HEARD ABOUT MALE BELLY DANCERS?

MALE BELLY DANCERS HAVE A POINT TO PROVE

 Think belly dance, and the first thing that comes to anyone’s mind is the image of a woman shimmying around sensuously. But who decided that ‘only women can do the belly dance? These male belly dancers are here to break that stereotype and how!

Swinging the hip gracefully, doing the sexy belly roll, twirling in abandon – everything about belly dancing spells ‘feminine’. Yet, that doesn’t daunt Arun Bhardwaj, Pradi Vidhate and Pemba Yonzon from Pune, who are breaking all gender conventions and shimmying their way to becoming belly dancing sensations. With sheer talent, immense passion and broad outlook, they have also managed to bring passion and broad outlook; they have also managed to bring about a change in the way the dance form is perceived.

PASSION KNOWS NO GENDER BOUNDARIES

Arun Bhardwaj, now considered the pioneer of belly dancing in Pune, was just when he got hooked on to the dance form. And at that time, the gender conventions associated with belly dancing was the last thing on his mind, he confesses. “It all began when I saw a male belly dancer perform on TV. I was fascinated by his moves and flexibility. I started surfing the Internet to know more about the dance and came across some fabulous male dancers online. I tried to imitate the steps, and that was when I fell in love with the dance form,” says Arun, who hasn’t looked back ever since. Today, he’s working hard to take the dance form to new levels by focusing on choreography as well as improvising on moves and costumes that in more gender neutral or gender inclusive. He teaches American tribal style, Egyptian classical, tribal fusion, and fluid tribal style, to name a few. “When I started out, I never thought about the future prospects. I simply followed my heart. People have misconceptions about men doing a belly dance, but they are okay when you practice Indian classical dance. I have learned both, and the process of learning is the same. Why then should we create a gender bias?” he asks.

AGAINST ALL ODDS

 Pradip Vidhate confesses that it's Shakira’s Hips Don’t Lie that inspire him to take up belly dancing. “I was floored by her grace and movements, and used to imitate her steps in front of the mirror,” he shares. Such was his passion for the dance form that he chose dance over education and then, fought against all odds, including financial pressure and family objection to follow his dreams. “After the death of my father, the financial condition at home was such that I couldn’t pursue my dream of getting trained in a dance school formally. But I decided I learn it come what may. That’s how I looked up online tutorials and also attended workshops. “Admittedly, his parents were clueless about him belly dancing until Pradip participated in a reality show. “They found out about it only when I was about to featured on TV. I was the only male belly dancer on the show. My parents couldn’t contain their happiness when saw me on TV. I made them proud,” he says. Today, Pradip has just one aim – to break the stigma about male dancers and inspire more to take men to take up belly dancing. Pemba Yonzon’s pursuit of happiness brought him all the way from his hometown Sikkim to Pun because all he wanted to was “to make it big in the world of belly dancing”. “My parents never supported me. But I was firm about my decision. I made them understand that this is what I wanted to pursue. Today, after months of persuation, they’ve finally accepted that is what gives me happiness.” Pemba works as a makeup artist during the day and trains in the evening. “I want to change the way people look at male dancers. They have to realise how beautiful and graceful, and how difficult belly dancing really is. Maybe that would help them look at me as just a dancer; not a male dancer in a woman’s profession,” he adds.

PROUD TO BE A BELLY DANCER

Pradip, who represented India at international belly dancing championship recently, observes that there has been a change in the society ‘s outlook towards male belly dancers. “However there is a long way to go. I get many enquiries from men but none of them enroll.  Men fear the society’s disapproval. But things are changing and I hope people become more approving of the form,” he says. Arun echoes similar sentiments. “When I joined a BPO and proudly flaunted my dance moves, my colleagues made fun of me. I had become the butt of all their jokes,” he says. But people’s perception towards the dance is now changing, he believes. “Now, when I start dancing, my parents and friends feel a sense of pride. That is all that matters to me,” adds Arun.