| QUESTION:Christian
Belly Dancers?:
September 2008: I’m so glad I found this link. I’ve been taking classes for almost 3 years and dancing in a local troupe since April and I’m the only Christian in the group. I sometimes feel alone and have considered quitting because of it. But I’m just celebrating the body God gave me. I cover up most of my body, as I’m overweight and self-conscious, and don’t wear outfits that are too revealing. Most everyone at my church knows that I dance and even my preacher’s wife has shown interest in taking classes. Thank you for posting this-it’s helped me so much! -- Melinda H. - Salisbury, NC
July 2008:
Dear Penny,
Thank you for your article on your questions & answers page about christian
belly dancing. I am a belly dancing instructor who has been a born again
believer for 20 years and like these other women do quite often feel
isolated as we seem to be the minority faith in our dance circles.
would it be possible to pass on my email adress to the others who also are
christian dancers on your web site? If you could that would be great.
Once again thank you so much,
Love Deniz
"I noticed that there are a great many varieties of spirituality
endorsed by dancers, and I too wish to dance out of that "place"..however, I am
a Christian and I was wondering if I am the ONLY christian belly dancer in the
world! I feel so alone at times, and worry that I have to hide my faith in the
presence of other dancers who dance out of a belief system that perhaps would
not regularly be 'on the same page' with me, as a person as well as a dancer.
I was hoping someone would email me back with some feedback..." Renee Norwood
ANSWER: Hi
there! I have just come across your Q&A page for the first time, though I
have been to your site numerous times. How long has it been there? (All
the time! - penny). It is a really great resource.
(thanks!)
I
am not sure how old the question is, but I saw it had no answer and wanted to
write to the woman who wondered if she was the only Christian bellydancer out
there. NO WAY! :) There are plenty of Christian dancers, though I understand her
feelings of being verY isolated sometimes among all the many belief systems that
seem to be closely linked to bellydance (eg. Goddess dancing, pagan ritual dancing,
etc) Please let your writer know that any
person, no matter what faith, should never be ashamed or feel they have to hide
their religion from others. Your faith should be something you are proud of and
celebrate, even if (and maybe even *especially if*) it makes you somehow different
from others you may know. I know as a Christian it is really hard to fight the
stereotypes surrounding organized religion, but I think that by not being afraid
to be open and honest about our faith, others will see that Christians are everyday
people with the same passions, joys, pains, struggles, questions, and open hearts
as the next guy or gal. Thanks to NOT being
afraid to talk about my faith, I have had the opportunity to meet other Christians
who also bellydance. Some of them have found ways to incorporate their dancing
into a liturigcal context, and have danced at their churches in worship. I think
that is amazingly inspirational, and maybe something this woman might want to
look into. Dancing is an expression of our deepest self, so why shouldn't we also
be able to dance from a spiritual place within ourselves as freely as some of
the other women of differing belief systems? Even
if she never decides to dance, or has the opportunity to dance, in her church
or other religious setting, just knowing that she can be herself will go a long
way toward opening her Christian heart and soul within the dance in ways you may
not have known were possible. May everyone be able to dance from "that place" within themselves. Much love, Sharon Moore,
Mandala Tribal (carrying Kamikaze Costumes).
09/05: Renee -- I am Christian too and understand what you're talking about. I like to think when I dance I am celebrating the body God gave me. I was really cool to read your comment and thank you for posting it because it's the first time I actually hear from another woman just like me, it's good to feel I'm not alone.
-Claudia, NYC
04/07 -- I know this is a older topic, but I think it's a good topic and I
wanted to add my two cents. I think alot has to do with your church,
I used to go to a southern baptist church and ALL dancing was considered a "no no". However at the church I attend now I actually got to witness the use of bellydance used during a church event. It
was a recreation of Bethlehem, with what would of been sights, sounds,
smells, etc. They had a group with a couple of muscians and a girl dancing a belly dance type of dance. She was more modestly dressed as well as her movements were a bit tamer, but none the less, she was in
fact "bellydancing" So there a christian dancer, using her skills at church! Just thought I'd share. - Christina Castellaos
05/08: Thank God I found this message. After spending the day with many bellydancers and discovering I was the only Christian in the group, it was nice to look up Christian Bellydancers and find this message, even if it is quite old! I’m not only a bellydancer, but an instructor of bellydance. Until I began teaching, I was evidently so involved in my dance techniques, that it didn’t occur to me that so many people around me were pagan, wiccan, atheist, etc. It’s odd to find myself in this environment, and never thought of bellydance as a non-Christian thing to do. At any rate, I approach it as I do everything in my life…. I believe in God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and I believe that He loves to see His children enjoying the arts and beauty the He gave us---you are not the only Christian Bellydancer, and surely there are many that just haven’t responded to the post! -- Christie Hill
06/08 - I am a born again Christian and I bellydance to the best of what my knees let me
do. My husband recently became saved due to the ministering of Pentecostal men and so I had to leave my Baptist church to join him at the Pentecostal Church. When we became members, I told them right up front that I danced and was going to continue dancing. Do I wear revealing costumes?? Mercy No!! I'm 63 years old!! But I do on occasion wear one of those flesh colored belly girdles. It reduces the jiggles in the wrong places. I reconciled myself to the notion of dancing when I thought about the women in Jesus' time, who probably drummed out beats while they were washing clothes and other women would dance. I love the imagery of it. Praise God and dance on!!!! Do ALL to the glory of God!! -- Linda S.
