It is rare because it's by an Arabs team but filmed a blonde belly dancer with an openly gay friend. Dance movies usually hit ballet, street jazz, ballroom is already a minority but belly dancing...
The story is a fairy tale about a novice simply with passion made magic in no time. It doesn't bother me if the story was too unrealistic or over-simplify the dance career, after all, I have watched a lot of craps having no story at all. This one at least brings about the idea of taking risk to make life's change, and tries to bring some cultural issues though it seemed fake and too American.
A 25-aged girl selling everything she owned in order to finance herself to fly from New York to Cairo to track after her boyfriend of three weeks, this itself didn't make much sense, but the film needed a reason for a white to succeed in the East. Then we have a reason! If you are satisfied with a make-believe tale, it's really okay to see she got private lessons from a legendary dancers, it's okay to see a dramatic improvement in technique, it's okay to see an impresario spot her in a night club and eager to sponsor her to dance, it's of course okay to see such a fresh dancer with no connection get to perform on the grandest stage... Everything has been defied my personal knowing of the dance career. BUT you would like ti believe it, because you would like to believe in miracle, you would like to see there is hope, so that you can keep fueling yourself.
Regarding the dance... oh the dance? I am not an expert of
belly dancing, although I had some classes many years ago. The
shaking of the hips, shoulders and individual parts of body takes a
lot of practice. It is a dance which is demanding in terms of
flexibility and body separations, however, it is not a dance for
skinny bones. I think they had a smart pick as Laura Ramsey looked
cute, neither too skinny nor too chubby, and can shake the hip quite
fast. However, the one I liked most was Carmen Lebbos, who was
suppressed by the social convention but still kept her own pride.
Life was not easy but she managed it reasonably. She portrayed the
quiet Ismahan very well.