rust never sleeps...

   Performing brings a dancer so many challenges to overcome: bad bosses, crappy performance spaces, listless audiences, costume malfunctions, the list goes on and on. Aging brings even more challenges to dancers who find themselves using equipment that's disintegrating. That sounds horrible but that's the reality of our material bodies.
   Adrenaline usually takes care of most aches and pains during a performance, but the same can't be said about rehearsing - that's where you usually feel it. Winter weather really brings out the aches and pains too, especially if you have arthritis as I do, so I find myself skimming through my own dance practise at times, or else I'll be too sore for teaching. I know my moves aren't the same when I'm trying to "not hurt", for instance I give my performance on New Year's Eve a rating of 7 on a scale of 1 - 10. The moves could've been bigger, but I was trying not to hurt. At least I'm out there dancing at age 57. I'm happy that I feel able to not only disclose my age now (something I wouldn't do while dancing in restaurants), but celebrate it. You don't get 20+ years of experience by magic, you get it by aging - so let's hear it for growing older!

"I'm 50 and I like to KICK!"* (Actually I'm almost 58)

This is where bellydance is certainly different from most other dance forms. You won't see any older ballerinas performing - but in bellydancing, we keep going.
And I know that if I DIDN'T keep bellydancing, it would be even worse for my body. When I feel the accumulated aches and pains of my dance career, that thought keeps me going. As the saying goes, "rust never sleeps". Besides, there's a certain powerful feeling you get from just "being real", isn't there? Instead of inwardly knowing you're being a fake - after all, so much of performing is "acting". I find it rather refreshing to represent the reality of aging instead of pretending nothing's changed. Let's dance!


*Sally O'Malley (thanks Molly Shannon! See Sally Kick!)

  Anthea / Kawakib
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Concrete - not a dancer's friend

   Our latest show was for the local college, the University of Mary Washington. They have a wonderful focus on the arts and on Multiculturalism, producing a Fair each year with vendors, food, entertainment, and other activities. When the weather's nice enough the Fair is held outside on the beautiful campus. What that means for us is dancing on concrete - cement.
   I was really happy to do a lot of dancing in this show though, including in two of our more energetic routines, the Tambourine Dance, and the 9/8 Skirt Dance. Both these numbers are inspired by Dalia Carella's Dunyavi Gypsy style and add a lot of flash to our shows. Check out the photo of me doing a hopping turn - that's something you won't see me do very often!

A hopping, skirt-flaring turn!

   PRISM is a real melting pot of influences in the Middle Eastern dance department. We included a few Egyptian numbers too - one dance inspired by the Reda Troupe in their heyday, when Farida Fahmy was their principal dancer; as well as a classic Raks Sharki drum solo; and I also did my modern Egyptian pop number, "Layali" (radio edit), sung by Angham. My dancers love their basket dance so we threw that one in too, as it represents North African dancing. We finished with a short set of American Tribal Odyssey bellydancing (follow the leader) with finger cymbals and veils.
   It was quite a fast-paced show, with high group participation in many of the numbers and very little emceeing on my part so we had to keep costume changes to a minimum. Some shows are like that! After all that dancing on cement though, it took my body several days to recover - I'm glad I have an inversion table to get the kinks out! Other than that, it was super fun!

We like to squeeze together even when there's plenty of room!

   The university's James Farmer Multicultural Center is a great asset to the community. I'm thrilled and honored to have been a part of their activities (this was the seventh year PRISM danced at the Fair, I think), and so grateful my dancers are dedicated and reliable. I really enjoy them - they're not divas or show-offs; they bring a great spirit and energy to our shows, and seem to sincerely wish to simply share the beauty of belly dance with others. -hugs-

Anthea / Kawakib
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(gasp) OUCH (gasp) No, really, I'm okay!

Teaching bellydance classes last night went fine even though I couldn't really take a deep breath because of my rib injury (see previous post about my fall off a horse)... but at least I'd remembered about my left-over pain meds from my hip surgery and thus felt pretty good! So more of that will be happening tonight with my two beginner classes!

And October is going to be busy - I decided to load up my calendar with an in-house student workshop, as well as solo performances at a couple of nearby shows, and local marketing demos. It's like getting back in the saddle, bellydance-wise. But I feel up to it, and the discrepancy in strength between one hip and the other is diminishing, though I still notice it in certain moves like shimmies and sharp moves. Maybe I only notice it because I'm looking - but I know if *I* am looking, others will be too. And that's fine because I consider myself a source of inspiration for Aging Bellydancers, which pretty much covers them all!
...and now off to get ready to teach!
by Anthea (Kawakib)