It's All the Same to Me!!! :)

Everybody knows that pictures can say 1000 words.  Here are some that say, perhaps, even more than that!!! :)

 

Middles Eastern Dance is a sport just like running or swimming.  I find it interesting that we as people see an individual wearing nothing more than a small piece of cloth, accept, and then dismiss this apparel as "normal", for it is simply their athletic attire.  Don't get me wrong, I too see nothing wrong with these pictures, because as an athlete, I understand that certain clothing, or lack thereof, is important in being successful in certain sports.  

Everybody gets excited about the Olympics, but if we think about it from a slightly different perspective, it is a time when we spend hours staring at people who are wearing very little.  Every sport has a uniform that best protects or benefits the individual participating.  I grew up playing soccer, a sport that required extra equipment in order to help protect the players.  This is very different apparel than those who participate in gymnastics, who need to wear minimal and tight fitting clothing that does not get caught during the procession of their various routines.  What you wear while participation in a sport is extremely important.

One of those sports is belly dancing!  Since most of the dance is centered around the lower abdomen, torso or hips (where the center of gravity usually lies in females), it is important for the individual dancing to wear attire that suits the various moments of the dance.  For me personally, I notice a HUGE difference between going to my dance class in a tank top, and practicing at home in a sports bra.  When the stomach is un-covered, I can see the movements clearly which helps me to learn the dance easier and more correctly.  Also, I can see my abdominal muscles working, an aspect of this sport that I find fascinating. ;)  When the dancer is aware of her own movements, it is easier to produce a dance that is fluid and beautiful.

Doing belly dance in gear that covers the stomach is like riding a bike while wearing a snowsuit.  It is possible, but it certainly does not make the task at hand very simple.  In this type of dance, the exposure of the "belly" is what makes the various movements flow, making the dancer/athlete successful in her dance!!!

Workin' da ZILLS!!! 哦 Yeah!!!

Check out my Zills, yo!

To Zill, or not to Zill...that is the question!!!!

Unlike the other belly dancing props, the zills are an instrument as well as a prop.  My love for music naturally drew me in, and though the veil part may be easier, as well as more graceful and beautiful, the thought of spinning on stage in front of a bunch of people when I'm nervous, does not appeal to me in the slightest ;)

Last week was the first time my class practiced both parts together.  My very own zills!!!  I left my dance class with a smile on my face, a skip in my walk, and a glisten in my eyes.  I felt like my heart was going to burst from excitement.  I was giddy...like a little kid on the night before Christmas.  It was a difficult, but glorious experience learning how to play a rhythm with the zills and dance at the same time.  I am far from mastering the zills, but playing them, for me, is a ray of sunshine, and a breath of fresh air!!!

Of All Things…WHY Belly Dancing???

And this...this is my Hip Scarf!!!

Belly dancing, it's random, I know!!!

I grew up in an extremely athletic family.  It's in our name, you know...WILSON!!!  I played soccer, volleyball, Frisbee, basketball, softball, baseball, etc...pretty much ANY and ALL sports became the love of my life.  With such an upbringing one might wonder how on earth I got into belly dancing.  Me, this clumsy little Mormon girl whose first and last dance class was at the age of 5...(it was a ballet class:)  Since then, any word associated with femininity, such as: graceful, elegant, flexible... has been far from any adjective people would choose to describe me.  At the age of 12 I decided I would participate in a gymnastics class.  Ha, I realized quickly that I was not cut out for that sort of thing as I not only out-aged everybody in the class by at least 2 years, but might I also mention that I do recall "bragging" about being the tallest one in the class when we were doing the splits ;)  I'm sure you now have this rather interesting mental image of an extremely inflexible, uncoordinated female attempting to belly dance.  I will admit that this new found passion of mine came as a surprise to me as well!

Why Belly dancing???

Well, one of my previous roommates started taking belly dancing classes about two years ago, and while visiting her this April, I decided to ask her to teach me a dance move.  I thought it looked SOOO cool when she would show me random moves she knew.  I spent the next 10-15 minutes looking at myself in the mirror becoming quite frustrated that I could not come anywhere close to imitating the move she was trying to teach me.  I looked like a 90 year old trying to do the hokey poky.  It was an embarrassing and pitiful sight and I ended up being rather annoyed with myself for the next hour or so.  Three months later, I attended the first day of my belly dancing class.   I was bound and determined to learn how to do that one move my roommate had tried teaching me those three months before.  That first class was difficult.  I spent the entire time starring at myself in the mirror...forehead scrunched, eyebrows furrowed, occasional sighs of frustration, but I refused to give up that easily.  By week four I found myself laughing at my various mistakes, stiff limbs, and multiple moments of confusion made evident through my oh so frequent blank stares.  The last three sessions of that class were glorious, and for the entire hour I had a gigantic grin plastered on my face.  I was nowhere near mastering fluidity or grace, but I had found a new love, and I couldn't have been happier!!!

Just, you know, practicing in my apartment!!!