Whatever Lola Wants

I watched this yesterday after years (okay, a few) of waiting since I first heard it was being made and giiirrrrll it was a really good show! It's essentially a chick flick of the *white woman goes to another country to find herself trope but it actually worked out okay! It has none of the smugness and superiority complex that other shows employing the same trope tend to exhibit. And the best part? The heroine doesn't end up with the guy she was chasing. Haha!

The main character, Lola, played by the lovely Laura Ramsey is such a joy to watch. She has the right mix of impulsive and chutzpah without ending up as a silly damsel needing of help in a foreign land. And of course, you won't find any whiny, self-pitying bullshit here either! Bad things may have happened but she doesn't let them bring her down. Case in point, below.

Lola dancing with one of the Egyptian nightclub dancers who used to hate her

As you can imagine, a **blonde foreigner coming into your turf and getting all the tips would piss you off. So of course the local dancers were at first annoyed with her. But she eventually won them over by playing fair and not subscribing to competition. Something which all of us should learn I think. I've heard ladies saying that belly dance contains a higher amount of cat fights and bitching than any other dance. It doesn't have to be that way man.

The dancing is good enough but what I personally like the most was the showmanship. Lola exhibited more stage presence than most other trained bellydancers I've seen live. Perhaps it's because she's played by an actress? Ah here is of course another lesson to be learn. It will not do to simply concentrate really hard on doing the most number of tricks and end up forgetting to dance with the music and to the audience.

I love that the movie passes the Bechdel test too. It definitely has more than 2 women talking to each other about things other than men in it. My favourite line was when Ismahan consoles Lola and drives home the point that one should only dance for one's self and never for any man. The movie shows some pretty strong women too, never needing a man to rescue them. In fact, I think the men are shown weaker in this. With the exception of Yussef, the gay best friend and Adham, the blind wise butler. I reject the view that the characteristics of these men are 'weak'. Blindness and homosexuality are not weak qualities. Selfishness, chauvinism and cowardice are.

It's also interesting the way society treats women who commit adultery. Unthinkable for the married woman but if it's a married man doing it, it's all acceptable because he's a man. So no, I don't have a problem with the adultery mentioned in the film. In a religion that allows men to marry up to 4 wives, it is somehow blasphemous to think that a married woman can also fall in love with another man. It shows too how much more badly the woman is treated. Ismahan's lover, Nasser, calls himself a ladies man yet it is obvious that he was never penalised for being one.

I love too that the hypocrisy of Muslim men is pointed out in the film. Some, not all of course, think it's okay to have fun with the "clueless sex-crazy"*** foreigner and then marry the religious, pious lady who will bear him many sons and keep chaste while he goes out and strays some more. I like that there was no nasty confrontation, no ridiculous scenes where the two affected women duke it out over the affections of that one useless man. Sisters before misters I say.

Ultimately, it is a story about following your dreams and if I may extrapolate a little, the value of being kind and respectful to people. For that, I can forgive the ease in which Lola manages to become a top dancer in Cairo though here too I am willing to suspend disbelief if only for the fact that the movie alludes to Ismahan being the best dancer therefore being able to craft the best dancer out of a bumbling foreigner like Lola. It has some stereotypes like the gay best friend and the wise, blind butler but I think these worked okay this time and were not too jarring.

Do watch it if you're a bellydancer or just a dance enthusiast! The performances are lovely and the best part, I think, are the moments where the love for dance and performing showed through on the actors' faces. I love those moments! If you're a dancer, I'm sure you'll feel something more too after the show.

Here's a music video of the soundtrack which Lola eventually dances to:



Ah Natacha Atlas, what a lovely diva you are!

*Most definitely frustrating to have the white character come to the foreign land and change lives and make everyone want to do better. But ah, this is one trope that is hard to dislodge. For the sheer loveliness of this movie, I'm willing to let it slide and see them all as just flawed human beings with much work without having the extra baggage of the wrongs that their ancestors did and carried forth. And it's also important to note that Lola doesn't do much 'educating'. The voice of reason in this story comes from Adham.

