Belly Dancing

Every Monday night, I head to the Webster Groves rec center for my belly dance class. I've been belly dancing off and on for a few years now, and even though I'm still working on the basics, I really enjoy it.

For one thing, I like the costumes. I have a simple hip scarf, purple shot through with iridescent threads, with one row of silver coins. Most nights, I add a pair of dangly earrings or an anklet. Unlike ballet, I can wear my hair down. Last night we finished the class dancing with veils, which always reminds me of playing dress-up as a little girl. I can only hope that one day I'll be good enough to dance with a sword.

Belly dance is also good exercise. The classes usually start with stretching and warm-ups, progress to more rapid, intense movements, and then end with deep breathing and a cool-down. I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would choose Slimnastics (a concurrent class at the rec center), when they could dress up and move gracefully to exotic music for an hour.

What I love most about belly dance, though, is that it encourages women to feel comfortable with their bodies. Most of the time, when people start belly dancing, there's a lot of nervous giggling. People raise their eyebrows and look at one another: Did the teacher really tell us to shake our chests? But all three teachers I've had have emphasized that this dance is for all women. Not just thin women. Not just young women. It is a folk dance--a dance of the people.

The first class I took, in North Carolina, said in the brochure that belly dance was "traditionally by women, for women." My husband and I laughed at the idea--that's certainly not the way a lot of Americans see belly dance. But it's an old fertility dance, done by women to celebrate their femininity. Men might be interested in watching such a celebration, but that's not the main point. Personally, I can only see it as a good thing if men are interested in watching real women, of all shapes and sizes, who feel happy and good about themselves as women.

Every woman I know can recite a litany of complaints about her body. A lot of us tend to think, I could feel good about myself if only... and then fill in the blank with something that hasn't happened yet. Belly dance teaches, feel graceful now. Feel good about yourself now. If you don't like your body or feel confident, act as if you do. Don't worry about the size of your hips; in fact, call attention to them by making them jingle. Soon, you'll lose your self-consciousness and be shimmying away.

Photo by louneytoon on flickr.com.