Lola gets. And Lola wants to dance! I must be getting pretty serious about belly dancing because I did it again! I performed with some of the same advanced beginners as last time and my instructor, Andalee, choreographed the cutest little dance to the sexy little song, Whatever Lola Wants by Natacha Atlas.
Photo courtesy of DC Dance Photography
Instead of performing at a semi-private hafla like our debut, this time we performed in public at a bar during an event called Undulation Nouveau, which I like to describe as an open-mic night but for belly dancers. At the hafla, our audience consisted of close friends and family to our fellow belly dancers but this event was open to the public so we danced in front of strangers. I was so nervous the entire time I was dancing that my mouth got really dry and I had no choice but to smile because my mouth wasn’t producing any saliva to allow my lips to move over my teeth. TMI, but seriously, I was nervous!
Photo courtesy of DC Dance Photography
We didn’t have as much time to learn this dance but I think we did really well. Check it out and tell me what you think:
bellydance
I guess it’s kind of official: I’m a belly dancer!
I’ve taken beginner classes in the past. My studies began around 2009 when two friends and I took three classes and learned some of the most basic moves. Not long after that, another friend and I took a 14-week class and learned even more moves. I had a lot of fun and thought I was pretty decent at it but I didn’t pick it up again until this year. The same teacher, Andalee, held an advanced beginners class where we learned how to perfect some of the same moves we learned in the beginners class and then how to dance them in a choreographed performance. And on Saturday, I had my first performance. So that pretty much makes me legit, right?
©Melissa Richard photography
The origins behind belly dancing aren’t known for sure. My favorite explanation – that I first heard in a short segment on tv featuring belly dance several years ago that I can’t seem to find now – is that it was created for women by women to prepare their bodies for childbirth. Movements in the belly represented the movement of the fetus in the womb, the movements of the chest and shoulders representing breastfeeding, etc. Pretty cool, huh?
Andalee and her advanced beginners!
Anyway, we performed at my teacher’s student hafla (which is Arabic for party, get-together, or celebration) to a crowd of about 100 performers and their friends and families. I was so nervous but it was a lot of fun. I’m not a stranger to performing as I’ve done plenty of community theater, and, if you can believe it, it wasn’t the first time I’d ever performed a choreographed dance (I entered a talent show in elementary school where 3 other girls, one boy, and I made up a dance and performed it to a song called Romeo by Dolly Parton and the achy-breaky heart king himself, Billy Ray Cyrus – true story, it’s actually on VHS somewhere) BUT it was the first time I have ever belly danced in front of other people. A new class starts in a few weeks so I think I might continue… and maybe I’ll do it all again!
P.S. This is the third new thing for my New Year’s resolution!
Hi, I’m Nikki. This is where I blog about my life and personal style. I’m a wife and mom, public health professional, sushi lover, wine enthusiast, and coffee snob. Welcome to my little corner of the world where I try to lead by example!
