I began belly dancing in my freshman year at college. I had no previous dance experience besides Irish Dancing when I was six. How could I move my body like that? Where do those muscles even come from? And by God, how was I going to perform in front of people without a shirt on?
But I learned and I practiced under the leadership of the Tribe of Saraswati. We were a Tribal Fusion belly dance team, meaning we practiced Western-influenced but still strongly Middle Eastern, Indian, and Roma in heritage. Quick apology to other belly dancers looking at this article and seeing mainly white women pictured: it's more diverse than the internet makes it out to be.
I moved my hips and my torso in ways that I'd never imagined. I'm also particularly clumsy, so dancing that focused on everything except the feet was perfect for me. I now have four years of experience belly dancing and can even teach others how to shimmy and undulate and belly roll until their hearts are content.
1. We are not strippers.
Image courtesy of Belly, Inc.
I hated it. Hated it when people would tell me that my dancing is provocative. While a lot of Western-style dancing doesn't show skin in the way belly dancing does, it's still an art form. Heck, I'd go as far as to say that Western-style dancing can be a bit tightly wound. But in order to see belly dancing, you have to look at a person's belly. Look at Rachel Brice up there. She's an artist, not a stripper. And by the way, since when was there something wrong with stripping?
2. Belly dancing is not for the feint of heart. Or belly.
Image courtesy of Imgur
Granted, I couldn't balance a sword on my head until about six months into my classes. For good reason, too, because you need mad balance to keep a heavy metal decorative sword on your head. And that balance ached. My belly burned. My arms hurt from being continuously up in the air and wiggling around like no one's business. It's not just remembering the steps and looking intense. It's moving your stomach, chest, and leg muscles at exactly the right time. Don't get into it unless you think that your belly can take it.
3. We love our shimmies and our jingles.
Image courtesy of SekhmetRedLioness Belly Dance
One of the basic moves in belly dancing is the shimmy. There are chest and hip shimmies with many ways to conduct your body. The purpose of a shimmy, not just to get in shape and show off your moves, is to make as much noise as possible. We wear coin belts, or "jingles," that vibrate together and create a chorus of metallic dancing energy you can experience only in a room full of shimmying belly dancers. It's secretly all of our favorite move because it's simple and it's fun.
4. We hate the basics. But we need them.
Image courtesy of Belly Dance Daily Drills
"It's been awhile." I see myself saying to the basics I learned many years ago in that intimidating gym studio. Things like hip circles, chest circles, segmenting and isolation seem like second nature to me now. But they were quite the pain in my side, both physically and metaphorically. We drilled, we slowed down our moves, and we were forced to list off the name of the move as our instructor forced us to practice them to quick-paced music. Now, I can layer different movements and follow improvised choreography like nobody's business. But we all had to start somewhere.
5. Preparing our dance ensembles is an art form within an art form.
Image courtesy of Belly Bolly Dance
I remember my first show in a whirlwind of jingles, loud dubstep music, a lot of metallic jewelry and sparkly bright makeup. We look for particular skirts, pants, bras, jewelry, and aesthetic pieces to guild our mystic choreography and smokey eyes. Of course, we put plenty of work into the choreography, but the performance was as much a show as it was an illusion of magical, flowing dance moves. Appreciate any dancer for their aesthetic as well as their dancing because they put a lot of work into both.
6. It's our tribe and our community.
Image courtesy of Belly, Inc.
Saraswati is the Hindu goddess of wisdom, learning, music, and aesthetics according to the Ancient History Encyclopedia. I found it quite fitting for the founders of the Tribe of Saraswati to name our organization after such a role model. Together, the Tribe of Saraswati worked through a very difficult art form with plenty of bitching and moaning in the process. But we all went through it and got to the point where we constantly complimented and critiqued each other on especially complicated moves. It was a struggle. There were some times when few belly dancers were regularly coming. But we continued the shows and our lessons to the point where many of us were experts in our craft. And of course, we always hooted and hollered at a show when a dancer did a move that they were particularly proud of.
7. There are men who belly dance.
Image courtesy of Belly Bolly Dance
And they are fabulous. We had numerous men who came to belly dance. They learned a lot, wore skirts and pants, jingled and felt more confident in their bodies. I've taught some male friends how to move in ways that loosened up their backs and legs in a fun and care-free environment. It often takes a lot of effort being a man in dancing, especially in belly dancing where it's already somewhat taboo for women. But it's empowering for men. It's also empowering for gender-nonconforming or trans folks who get to wear what they want and move their bodies freely. Plus, the jingles. Everybody loves the jingles.
8. It's totally worth it.
Image courtesy of Imgur
You have no idea how good it feels to belly dance until you've practiced enough to the point that you feel confident. I can shimmy, do belly rolls and chest circles at the same time. And when you learn how to belly dance, you'll know what I mean. It's empowering. It's life-changing. It's learning how to control your body and also have fun with it. You're in touch with your body and your inner self. It becomes part of your identity. For instance, my belly dance name is Adamina, meaning "of red earth." Coming from Colorado near Red Rocks, that seemed appropriate.
Find Clarkson Belly Dance and/or the Tribe of Saraswati's Facebook page here and their Youtube page here.
And of course, shimmy on.
