READ ALSO: Beirut Blues Caught in the cross fire: is Beirut ready for tourism? Marriage: Lebanese Style Christians looking for a place in post-war Lebanon Gina Succar: the woman behind the walls Back to Home Page

If you get up close to the stage, you can even smell Mousbah's potent perfume. In 20 minutes, the show is over. Although it's not a drag show, it's the closest thing to a good drag act you'll find in Lebanon. "If he dances that well he has to be gay," said one spectator. It was exactly the kind of comment that makes Mousbah angry. "As a belly dancer, you can criticize my performance, my dancing, but not who I am," he said. Twenty-two year old student Wael Natour, an admirer and acquaintance, admits being torn by two contradictory feelings: "I think he is a great dancer but I don't want to hang out with him too much. Lebanon is such a small country," he said. "People will start gossiping and think that I am gay." "In Europe I'll be more a hit than here-even now men are very sarcastic, they can't accept it," said Mousbah of his Lebanese fans. He hopes one day to have international success, and expects that countries with more "Western" points of view will appreciate his art more than Lebanon, where he has yet to reach national icon status. With a video coming out soon, Mousbah expects that he will soon have to face the music at home too. Although an English-language Lebanese newspaper did a story on him, his mother never read it. He doesn't think that he can keep her away from her television, though. Mousbah hopes that his success will help dull the shock for his mother. Ultimately, said the dancer, "I am proud of being what I am." Previous Page