|
TOPIC:
Christianity,
Spirituality,
and
Belly Dance.
|
| "Hi!
I have a historical question that's been bothering
me. In the Bible, the 150th Psalm describes the various instruments with wehich
we are called upon to praise God. One of those is listed as "high sounding cymbals."
Now keeping in mind the fact that the
Bible was written in the Middle East, musical instruments in that area so different
from those in the west, would those "high sounding cymbals" in fact be zills?
I have a pair of zills, as a wannabe belly dancer (for my gentleman friend's eyes
only), and I was wondering if I would have a Biblical basis for using them in
church. It has already been established
that the timbrel referred to in the same passage was a tambourine, and of course
the "loud cymbals" speak for themselves. But if you could help me find an answer
to my question, and give me the historical references you used in case there is
any question pro or con, I would greatly appreciate it." ---
Pamella Sarolle
REPLY:
I believe there are references in the bible to
cymbals (and gongs) and to the precursors of the finger cymbals, the 'sistrum,'
which served as an ancient instrument for the guy we might now label the 'Town
Crier.' There are probably books that have biblical references for items listed
in alphabetical order...if there's not, there SHOULD be! -- Marta |
TOPIC:
Zills in the Bible, high sounding cymbals?? |
| QUESTION: There's this friend
of mine who's been nagging me about this arabic movie, an old B&W arabic flick
that looks (mind you, with what I know of arabic, looks are pretty much all I
can tell you about) like some parody of a secret agent movie. From what I can
guess of the plot, a gang of thieves plots to steal a fortune in gems from the
safe-deposit box of a visiting Rajah. An honest guy is somehow sucked up into
the intrigue, but is dragooned into working with the thieves by the police who
hope to catch the theives in the act. That requires, however that the poor guy
steals the key himself. In the pivotal scene, our hero and this beautiful blonde
who's in the plot, barge into the suite of the visiting Rajah and put on a bellydance
& song act, secreting away the key while the King is distracted. The comic
irony is that the blonde is supposed to distract the king while our hero snatches
the key - but our hero (who wears a veil and a none-too-flattering dress) gets
more attention than his comelier co-conspirator. My boyfriend caught this movie
on his local arabic channel and knows nothing about the stars - especially the
one who played the dancer or the title of the movie. While I'd be happy to know
the star's name, my real quest is to find out the lyrics of the song they sing
as they dance. My guess is that they spell out their plans as they sing - it would
make sense if their audience were foreigners, they could sing out loud without
fear of capture. Anyway, any information you can think of would be appreciated.
I'm sure the movie is obscure, but it's worth a look - most of the time you've
got dancing in movies or on TV, the dancing is pretty substandard, but it's great
in that flick. - - Diana Berger |
TOPIC:
Arabic Movie with Belly Dancing. |
|
Hi, I love your site; it's very
informative! I'm 21 years old, and have
been bellydancing for several months. I had surgery to remove my colon almost
a year ago, and I now have a very big scar right down my middle. It's 8 inches
long -- starts above my navel and goes down to my pubic bone. I
love how dancing makes me feel. After months of being ill and depressed, dancing
makes me feel sensual and pretty again. And it's really helping me to get back
in shape. One of these days, I'd like to
try dancing professionally, but I'm afraid my scars would be distracting. Do I
have any options? Do you ever see dancers who are scarred up? Thanks,
Jamie
ANSWER:
Hi, Jamie. There are lots of costumes that have
a sheer material to cover the midsection for bellydancers who don't want to be
exposed. If you are self conscious, perhaps the right costuming would make you
feel more secure. Sincerely, Penny
| TOPIC:
Scars on the body. |
