Mousbah Baalbaki is a contemporary male

belly dancer Belly dance (Egyptian Arabic: رقص بلدي, translated: Dance of the Country/Folk Dance, romanized: Raks/Raas Baladi) is a dance that originates in Egypt. It features movements of the hips and torso. It has evolved to take many different f ...

from

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. He has been compared to Hassan el-Balbeissi (who

Gustav Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...

called the finest of all dancers, male or female). ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described Baalbaki as "sinuous and seductive...in a gauzy black caftan over Bedouin-style white robe, she undulated on stage with a faraway look in his eyes and a bodyguard close at hand". The ''New York Times'' article was criticised by Stavros Karayanni for an Orientalist "sadly anticipated tone that ranges between sardonic and superior—an efficient and popular technique for relating information about something titillating, enticing and 'different'". Baalbaki has said that he wishes to break societal taboos: "Here we grow up thinking men shouldn't dance Arabic."

Biography and family

Baalbaki was raised in a conservative

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...

household in

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...

. He attended the

Lebanese American University The Lebanese American University (LAU) ( ar, الجامعة اللبنانية الأميركية) is a secular and private American university located in Lebanon. It is chartered by the board of regents of the University of the State of New Y ...

. Baalbaki is

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

and identifies as male: "I'm trying to prove that a man can do it, can dance in this society."

External links

Video of Mousbah performing in Beirut
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baalbaki, Mousbah Living people Lebanese dancers Lebanese gay men Gay dancers Gay Muslims People from Sidon Lebanese Muslims Belly dancers Lebanese American University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Lebanese LGBT people