[Ansteorra] ME dance in Ansteorra

[mtucker at airmail.net]

Greetings:

Recently on this list I said that Middle Eastern dance was about where
other historical pursuits were in this kingdom about 10-20 years ago. It's
been pointed out to me (yes, I'll call the blow) that comment might be
construed as insulting to the Middle Eastern dance community in general,
or to Lady Toryn (the winner of this past Kingdom Middle Eastern Dance
competition) in particular.

I did not intend any insult to the community, or to any individual dancers
or judges.

As a personal aside to Lady Toryn: I thoroughly enjoyed your performance,
as did obviously the whole house. It was flawlessly executed and
crowd-pleasing. I completely understand why the judges named you the
winner. I hope you continue to practice your art in the SCA, and I look
forward very much to seeing you run next year's competition.

However, I find nothing "politically incorrect" about stating the obvious,
i.e. that the awareness, appreciation and practice of Middle Eastern dance
are about where we were 10-20 years ago in other aspects of these Current
Middle Ages. Not so long ago, carpet pad and cut-off welding cylinders
were the norm on the chivalric field; *everyone* wore a T-tunic; and filks
of "Gilligan's Island" were considered a high form of bardcraft. In each
of these pursuits back then (just as in Middle Eastern dance today), there
were a few folks who knew what "period" meant, and slowly but surely the
rest of us learned from them. Now it's quite common to find beautiful
*period* armor, clothing, song, etc. at SCA events. Look how far we've
come in those areas!

Middle Eastern dance has come a long way. It is now on the "big radar
screen"; it has its own Kingdom event; but it is still (in my opinion) in
its infancy with regard to the populace being able to tell the difference
between non-period and period dance. That's not a crime on their part, nor
do I think it's an insult on my part to say so; it's just the nature of
how our understanding of history tends to evolve over time.

If my earlier comments offended, I apologize. No offense was intended. If
they encourage anyone to learn more about historical Middle Eastern dance,
and strive to relive it in these Current Middle Ages, and to recognize and
reward those who do so, then I've achieved my purpose.

Your comments - on or off list - are welcome.

Michael Silverhands