We Are Belly Dancing Our Way To Freedom

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When I turned fifty, I went to my first official Belly Dance class. I had some classes before, but nothing like this one. My teacher, she was remarkable. I wonderful dancer and an amazing teacher, which was essential to me, having alot experience teaching art. I had also been a performer, so I knew what I was looking for and I found it!There are endless things I could say in praise of this wonderful art form, but I would like to share with you what developed as a result of me learning as much as I could, about Mediterranean Dance;( Raks Sharqi and Tribal Belly Dance). I became confident enough after working hard to learn the basics to teach a beginners class, which I offered the women in our very small community. Our classes were held in the local village hall. Who would have ever imagined this could happen in a remote coastal village, with a small population of 60, made up of fishermen, woodsmen and very Maritime women, with some very exceptional individuals, skills and talents. The whole experience was great amazing fun and I almost felt we were doing something clandestine, during those warm summer evenings in the hall, but what we were really doing, besides having so much fun, was making history! One evening after class, I was invited to visit with one of my students, one of those exceptional women, I earlier referred to. We had many enjoyable and stimulating discussions in the past, her and I, but tonight, the topic was about women, in a man' world, doing "men's work", and women working with men. Both of us had alot experience with this; me as a welder, her a fisherwoman, with her Captain's liscense and she'd also worked at INCO along side of the men doing the same jobs. We are both from the same cloth my friend and I. We both have lived by the seat of our pants and don't take horse crap, from what I like to call, knuckle draggin' neanderthals! Don't misunderstand me, please, I love and appreciate men very much, I just don't like their behaviour alot of the time. That said, Belly Dance is a very empowering art. It is such an inclusive dance, regardless of what you look like, your age, or your size. We celebrate who we are, as women, ourselves, and each other, as we are, and because of who we are. I hope and like to believe in my own humble way, I made a difference in my little community, to help change some of the attitudes that keep both women and men confined to that rigid gender definition. We shook up things for a while, belly dancing our way to freedom, shake off thoses chains, liberating who we are, just the way we are, bellies and all!