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"Contemplate Your Navel"

An Essay by Catharae

Are you looking for something "new" for fun, exercise and enjoyment? Tired of aerobics or bored with running? Perhaps something wonderfully "old" is the best "new" answer. If you want to explore a different form of dance, self expression, and exercise, then introduce yourself to "beledi," better known as "belly dance."

Consider the belly, the symbol for the origin of creation, the essence of the female of the species, the source of all life; where we begin both physically and emotionally. Whether we speak of the birth process or refer to "gut reactions," the center of reference is the belly.

Belly dance puts us in touch with these two centers. It enables us to get in touch with minute areas of the body through muscle isolations, enhancing the ability to identify and control dimensions of our physical world. The dance also evokes an analysis of the feminine side of our personalities, revealing how we feel about our inner selves and how we express those feelings.

Named "the dance of the people," belly dance reflects the basic life experiences common to all people. In contrast to our modern culture of rigid stereotypes, bellydance, from the times before the Pharoahs of Egypt, has encouraged each dancer to discover the beauty of her own unique body, while slowly dropping self-conscious limitations imposed by the mind.

A version of the professional cabaret dance enjoyed in clubs and restaurants can also be performed for personal enjoyment, shared with no one else. Students of belly dance are encouraged to get in touch with the inner self, while learning to be less critical both of themselves and others in the process. Dancers develop at their own pace, while learning about their body and how it responds to the world around them. Besides, it's fun, extremely relaxing, and provides a pleasantly surprising degree of physical exercise at the same time.

Belly dance reflects the dances of antiquity, and yet expresses the modern dances of today, changing from moment to moment. The purpose of cabaret belly dance is to express the emotions of the dancer. It remains a free-style dance form, variable with each performer and performance. The dancer is not limited to the choreography of one visionary, but free to express inner emotions, however fleeting. Perhaps the main draw of this dance form is that each dancer, once taught basic universal steps, is able to mold and transform the dance into her own.

Belly dance is what the dancer brings to it, an expression reflecting ones own personal experiences. It does not require "the" one correct body type, size or shape. It is achievement of personal goals for ones own body, solely reflective of personal expectations.

If enhanced flexibility is desired, the dance is Yoga put to music. If self-awareness and/or self control is the goal, belly dance is a Zen unto itself. The dance is what you bring to it and want from it.

Catharae

Need a costume? Catharae has an online catalogue of bellydance necessities.