Atéa’s Belly Dance Blog

All people hold certain beliefs that influence virtually all of their actions.  These beliefs can be viewed as positive or negative.  For example, a positive set of beliefs could look like this:

1)    The world is a better place when all people have compassion for others as well as for themselves.

2)    It’s best when I create win-win situations in life (I win and so do other people).

3)    To grow as an individual, I only need to compete with myself.

4)    I don’t need other people to lose out to me in order for me to feel good about myself.

A negative set of beliefs looks like this:

1)  It’s a dog eat dog world and I look out only for myself because no one else will.

2)  To win at life, others have to lose out to me; the more they lose to me the better.

3)  I must compete with others, and win over them, to be a success in life.

4)  I must be better than every one else in order to feel good about myself.

If the majority of people in this world hold to a negative belief paradigm, we will almost certainly have a dog-eat-dog world.  Their belief systems will help create and maintain a harsh environment for themselves and all of us.  In the belly dance world, I see this mentality in dancers who are hyper-competitive and back stabbing.  Although this mind-set may deliver short-term benefits to the holder, it just creates a climate of stress and resentment all around.  Really, in the end, nobody wins any lasting peace or happiness with this mind-set and the quality of life is diminished for everyone involved.

However, when most people hold a positive view, we help create the kind of community that nurtures and sustains all of us.  I do believe that the vast majority of people are born with good hearts and intentions.  In our belly dance community, these positive people are the ones that give with their hearts, supporting others as well as themselves.  They make everyone feel valued,  keeping our dance scene harmonious, vibrant, and alive.

Whether we’re talking about our belly dance community, local community, or the global community, each individual plays a vital role.  We can choose to believe that people are inherently bad (hyper-competitive and selfish) or good (cooperative and nurturing).  Our choice in beliefs will show in everything we say and do.  That will be our contribution, positive or negative, to our belly dance community and our world at large.

Throughout the years I’ve seen different groups of people claim ‘ownership’ of bellydance.  Usually based on their ethnic or national origin, they claim bellydancing was invented by their ancestors and therefore bellydance is ‘their’ dance and belongs to no one else.  They consider their style of bellydance as the only authentic expression of the art and consider themselves as the ultimate arbitrators on how it should be performed.

Ironically, I’ve seen people from particular ethnic or national groups claim that bellydancing originated in their country, yet other people from the same country vehemently deny it.  The denials usually come from conservative religious factions that want no part of bellydance.  The ones that claim bellydance as theirs alone are often more secular and usually are making money from the dance (performing, selling belly dance supplies, arranging dance tours, etc.)

We may never know where bellydance first originated and it’s possible that it may have originated in more than one location. The impulse to move to music in a natural, harmonious, and beautiful manner is universal and not limited to any particular race or geographical area.  The Near and Middle East have preserved the belly dance movement vocabulary and philosophy throughout recent history, but we can’t discount influences from other earlier cultures.  (see ‘What is Bellydance’: http://www.bellydancingvideo.com/what-is-belly-dance.htm).

Who can claim ownership to ancient and fundamental modes of movement?  For all those who are drawn to the art that is bellydance, they are drawn to concepts that have transcended eons of time and national boundaries.  While giving credit to the wonderful cultures and individuals who have practiced and preserved bellydance, it’s doubtful that any one ‘owns’ this dance.  As we each participate in it, we become part of the dance itself and are the current links in its’ long and vibrant history (see ‘The Goddess is Dancing’: http://www.bellydancingvideo.com/goddess-is-dancing.htm).  Perhaps bellydance isn’t owned by any individual or group, but it is bellydance that ‘owns’ all of us who love it!

There’s no doubt about the benefits of meditation.  Study after study tells us that meditating on a regular basis profoundly improves our health physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  Whether you wish to reduce your stress levels, have more energy and vitality, enhance your creativity, or just to quiet the chatter of your mind to gain mental clarity, meditating is one of your simplest and cost-free methods.

The goal of meditation is to quiet your thoughts so that your mind can achieve a heightened level of peaceful awareness resulting in improved brain wave activity. There’re many different ways to meditate and everyone is different as to which approach works best.  Some meditation methods involve sitting quietly while others, such as Tai Chi, involve motion.  In most cases, the key to experiencing peaceful awareness is through gently focusing your attention on something, whether it is a mantra, measured breathing, music, or body movement.

