Has your raqs sharqi teacher ever told you to point your toes while dancing because “pointing toes is feminine, and flexing the foot is masculine” ? It usually comes as part of the instructions when performing raqs el assaya , or stick dance. You’re there, spinning the cane (the one with the crook, naturally), lifting a foot to attempt what some call the “horse step.” And then, like thunderclap, that voice booms in your head: “POINT YOUR TOES!” Yes, Dorothy, PTSD is a real t

Is it necessary to agree with a source if the information it provides offers valuable insight into a particular historical period? Absolutely not! Knowledge doesn’t come with a loyalty oath—unless you're nostalgically clinging to the golden age of armchair Orientalism. So today, dear Dorothy, we dive headfirst into the vast and murky abyss shaped by centuries of Western engagement with the so-called 'Orient'—a construct often informed less by nuanced observation and more by p

Good things come to those who wait! After years of persistently (and perhaps a tad annoyingly) requesting a Melaya Leff class, my wish was finally granted! A much-beloved local instructor, with decades of teaching experience, agreed to lead an introductory five-week course on dancing with the Melaya Leff this term. To say I'm delighted would be an understatement! Since my love language is sharing every morsel of relevant information on the subject with the world, consider thi