**This is never fair. When looks and exoticism are prized more than talent so I love that the movie never attempted to gloss over this unfortunate fact. Ismahan retorts that the only reason Lola was invited to perform was because she was blonde and American. But to be fair to Lola, it was probably a mixture of both as the movie gave great pains to show that Ismahan was the best dancer of her time.

***Of course the women are not like that but that's how the men view them. The movie highlights this perfectly when Lola is accosted by some idiot teenager, and then later an old man, demanding to have sex with her. The implication is that foreign women are 'easy' and sex-crazed something that even her Egyptian boyfriend hinted at (asshole that he is).

And an appropriate closing video. hehehhee

9000 baht gets you shitty treatment from ICA

Okay let's take a little detour from the dance, not that I've been writing much anyway, and talk about something that happened yesterday at the Changi Airport. Our gleaming, beautiful world-class gift to humanity.

My step-mum, being Thai, has tons of family in Thailand. For them to see the newest addition to our family, my baby brother, they have to fly in, yes? How much do you think the average Thai earns? Compare that to an air ticket to Singapore. Forget about the big names, think budget airlines. Still way more than an average Thai can afford.

Approximate damage is 9000 baht. A whole month's salary. Figure out how long it takes to save up that amount. Then figure out how pissed off, miserable and saddened you'll feel when upon touching down on this beautiful, safe, democratic, amazing country you are held for several hours with no food, paraded about from one end of the airport to the other like some criminal, given absolutely no explanation, no attempt at all at reassuring this non-English speaker that she has done absolutely no fucking wrong and then sent back to Thailand.

You know what one of the Thai officers told her when she got to Thailand?

"They send back a few Thais each day."

Oh so you need to meet a quota for people to send back now? Choose them at random, eh. What, those that don't spend big bucks in your resorts, your gambling dens and your shitty malls don't deserve to come here to visit family?

She did all the 'correct' things that any visitor has to do to enter a country. There are numbers to call if any clarification is needed especially since her English isn't that great. But nooo, all the officers did was ignore the questions, ignore her requests for food and ultimately send her back with no explanation.

This is what the ICA had to say, when I emailed them:

3 The decision of refusal of entry would be conveyed by an ICA Duty Officer to the visitor whom were assessed to be ineligible for the issuance of a visit pass under the current immigration policies, followed by issuance of a Notice of Refusal of Entry.

4 The repatriation for inadmissible passengers and their accommodation in the Inadmissible Passengers (IP) Room pending their return flight, where food and other amenities are provided, are arranged by the Airline or its ground handling agent. For security reasons, the use of communication devices is prohibited in the Immigration Halls and IP Room.

Oh please. Your proper procedure took place in the most magical way possible. AKA all in your bloody imagination. And why, should the airline or ground handling agents be the ones supplying refreshments? Isn't it the ICA's locale?

And then the bereaucratic nonsense:

5 If your relative wishes to visit Singapore in future, she may submit an application for a Visit Pass prior to her arrival through a local sponsor in Singapore to the Visitor Services Centre, 4th Storey, ICA Building, 10 Kallang Road, Singapore 208718 for our consideration.

6 The following documents are required for the application:

a) duly completed & signed application forms - Form 14 & V39I (downloadable from our website: http://www.ica.gov.sg);
b) photocopies of applicant's passport; and
c) local sponsor's Singapore NRIC.

Applicant and local sponsor may be required to provide additional information and documents whenever necessary.

7 The processing time is about 4 weeks and her local sponsor will be notified by post when the outcome is known.

Bitch please. You think she wants to come back to Singapore now?

Please try at least to respect the visitor the next time. She's not a prostitute, not all Thai women coming to Singapore are prostitutes. Stop with the ridiculous profiling. Especially when it's obvious that it fails and the pimps have other ways of bringing the girls they need in.

