Beledi

Nearly thirty years ago my mother taught me beledi dance, also known as raks sharqi, or more commonly, belly dance. I loved it, but as the years passed, I got involved in other things and dance fell by the wayside. For the last couple of years, the beledi bug has been back, but there were no local instructors, so I was limited to whatever vestiges of dance I could recall from so many years ago. Fortunately for me, an instructor moved into the area and I've been happily dancing ever since.

I'm still quite rusty, but some moves are coming back quite easily. My shimmy is quite intact, and hip circles, lifts and drops are coming quite naturally despite the thirty year hiatus. Rib cage isolations are practiced while driving--well, not while actually driving, as I'm a sure an auto accident would quickly ensue, but while sitting at traffic lights. It works nicely because my hips are firmly anchored and my rib cage is forced to move independently.

I've also gotten bolder at class, and have graduated from completely covered up to wearing a simple practice costume that bares my midriff. Yes, my 200+ pound self in a midriff baring
costume. Its bloody HOT in class once we get moving, and its easier to see the movements to see if I am performing them correctly with an exposed midriff. I adore my coin scarf--the jingle is not only fun, but helps improve your shimmy immensely.

Now for the photos: if you are squeamish about 200 pounds in a dance costume, then simply use your back button and resume looking at the last page you browsed. *grin*



Here we have my shimmy in action...the shot is blurry due to the motion, but I like the overall effect.



Practicing in the kitchen...


You know, I may be zaftig, but I don't look too bad in my practice outfit, and it should get better and better as I get into shape. Belly rolls and ribcage isolations work the entire set of abdominal muscles quite thoroughly, and I'm already starting to see a small difference.





Its a good thing I left the kitchen open and didn't clutter it up with furniture--now I have a great wide open practice area!