Bellydance Puts The Spice In Your Life ... by Joharah

For thousands of years, the art form of belly dancing has been based on emotional expression. Through this dance you can express everything you feel. From happiness, love, fear, and anger to passion, sadness, desire, and power. As belly dancers, we represent what we feel and experience in our daily life through our dance. And for students of BellyUp this is a great opportunity to unwind and often work through a lot of the personal issues we face as everyday women not to mention get the workout we need to stay in great shape. Today, we can’t seem to escape the effects of job loss, recession, and the prospect of more doom and gloom. So what better way to step out of the grey box than to step into the captivating, joyful environment that is BellyUpBellyDance ? At BellyUp you can’t help but feel the joy of dance the moment you step through the door. Students will often hear me say “now dance with your face” where I encourage women to show emotion through facial expression. Allowing the music to wash over you and move you is completely essential to relating to the culture of belly dance. For many of us we do not understand the Arabic lyrics of the magnificent Egyptian love songs we dance to. But there is no denying the allure of these passionate and powerful Egyptian melodies. It's been said that our lives are full of contrasts. We work as professionals and Moms. We juggle business plans and budgets along with soccer and ballet schedules. We maintain the house, then try and maintain ourselves. Similarly, belly dance is also based on contrasts. In fact the belly dancer moves like a Chameleon and can change her mood, gestures and expressions on a dime. One moment she’s soft, quiet and relaxed. The next moment she’s full of passion and vigor and moves with fiery hip shimmies, rolling of her shoulders and tossing of her hair to the point of exhaustion. One moment she’s beautiful, strong and as alluring as a tigress, the next moment coquettish, flirtatious and downright mischievous. This is the appeal of belly dance. The emotional range and fantastic grace of movement is what makes a woman feel beautiful. And one thing’s for sure…it certainly adds a much needed sense of spice to our lives. Some women have told me that learning to belly dance makes them feel as though they’re the life of the party … even when they’re dancing in their kitchen by themselves. The magic of belly dance certainly lies in how beautiful it makes us feel to move in this way. It is a completely unique expression of the joy of being alive and for those of us going through challenging times, feeling the joy of life again can often give us the strength we need to pursue and feel positive again. So next time you’re faced with one of life’s curve balls that seem to be coming our way a lot lately, take stock of your life and make time for yourself, just to dance. Because in a world as volatile and uncertain as ours, we can’t afford NOT to dance! http://www.bellyup.ca/