Fuck you ICA. Fuck you very much. Oops should I have used some stereotypical poor Asian lingo? Fuck you long time ICA. No 5 dolla.

TANGO

So, I've revised my opinion of partner dances! Today was my first Tango lesson and it was pretty good. I can't wait for good old drilling in the days to come so I can get better at it. Right now, we're not at the fun stage yet as we need to build on the fundamentals. But soooon. I think part of the enjoyment is the result of getting a more experienced partner too! Who even gave me some pointers so that was very helpful especially with my tendency to sweep my leg back, bend the supporting leg and not leave the feet at a V shape. It's a habit I picked up from Flamenco.

Speaking of which, I hope I can clear my schedule so I can pick up Flamenco again. I really miss it. This is exactly what I was feeling during the years when I stopped going for sharqi classes. Oh yeah which I definitely need to go back to once my teacher returns to Singapore.

Oh dear, how to fit all them in?? Monday could be Flamenco, Tuesday Thursday for sharqi, Friday for Tango!

I hope I have the money for them all :S

Alhambra Bellydance Hafla featuring Taly

Taly!
Taly's performance shook me from my rut and the effect lasted all the way till the end of the workshop the next day. At the very first set, I came to understand the meaning of chantpleure because that was exactly what I wanted to be doing at that moment. Weep and sing at the same time from the sheer beauty of the dance. Not just the dance as performed by Taly but the entire being of the dance, its...I can't find any other word except قلب 'kalb' or heart/soul. I saw what the dance could be, I saw the spark in person and it is a million times better in real life than the effect produced from watching videos. Can you imagine the effect of watching one of the great legends live? Oh what I would trade for that opportunity.

My rut came about as a result of consuming too much instructional videos (and not enough of going for Shiblie's excellent lessons at Alhambra) where the dance is broken down to mere techniques, never being able to explain its soul. I caught a glimpse of it during jamming sessions at Alhambra but because I was too preoccupied in doing the techniques the best way, it never fully bloomed. Once in a while, when I let myself go and stop thinking about how I looked, it appeared again.

And bearing that in mind, I took to the workshop with a different attitude. Previously, I would have just not attended because the case of the nerves just got so bad that I wouldn't leave the house. This time I braved through it just so I could learn from Taly and hopefully leave with just a little bit of magic. So so sooo glad I attended. Wasn't tired, wasn't even hungry despite not eating at all the entire day. Just subsisting on the high from last night's show and a kind of star-struck admiration for the French bellydancer.

She was lovely, absolutely kind and friendly. The class was a delight because she was so funny and charismatic. The kind of lady I would totally want to be when I grow up! She taught us some sharqi techniques, veil, saiidi and sha'abi (my favourite!). The last 3 being the very first time I try them out. I really wish I'd brought a camera along so I could at least record some of the techniques we practiced.

I think another thing that contributed to the overall fabulousness of both days was that everybody was just so pleasant! I met the senior students for the first time and Miki, if I remember her name correctly, was very kind as she brought extras of the props and lent them out to those of us who didn't have any. The Japanese bellydancer is also the best from our school and watching her perform made me want sooo much to be able to be on stage as well.

Oh yes, the venue was also perfect and I looove the food especially because there was gado-gado at hand (although no keropok :( ) and pita. yum yum. There were some funny moments too like the three ladies at our table who were taking pictures cute because they were just like teenage girls on a night out and the little girl at my teacher Shiblie's table who fell asleep with her mouth open towards the end of the night and kept slipping off her seat until someone closed her mouth hahahha. I'm so glad my friend Rachel agreed to go with me because I think that made the night nicer too! Good company always makes a good outing.

I hope to be able to concentrate fully on the dance in the future, attend more classes with Shiblie and be able to perform too next year. One of the participants of the workshop, a very funny KL-ian who flew in specially to perform and attend the workshop, said that once you get on stage you just want to keep doing it. I can't wait for my turn!