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Four fans of belly dancing were deeply disappointed by the show of Tunisian dancer Leila Haddad last week, which was part of the Mediterranean Arts Festival organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD). They said the show was substandard and failed to meet their expectation.
'We would like to let your readers know we are lodging an official complaint to the LCSD concerning the show by Leila Haddad on October 25 and October 27 in the Hong Kong City Hall.
'The show organisers at the LCSD have failed the public trust by not doing their job properly in promoting a group of dancers of low standard and apparently not even related to the Egyptian or Mediterranean culture - yet promoting them as 'Master of Egyptian Belly Dance'. Haddad apparently has no connection with Egypt, living in Paris, and has not performed in public since 2003.
'The first show was extremely poorly done, with a very low standard of dancing technique. This even included a disturbing scene with a big bellied male dancer dressed in feminine costume - definitely not the traditional way men would dance in these performances. As members of the Hong Kong public, we do not blame the performers for trying to make a living. However, we do challenge how on earth the organisers of the LCSD could choose such a group of inept performers and dare to promote them as world famous dancers. We have been totally misguided and cheated by the organiser.
'The second show was far worse. In this, Haddad spent most of the time slouching around the stage with very basic body movements, posing and flirting with the seven musicians. Haddad disappeared from stage more than three times during the performance, each time for 10-plus minutes. For the rest of the show, the so-called 'dancer' was either sitting on the stage with only arm movements or wiping the floor with her hair and costume.'
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department said the authority had sought advice from art experts and its art form panels when selecting programmes for the festival.