On the weekend we did our 3rd ever Princess Jasmine birthday party. We had about 15 little princesses in shimmy belts, dancing the "Princess Jasmine" dance (a very easy combo repeated to the movie's title song).
Little girls (and boys) love the movie "Aladdin" (Disney, 1992), and these opportunities should be used to enlighten both the young children and their parents at the parties. How many opportunities do you get to expose a group of children, from a Westernised society, to Arabic or Middle Eastern dance/culture? With the current ugliness happening in the world, I think it's important to expose young people to many different cultures and teach them about the differences and similarities. It's only through true education (not fear-mongering, biased education) that we can banish these fears of "the other".
I find it very interesting that in a society (South African) that not only doesn't understand belly dance but believes it to be inappropriate, we are finding parents that are not just willing but excited to have belly dancers at their young children's birthday parties. My hope is that people are becoming more educated, willing to learn, and open to new experiences. That is how I see these Princess Jasmine parties, an opportunity to expose young people to belly dance and educate them about the art form it truly is.