"A Trade like Any Other": Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt [Paperback]

Karin van Nieuwkerk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1995

In Egypt, singing and dancing are considered essential on happy occasions. Professional entertainers often perform at weddings and other celebrations, and a host family's prestige rises with the number, expense, and fame of the entertainers they hire. Paradoxically, however, the entertainers themselves are often viewed as disreputable people and are accorded little prestige in Egyptian society. This paradox forms the starting point of Karin van Nieuwkerk's look at the Egyptian entertainment trade. She explores the lives of female performers and the reasons why work they regard as "a trade like any other" is considered disreputable in Egyptian society. In particular, she demonstrates that while male entertainers are often viewed as simply "making a living," female performers are almost always considered bad, seductive women engaged in dishonorable conduct. She traces this perception to the social definition of the female body as always and only sexual and enticing--a perception that stigmatizes women entertainers even as it simultaneously offers them a means of livelihood. Drawn from extensive fieldwork and enriched with the life stories of entertainers and nightclub performers, this is the first ethnography of female singers and dancers in present-day Egypt. It will be of interest to a wide audience in anthropology, women's studies, and Middle Eastern culture, as well as anyone who enjoys belly dancing.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This fascinating ethnography of professional female entertainers in Egypt brings together issues and ideas relevant to dance, anthropology, ethnomusicology, gender studies, and area studies.... By providing new insight into historical, political, economic, religious, and cultural forces, van Nieuwkerk accounts for the ambivalent attitudes towards female professional performers in Egyptian society as well as the way they cope with their status. (Ethnomusicology )

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: University of Texas Press; First Edition edition (1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292787235
• ISBN-13: 978-0292787230
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,113,314 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential to understanding all aspects of Egypt, March 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: "A Trade like Any Other": Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt (Paperback)

This is a fabulous and unique book which should be read by all scholars of the Middle East. Because entertainment has been so central to the identity of Egyptians this is an essential read. The author provides fascinating insights on the construction of gender in Egypt, the public/private realm, the complex web of morals and the role of dance and music in political development. This is worth twice it weight.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for Oriental dancers and students of Muslim women, June 2, 2003

By 

Heather P. Emerson "mother, teacher, reader, ... (Worcester, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: "A Trade like Any Other": Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt (Paperback)

This highly documented, academic book is essential to anyone wishing to better understand how the native Egyptian Muslim audience views women, particularly but not exclusively, women who sing and/or "belly dance". It provides an excellent history of female entertainers in Egypt throughout history - following the Ghawazee, wedding and festival performers, and the rise of nightclub culture. After providing that history - which I feel is very important for all Oriental dancers to understand - this book undertakes the challenge of trying to understand how performers are viewed by themselves, their families and neighbors, and the community at large. By looking at these women with an "experience near" insider's eye, rather that an outsider's eye which may misunderstand or romanticize the situation, this book lays out plainly the challenges for the average female entertainer. She focuses mostly on the "common" dancers and singers -those who dance and sing at weddings and festivals, not as much on the nightclub or TV/movie/ radio stars, although they are mentioned.
This book is not focused only on the entertainment part of these women's lives, however, but on their family lives and how they enter and exit the business, and in this capacity it serves as an excellent window into the lives of Muslim women in Egypt. What is expected of an Egyptian woman, how feminine and masculine are defined and why, what is respectable or not, and why and how these women work in this framework in their daily lives. Is it the Muslim view of women, or of entertainers in general, or of female entertainers that is responsible for the challenges these women face? This book answers these questions, and in the process gives greater insight into Egyptian Muslim culture from the inside out. It isn't a light read, but it is very educational and may even challenge women of all cultures to look at their own cultures, morals, and values regarding women differently.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting reading for bellydancers, very well-written, January 30, 2006

By 

Ramona "Author of Dynamic Belly Dance" (Atlanta, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: "A Trade like Any Other": Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book very much. The author was very clear about her research and the conclusions she reached. It really helps explain the cultural setting of belly dance in Egypt better than any other book I've read, and it's fascinating reading as well due to the little details she tells us about dancers living in Egypt. A must-read book for those interested in Egyptian belly dance!