I've spent six years doing fieldwork with the Baining people in Papua New Guinea, where their fire dances are central to community identity. Some visiting anthropologists argue these rituals are being staged for tourists and losing authenticity, but I disagree—culture evolves everywhere, and labeling change as loss is a Western bias. Does performance for outsiders necessarily invalidate the deep meaning it holds for the practitioners? I think my answer is no, but I'm open to alternative views.