Embracing your inner goddess
Belly dancing celebrates femininity, expression
By MELISSA LATTMAN
| Article published on Thursday, April 30, 2009 |
|
 |
 |
|
![[Image]](/content_images/043009_dun-03.jpg) |
|
| Photo courtesy of BELEDI BAY |
|
| Beledi Bay co-owner Kimara Moon, photo left, performs a sword dance recently at the World Dance Bazaar. |
|
|
DUNEDIN – A palm tree mural and pumpkin colored walls reflect back in the mirror as a row of women wearing hip scarves dance to the beat of a classically trained German medieval punk band, adding their own fusion of Gothic, avant-garde belly dancing.
In their belly dance, the women fuse many world dance and music styles, extending beyond the classical Turkish and Egyptian dances. They sometimes add the club beat of hip-hop or a more theatrical gothic style. The downtown dance studio, Beledi Bay, is co-owned by Kim Hatzell, “Kimara Moon” and Chandra Wood.
“We are all over the map. We like so many styles,” Moon said.
Belly dance is possibly one of the oldest dance forms, said Johanna ‘Xenobia’ Krynytzky, a visiting belly dance professor at USF this summer. It is originally a dance of the people from the Middle East. In Arabic, the name for the dance form “raks sharqui” literally means dance of the east, Krynytzky said.
The belly dance moves help in the stages of childbirth. Women learned from their moms, grandmothers, aunts and cousins. It was originally women performing for each other and not intended as a form of entertainment for men, Krynytzky said.
Breaking it down
In belly dance there are basic isolations – moving one body part at a time in different directions along the x, y and z-axis. Then, that movement combines with footwork and arms. The dance form has become very popular in the United States. Recognizing the roots of the dance in the Middle East and as a “melting pot” or “salad bowl,” an American tribal style has evolved here, Krynytzky said.
Many believe belly dance embraces femininity.
“It helps you embrace your inner goddess,” Moon said. “It’s ok to have hips, curves, jiggle. A size 12 or 14 is crème de la crème (for classical Egyptian dancers). Belly dance helps your body self-image. It’s ok if it jiggles. (Women) are busy being moms, wives, doing stuff for everybody else. Belly dancing gives them the chance to shine. This is for them.”
The reasons women pursue belly dancing are perhaps as varied and personal as there are women. Moon watched through a mirror as her baby-sitter, a professional dancer and her aunt, practiced in her Dunedin living room. Movement-by-movement, Moon learned how to dance.
“Kids are like sponges; I mimicked her,” Moon said.
Wood’s pursuit of dance followed a serious car accident. A physical therapist recommended belly dance to gain stamina, flexibility and balance. For Wood, dancing helped her lose 123 pounds in just over two years. She went from a size 24 to size 16 primarily through dance, committing at least an hour a day to the art for five or six days a week.
“I loved it and saw so many benefits,” Wood said. “I continued on and on – it is a healthy addiction.”
Grandmother Dixie Angelikoussis, 53, takes four classes a week and is teaching her grandchildren the dances she learns.
“Two years ago I had open heart surgery,” Angelikoussis said. “I was told don’t overextend yourself. I started belly dancing.”
She said she is 100 percent better and her doctor is amazed at her recovery.
Krynytzky was an anthropology student at the University of Chicago when her Ukrainian grandmother took her to Turkey and she saw belly dancing for the first time. She now has been dancing for 13 years, gradually switching from a museum career to dancing. She now teaches full-time and co-owns Hip Expressions dance studio in St. Petersburg.
“Life is too short not to do what your passionate inside about,” Krynytzky said.
Mastering the art
Dancers interpret the music, move with it and there is an emotional response. The dancing moves subtly at different physical levels – the dancer can move across and move down, Wood said.
“Belly dancing is an art form as much as ballet. It takes quite a while to master,” Moon said.
What sets belly dance apart is that it’s about improvisation and self-expression. It’s a completely free form for women to express themselves and it creates a connection between body, mind and spirit. The dancer learns techniques and isolations then improvises and adds emotions. It’s cathartic. People know they need to work out but they realize they need something more.
“(Belly dance) is a physical workout, an emotional release and a spiritual expression,” Krynytzky said.
Dancers also learn proper body mechanics. Many people spend their days hunched over a computer at a desk, but dancing teaches how to stand, and hand exercises help with carpal tunnel and arthritis. Therefore, dance can mean less pain in doing everyday activities, Wood said.
Belly dancing has social benefits in addition to helping with weight loss and coordination: The women go out together. Wood likes the family she has through the circle of women she’s met through belly dance. Belly dancing creates a community of women with values of health and supporting each other, Krynytzky said.
It helps with self-confidence, too.
“I was a very shy child ... (belly dancing) helped me to be confident and to come out of my shell. It helped with my singing. I can get up in front of a crowd,” Moon said.
Teaching styles for belly dance vary by the personal experiences of the instructor and the learning style of the student. Some learn by watching, some learn by doing, some by breaking it down into basic movement. Moon likes to move around, so she takes the basic moves and incorporates them into a line dance with traveling steps between. Wood said since movement got her involved in belly dancing, that is how she teaches. She demonstrates by talking and rotating – side, front, side, back. Start with a square and count. Get the four corners going and then move into a circle.
No shoes are required to belly dance. Bare feet are all that is needed, although some dancers like the grip of a pair of dance slippers. Dancers usually wear loose yoga pants for practice.
“What you need is a smile, good attitude and open mind,” Moon said.
Props and accessories add more dimensions to the dance. The hip scarf, which can get very ornate and colorful, illustrates the angle of the dancers hips. Dancers can coordinate their hips and hands, adding zills, or finger cymbals. Snake arms and the weight of the fire fans add another dimension, as well as a good arm work out as the dancer moves the flames above her head, Moon said.
For more information on belly dancing in the area go to www.beledibay.com or www.hip-expressions.com.
|
Article published on Thursday, April 30, 2009
Copyright © Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved. |
