feature a variety of these styles including Egyptian and Tribal, which is actually an American form.
Business is good for the troop of women who (tastefully) shake what their mamas gave them. They are booked for a 60-city nationwide tour that starts on Feb. 12. This time around, the venues they will perform in are indoors and more intimate--a far cry from the outdoor stadiums of Lollapalooza.
A dance tour is not the end of the road; Copeland is working on a clothing line catered toward belly-dancers. It will feature everything from jeweled hip-scarves to workout suits.
A documentary-style movie titled American Belly Dancer is also in the works and is something Copeland hopes HBO will pick up.
Copeland says the main hook for belly dancing is the activity is by women and for women, and audiences will truly be impressed with what the show has to offer.
"If a girl takes her date to a ballet, he will go kicking and screaming," Copeland says. "This show is great because the women will love the dancing, and the men will enjoy themselves as well--for other reasons."
Reach the reporter at rekha.muddaraj@asu.edu.
