Dancin'

So hey, newsflash!  In case you weren’t aware (or have been living under a rock), I’m a belly dancer.  If you’ve never known a belly dancer or seen them perform, you might have a lot of misconceptions about us.  For example, I’m not a stripper.  I don’t take my clothes off for money, nor do I perform in anything like a “champagne room” or anything like that.  I’m not morally bankrupt, I don’t live in the woods around a bonfire, I won’t steal your children, etc, etc.  However, I am strong, confident and in a lot better health than many women my age.

I also know a lot of other belly dancers.  Here in Springfield, MO, we have a lot of different styles of dancers, and I love that.  Tribal, tribal fusion, oriental (the original Egyptian style) and everything in between.  I’m tribal and tribal fusion myself, but I did get my start in oriental over ten years ago, and as far as I am aware, there is no animosity between the performers around here.  It’s too bad the same can’t be said for other places.

Yesterday, I read a blog by a belly dancer who, from what I gathered, is an oriental dancer (also called “Raks Sharqi” which is supposed to be Arabic for “oriental dance”).  She was pretty harsh towards the tribal dancers who were performing at a show with her troupe.  She said it wasn’t “real belly dancing” and was destroying the integrity of the dance.  Wow!  So much for the strength of the sisterhood!

I suppose if your only interest in belly dancing is to preserve the original artform as it’s practiced in Egypt, Turkey, Israel, etc., then sure, tribal is certainly not about that.  But then, that’s not why I started dancing, either.  I don’t know too many dancers that started for that reason – they are out there, even here in Springfield, and I commend them for wanting to carry on the traditions of the ancient dancers.  But I really have to wonder – did I start dancing for all the wrong reasons?

I dance because I love music and dancing gives me an opportunity to express that love with my whole body.  I dance because I can feel life moving around me and I want to move with it.  Dance helps me express joy and sorrow and love and anger – it’s an outlet for my soul and my spirit.  It makes me so sad to see someone lose touch with that, to the point they can only criticize those around them.  If I’m any good at what I do, it’s because I don’t care if I look foolish.  I’m gonna throw everything I’ve got into it, because that’s what I feel, and I just cannot understand how anyone can separate their heart and their soul from their body like that.

So I don’t think I’m dancing for the wrong reasons.  I don’t think there are wrong reasons.  And I wish more people could see that.