Susan Senator

This blawg post (that’s Bostonian for “blog post”) is going to be about belly dance — for a change! (HAH!) So if you came just for the autism, you might want to skip this one, but it’s all me, and I gotta just sing about what’s in my heart right now.

Last night I watched my new DVD, which is The Heartbeat of Bellydance: Rhythm and Bellydance Combinations for Drum Solos, with Jenna and Raquy. This one is just loaded with instruction, so it is perfect for me at the moment, because it is all about demystifying the drum solo. In addition to teaching three different types of drum solos, the DVD also teaches shimmies. So now I know how to shimmy while doing all different sorts of movements: undulations, reverse undulations, hip circles, hip slides; so it kind of looks like you are making tiny jackhammer movements while making another move.

So I put on a black bikini top and loaded it up with beautiful shiny trimmings that Ned had bought me for Chanukah, as well as a big rhinestone brooch that had belonged to my Grandma, and the ruby red petal skirt, and a black lace shawl tied around my hips (that Ned had bought me from Frederick’s of Hollywood, a great resource for inexpensive belly dance accoutrements, plus the articles are good, too…). This color combination, red and black, was exactly perfect for my mood: intense, focused, astoundingly energetic and happy.

I did the drum solo for Ned and I did it perfectly. It was fun dancing in the skirt, just like Jenna on the video. I was happy to see that she is built a little like me, although she is younger and her belly is just a bit tighter. But I’m getting there (the tighter, not the younger part). Then I practiced the shimmies + isolations and I did a bunch of them just right! I now understand one particular movement I’ve been observing in performances, and I know how to do it now.

Just now I showed Ned. I did a hip pop, hip circle, hip slide + basic shimmy + shoulder rolls. Three different speeds, three different things at once. Four, if you count my smile.