When dancing for Arab people you should try especially hard not to do something offensive or crude. An American audience will have a completely different idea of what offensive or crude is.
To portray the dance in the best possible way to an Arab try to follow these suggestions:
1. Wear a body stocking to cover your stomach. (Yeah, I know it doesn't technically cover much of anything but, remember that Arabs tend to think of dancers as prostitutes. So, as much covering as you can do is best).
2. Don't do a lot of chest locks or rib lifts/drops all at one time (their the equivalent of the American "schawing" (I.e. thrusting the pelvis forward.)
3. Don't do a lot of "in your face", "here I am" things (being modest and discreet is a virtue among Arabs.)
4. Although it is quite common to have the audience stuff money in your belt
here, it is sometimes a sign to Arabs that you are more promiscuous then
other dancers or that you are a dancer of a lower quality. If you decide to
allow tips in your belt then only allow tips to be put in certain places such
as the sides of the hip belt and the shoulders but reserve the shoulders for
female members of the audience, if someone should try to put it somewhere
else stop and tell them that that is inappropriate and that they are to put the
tip where you signal them to put it. You may lose a couple of tips, but you
will be helping to raise the quality of which they view dancers. The best
thing to do is to have a container with the message tips for dancer on it and
place it next to the stage or cash register. However, Arabs may want to
give you a money shower which is acceptable as well as long as your
comfortable with it and it does not endanger your saftey by making the floor
slippery with dollar bills. Also be aware that if you get a money shower it's
good to have someone who picks up your tips discretely while you are
dancing or immediately after for saftey reasons since you or a customer
could slip on the bills and injure yourself.
5. Try to make yourself as scarce as possible before the performance and
cover yourself up with an abaya galabiya, caftan, etc... Not only will it be
less offensive but you will be able to save the surprise and mystery of what
you will be wearing for the performance.
6. Cover yourself back up with an abaya, galabiya caftan, etc... before you come out after your performance.
7. Try to keep your conversation from being too personal, talk about the performance, costuming part, etc.
