the assumption that being a white skinned
dancer in India also means you are a prostitute
is a common misconception that I constantly
have to deal with. This notion has come about
mostly due to Bollywood pop videos featuring
only foreigners in skimpy western style outfits
and advertisements of bikini clad western girls
on beaches in Goa. As time goes on I have rea-
lised how difficult it is to change these percep-
tions and added to this is the brain washing of
MTV. People see rich looking, white skin ‘goras’
as we are called, writhing over Indian men in
skimpy outfits.
This does not give a good impression and has a
knock on effect not only to me but to all foreign-
ers travelling and/or working in India. India is a
country steeped in tradition where sisters, wives
or daughters aren’t allowed to work as artists or
even drink in bars in some cities and yet there
are the constant double standards where the top
Bollywood actors are thought of as living Gods,
Katie and her hus-
where its ok to perve over white girls and have
band Glen Pelham-
them stripping, lap dancing etc. Yet unmarried
Mather: at Katie’s
couples living together and homosexuality has
birthday in Goa,
only just been made legal.
india - 2009
I am endlessly explaining to agents that being
REAL LIFE TALES OF A BELLY DANCER IN INDIA
white does not automatically mean you are ‘up
for it’, that you can be your own manager, that
you can dance even if you are over a dress size
8, be married, be a mum, that Oriental dance
comes from the Middle East-not Russia- and
that yes, to be a ‘Bellydancer’ does mean you
have to study the dance form!
I had a very steep learning curve as my initiation
into the Indian entertainment world.
I realised if I was going to break through these
stereotypes and be respected as a dancer in
a deeply religious country I had to become far
more socially aware and sympathetic to the In-
dian way of thinking.
At first I was worried and found it difficult to be-
come consciously assertive because I felt like
I was speaking harshly and many agents had
told me foreigners have a reputation for being
unreliable, awkward and stroppy. Then I noticed
my polite, absolutely no nonsense approach
Katie’s son Xavier
Katie’s daughter Tai
was having a surprising effect. Far from losing
Goa, India
Goa, India
work, I gained recognition for both performance
and reputation, often being booked because the
January 2009
Photographer: Katie
Photographer: Katie
95
Holland
Holland
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