Canceled event is rolling out as part of flash mob after all

The shimmy will go on after all.

More than 100 belly dancers who were told their performance at Denver International Airport was canceled can now shimmy after complaining to the mayor’s office.

The May 9 dance to raise money for domestic violence was reinstated after organizer Erin Prince questioned city officials in an e-mail about why the airport canceled the event. Prince had been told the airport recently received a complaint about a Middle Eastern musician performing at DIA and wondered whether the cancellation of the globally coordinated belly-dance flash mob — called the Shimmy Mob — had something to do with the art form’s Middle Eastern ties.

Absolutely not, city officials said.

“I’m appalled that anyone would suggest the cancellation is at all related to anything having to do with being Muslim or the Middle East, as this is absolutely false,” airport spokeswoman Stacey Stegman wrote to Prince.

The event was canceled, Stegman said, because the airport is changing its approval process for art and performances, now requiring formal applications. Initial approval for the belly-dance performance was given “by someone who is not in a position to grant that approval and did not follow our internal approval process,” Stegman wrote.

Still, city officials decided to make an exception after the Shimmy Mob’s complaint.

The flash mob will surprise travelers at the airport with a spontaneous belly dance midmorning May 9 under the canopy on the baggage-claim level. The worldwide event will feature 2,700 dancers in 81 cities. Each city raises money for a local domestic-violence shelter.

Prince, who has been belly dancing for 18 years, said participants have worked for months learning the same moves through an online video tutorial. At DIA, they will dress appropriately for the airport, with T-shirts that cover their bellies. Jennifer Brown: 303-954-1593, jenbrown@ denverpost.com or twitter.com/jbrowndpost