In apartheid-era South Africa, dance protests underpinned the fight against racial oppression – in particular, the toyi-toyi: a dynamic collective dance originated by Zimbabwean freedom fighters, and powerfully adopted as an anti-apartheid demonstration in South Africa (where its expressive force has endured). Dancing has played its part in vital battles to be won around the globe. And so, around the world, dance has always been a vital act of rebellion.Īs US-based Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad commented on the Maedeh Hojabri support videos: “It’s not just simple dancing – it’s an act of protest”. Whatever the era, region or rhythm, the base ‘danger’ remains the same – that dancing promotes sexual liberty and/or breaks down social barriers. Popular dance crazes have sparked moral hysteria, being raged about in pamphlets such as From The Ballroom To Hell(1894) and The Heritage Of Hell(1942) in the latter, US author Dan Gilbert gets frothed up about the jitterbug (“Conceived in hell and brought forth by the brothel, the dance has established its immoral dominion”). Now you arrest #MaedehHojabri and she is only 18! What will you do to the next generation?” Tehran-based photographer Reihane Taravati, who was herself arrested with friends in 2014, for dancing on screen to a Pharrell Williams smash hit, tweeted: “You arrested me for being #Happy when I was 23. Most notably, she has inspired massive online solidarity, including hundreds of Iranian women posting videos of themselves dancing, in support of the teen. Hojabri’s treatment has been widely condemned by the public and even religious commentators (Iranian cleric Mohamad Taghi Fazel Maybodi argued: “Which one’s a great sin – dancing or stealing of public resources?”). The ballet that caused an international row Last Friday, she appeared on Iranian state TV, making an apparent confession (“It was not done for the purpose of attracting attention,” she said, adding: “I did not have any intention to encourage others”). Yet these upbeat clips have provoked serious controversy Hojabri was recently arrested for breaching Iranian government laws which prohibit females from dancing in public or appearing without a headscarf. At first glance, the Instagram videos posted by 18-year-old Maedeh Hojabri look fairly innocuous they show the Iranian teen dancing in her room to Persian and Western pop tunes.
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