Today I learned to yip and zaghareet, or emit a close enough approximation.
My meditation group leaders, Sheila and Gerry, organized an afternoon of belly dancing to raise money for the Centre for Seniors, whose United Way funding was cut this year. Sylvain and I bought tickets.
This was my first time to see live belly dancing, and it was SO inspiring. The dancers were as young as ten and as old as…well, I didn’t ask, but well past retirement age. The women ranged in size from under 5′ to 6′ tall. And oh, the bodies! In an age when I know of too many women who spend way too much of their time and energy fretting over the pounds they supposedly need to lose, it was like a breath of fresh air to see Rubenesque women up there celebrating their femininity and bodacious curves. It is clear to me that when you love your body and carry yourself in a way that says I AM BEAUTIFUL, your beauty shines so brightly that all the brainwashing we are all submitted to in this culture doesn’t have a chance. It simply falls away.
Equally, when you carry yourself in a way that says I am ashamed of this body, you are telling the world how to see you.
Seeing silver-haired women up there jiggling their stuff and dancing way longer than I ever could (without stopping three times to catch my breath and ask for a sip of water) gave me something to think about. Don’t I want to be able to dance like that when I’m 65? Then I’d better start now. In the end, I felt so proud of them for doing what they love, for baring their beautiful bodies, for being bold and confident. Yip!
Here are just a very few of the troupes / dancers who performed:
Victoria and the Enchanted Dancers
Oh, and Gerry’s Tai Chi class did an awesome job with the 32 Sword Form, too!
Kelly, my 19-year-old daughter took a belly-dancing class during her first year away at college, and she loved it.
It was easy to see that her involvement had boosted her self-esteem and confidence. I have to admit it would not have been my first thought when considering a self-improvement hobby, but you nailed it in this post: the liberating joy of movement and celebration of what one can do with one’s body–and *any* body can provoke and experience that joy, not just the so-called perfect ones– is exactly the kind of thing we are here to do.
Thanks for sharing this!
kelly, this sounds like such fun and loved reading your reflections. acceptance of ourselves the way we are…so hard sometimes.
I’m going to go jiggle my old body and grow my spirit!!! Love this post! Hazah!!!!
Oh my. Gorgeous!! Yes! Yes! Yes!
We have a lady who comes in the summer to Bondi Resort, and offers a choice of a) head/neck/back massage; b) tarot card readings or c) belly dancing classes.
Next time you’re here, I’ll sign you up ;)
Oh, that massage sounds pretty good, too! Kelly
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