Trailer for the documentary Belly Dance man: From Canada to Cairo.
How does a son of Sri Lanka - raised on the rough and tumble Canadian prairies - fare onstage in San Francisco, Toronto, London and Cairo...as a male belly dancer? As one of the few professional male Oriental dancers in North America, Viraj Wanigasekera has spent years honing his mind and body with this art. And for those same years, it's been a struggle: mastering the discipline while trying to pay the rent; deciding between a calling as performer or getting a "real" job with his biochemistry degree; nurturing a career at home while craving the lure of big cities and glamorous competitions. Forsaking the bar and restaurant scene (as well as his horde of female fans), Viraj decides to go big and seize the international spotlight. But is the world ready for a male bellydancer? Will audiences view him as anything more than a novelty act or worse, an object of derision?