Susan Senator

I know I’m being so boring but I just have to write some more about dancing! I put on the full gold cossie tonight, hair in a high ponytail wrapped with a gold sparkly tiny turban, and a slave bracelet on my ankle, which looked fabulous and sounded jingly. I took out my longest veil, the very first one I ever bought, the pale pink chiffon. I must get more veils, my colors are hurtin’! I need the veils anyway for the after school kiddo belly dance class I’m teaching at Beastie’s school. Plus I will use the veils as decor for my birthday party.

I started with a bunch of Greek tunes from a CD M & D bought me, lots of jangly guitars, traditional lovely high-spirited stuff. Perfect for what I wanted to do, which was master the barrel turns! I did the turns with the veil in back and then in front, with a long mirror leaning against the living room bookcase. I was so excited about how great it looked that I called Ned in to watch. He loved it, too. I could really do it and by the end of the half hour I was no longer getting dizzy because I figured out exactly how to spot.

I am always amazed at how much my ballet training is used in bellydance. This new teacher likes us to do everything elevated, in rélevé (on the toes), which is very Egyptian. What I do is picture the hieroglyphic drawings, of the women in long straight gold skirts, hands bent artfully at angles, taking little steps. That is the spirit of this dance, with a lot of coquetry thrown in (lift the hair off the neck, or put your hand to your forehead, that kind of thing). I did throwing the veil down, throwing it up with one snake arm (shoulder, elbow, wrist, knuckle, fingertip), and you watch your hand with great interest. My audience goes crazy every time (it’s only me).

I’m just immersed in this Egyptian thing. I don’t know if it’s because it is all intrinsically beautiful or if it’s a little bit of forbidden fruit (Egypt vs. Israel), but that’s probably kind of bullshit. I think it’s mostly that I love that I’m doing this dance that is very close to ballet in discipline and form (on the toes, arms rounded but graceful, core straight up) but — the costumes are even more beautiful and the dance moves are far sexier!!! And you don’t have to be rail-thin, cause God knows, I ain’t. You have to love it, feel it, and then you are simply beautiful because you are it.