Bellydancing can be a wonderful form of meditation, if you’re an experienced bellydancer.  To quiet your mind through bellydance, your belly dance movements must be automatic so that you can simply focus your attention on the music.  Using slow tempos and gentle, circular movements generally gives the best results.  You can create a blissful and relaxed state that makes you receptive to inspiration from your spirit and sub-conscious mind.

Achieving a meditative state through bellydance is usually not possible for beginning dancers – if you have to think about how to do your belly dance moves, there’s too much going on in your head and you can’t reach a meditative level.  However, once you’ve mastered belly dance moves, you can do them automatically without thinking about the mechanics involved and that’s when you can just focus your mind on the music and flow effortlessly to it.

Bellydance is good for the mind, body, and spirit.  That you can combine its physical and emotional benefits with a meditative awareness make bellydance a uniquely moving experience in so many ways.

Thinking about becoming a professional bellydancer?  It can be a very fulfilling career, but be prepared to work hard!  Like other entertainers or artists in the U.S., most bellydancers don’t achieve ‘superstar’ status, but instead they do it for the love of their art.

In bellydancing even the top ‘superstars’ don’t make that much money on a consistent basis by just performing.  To make ends meet, they also have to run dance studios, maintain web sites, teach workshops (often having to travel quite a bit), sell dance supplies, and produce shows.  There’re no traditional benefits like paid sick leave, medical insurance, paid vacations, and pensions.  For entertainers there’s also the added pressure of having performance careers cut short because of ageism or body image issues. On top of all of that, in some conservative areas bellydancing and bellydancers are still not considered respectable.  It can be very challenging!

However, it’s a wonderful blessing to make money doing something that you enjoy so much and to be able to share it with like-minded people.  It’s an honest living where you can make many life-long friends and have interesting and exciting experiences.  Additionally, all the dancing that you practice does so much to keep you happy, healthy, and youthful.

If you’re considering a belly dance career, take time to carefully research all the pros and cons.  If you decide to go for it, it may be the hardest job you’ll ever love, but you probably won’t regret it.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of bellydancing is the costuming.  While it’s true that you can bellydance wearing everyday clothing or exercise gear, half the fun is dressing up in the belly dance costume style of your choice (see: http://www.bellydancingvideo.com/first-costume.htm).  Most bellydancers lovingly put together their costumes, either by making the costumes themselves, or purchasing them.  Either way, usually a lot of thought goes into the choice of style, color, jewelry, and fit.

Once a bellydancer completes her costume, she dances in it for a while and then may eventually sell it or give it away.  However, most bellydancers have favorite costumes that mean a lot to them and these are the ones that they keep.  These are the costumes that make a dancer feel especially attractive, glamorous, and exotic.   Just looking at them can bring back memories of the wonderful experiences she has had dancing in them.  They are a beautiful reminder of her participation in this ancient and artistic tradition.

Therefore it shouldn’t have been a surprise to me, when on a number of occasions, I contacted retired bellydancers about selling their costumes and was turned down flat.

This has occurred when students or friends have asked me to inquire about purchasing used costumes for them, especially the fabulous metal belts and accessories from Cost Less Imports*. I have contacted bellydancers that I knew were no longer active in the dance.  There were even occasions when I talked to elderly dancers who informed me that they were sick with terminal illnesses.  None of them could bear to part with their belly dance treasures!

I’ve discussed this issue with other bellydancers and they all express the same sentiment.  Whether they are dancing or not, they don’t want to part with their favorite belly dance costumes.  Some wish to pass them on to their family or friends, but mostly they want to hang on to this special part of their life and what it represents.  I understand it perfectly – no matter how old or infirm I may become, just looking at my belly dance costumes will always bring a smile to my lips and a wiggle to my hips.

* (Starting in the 1960’s, Cost Less Imports made hand crafted metal belly dance belts and accessories made of authentic coins, Swarovski crystals, mirrors, and semi-precious stones.  They are no longer making these items, so if you want any, you have to pay a premium for the few they have left in stock at www.costlesscostumes.com, or find used ones.)