Belly dancing

One of the things that really makes me feel happy and so alive, is dancing. I love to dance in my room, when cleaning, and when out clubbing! I guess part of the reason why it feel so good is because dancing is a form of exercise, so some of the feel good chemicals (endorphins) are released when you dance!

I remember when I was a child watching the old 50s and 60s films of the ancient world, such as Alexandra the Great and Cleopatra. Not only did I love the great stories and adventures and bravery of the people, I really loved the belly dancing and the beautiful costumes as well (figure 1); it looked like so much fun! I used to dress up as a Greek princess using sheets, table clothes and scarves, and really wanted the extra long hair as well, so I used to tie a long cloth around my head pretending that I had long hair like the princesses in the films! I have really curly hair so I doubt it could ever get that long, unless I straitened it!

Figure 1. Belly dancing costume. Source: http://inessabellydance.com/

The belly dance is "a solo dance performed by a woman and characterized by sinuous hip and abdominal movements" (TheFreeDictionary.com).

Constant themes of belly dancing are:

"The Dance that Celebrates Life, Birth and Creativity!
The Dance that Celebrates Women!
The Dance that Celebrates Beauty!
The Dance that Celebrates the Body!" (learn to belly dance.com).

Belly dancing, first developed in the middle east, has become very popular all over the world and many countries have their own styles such as Greek, Turkish, Lebanese and Indian. Some popular artists, such as shakira, include belly dancing in their dance routines. There is the more traditional type of belly dancing, that is more sensual, and there is a type of modern belly dancing, as seen in hip hop videos, that is very sexual! There is also a type of gothic belly dancing.

Regular belly dancing also brings several health benefits which include: strengthening and toning of the whole body, especially the abdominals, preparing women for child birth, providing a good aerobic workout, and improving body image and self esteem. Belly dancing is suitable for all ages.

There are many belly dancing courses held throughout the UK; so if you fancy going on one you can find one here: http://www.hotcourses.com/. I can't wait to get started!

Here are a few belly dancing videos that I like:

Athena Najat on Greek TV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY_cTitJ23M

Isis wings belly dance performance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGMQJfFP1o4

Tamra Henna my music intro full version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVJJiIu1A_E&mode=related&search=

Links

Belly Dancing, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belly_dancing

Belly dance, Answers.com
http://www.answers.com/topic/belly-dance

Learn to belly dance.com
http://www.learn-to-belly-dance.com/styles.html

Yasmina's Joy of Belly Dancing
http://www.joyofbellydancing.com/index.htm

Belly dancing costumes:
http://inessabellydance.com/