I don't know Shira's reasoning, but my teacher told me that in Egypt (or at least a certain part of Egypt, I'm not sure which) the finger extended down is the same as the middle finger extended up (FU) in this country. She said that the finger being slightly lower than the rest is fine, but too many dancers extend it really far down and distinctly separate it from the other fingers.

I believe the issue is the palm of the hand. Holding up the palm of your hand, as in the "Talk to the hand" gesture or the "Stop in the Name of Love" gesture, is the Arab equivalent of flipping the bird.

Westernerns turn the back of the hand toward the offending individual, middle finger up all other fingers down. Arabs turn the palm toward the offending individual, all fingers up, or lowering only the middle finger.

Totally opposite gestures with the same meaning. It's no wonder our cultures sometimes have trouble communicating!

I see a couple of other folks have already given good replies!

Yes, in Egypt the F-you gesture is to place your hand so that the palm is facing the other person AND the middle finger is bent down. It's flipping someone off.

As a dancer, if you have your hand in the position shown in my illustration AND your palm is facing an innocent direction, such as palm toward the floor, or in toward your body, then the hand position in my drawing is okay. However, the thing you practice a lot is the thing you will do without thinking, and if you practice the hand position shown in my drawing, you might unthinkingly turn the angle of your hand to the F-you position while dancing.

In general, it's okay to turn your palm toward the audience while dancing because there's nothing offensive about the sight of the palm, but if it is accompanied by a droopy middle finger, that would be a problem!

As Jennifer said, having the middle finger *slightly* lowered is okay. But if it's noticeably distant from the adjacent fingers AND the angle of your hand moves to be facing the audience head-on with that finger lowered, you'll be flipping them off!

Aren't you sorry you asked? <wink>

I just now uploaded a photo of how to flip someone off in Egypt. See tribes.tribe.net/shira/pho...5731eb9a70

You can see how, if you're not careful, your own hand could transition into this position while dancing if you customarily hold the lowered-finger position.

i read in "grandmother's secrets" a tip that is to put the energy into the pointer finger, and relax the rest of the hand, it is VERY helpful for me in un-limping my wrists, and bonus is that it avoids the overly lowered middle finger

i have been told to put my middle finger down towards the thumb, as if wearing my zills.