Bellydance in the Middle East

So last night was my special small group bellydance class and traditional middle eastern dinner at my instructors house. I was really looking forward to it. I'd never been to my instructors house before, so I didn't know what to expect. She and her husband have a duplex and they live on the first floor, her studio is on the second floor. And it. is. AMAZING!! I felt like I was actually in a middle eastern house. She had such beautiful things- rugs, tapestries, paintings, scarves, potteries, silver, she had so many of her absolutely GORGEOUS bellydance costumes and veils on display... it was beyond description.

The food was absolutely delicious, as well. Surprisingly, though I come from Pennsylvania Dutch country (notorious for bland, meat and potato type people who eat the same bland foods and do NOT like variety) I love to try new foods, and usually end up really enjoying them. My sisters, especially my older sister, is the same way. Everything was vegan, so no animal products whatsoever.... but we still had a delicious selection. We had various types of hummus (the black bean hummus was my personal fave) these delicous dates with coconuts, pita, tabouli (made by yours truly, with great reviews, yes! ;) kachuri (I'm sure I'm spelling it wrong but it's my FAVORITE type of Indian food ever) peach mango salso with guacamole chips, grapes and other fruits... the list went on. Najia (my instructor) also had a variety of middle eastern teas, some she brewed expressly herself. They were delicious.

Upon arriving, we actually had more of the middle eastern appetizers and teas, while chatting and getting to know each other (Najia has many different classes in different areas and these small private parties are open to everyone from these classes, so I didn't know many of the women there). There were ten of us altogether, including Najia. We all gave personal input on things we'd like to practice and learn more about.... we wanted to go over the chest shimmy (one of the hardest moves for me) various shimmies and figure eights, belly rolls and vibrations (this is so much harder than it looks!!) and veil work. We worked for about two hours, and I'm pleased to say that I had a HUGE breakthrough in my bellyrolls! It takes so much control with not only your breathing but actually isolating and controlling the actual ab muscle you want to move. I think it helped that I was a singer for so many years.... you learn to really use your diaphragm as a singer, which greatly helps for bellyrolls. Bellyrolls are also hard for women because you're doing the exact opposite you normally do in real life- women are also holding their stomachs in to appear thinner! So it's weird to just let it all go. :)

We ended with veil work, which, like everything in bellydance, appears easy, effortless, and graceful, when in reality, it can be pretty hard. We learned veil exchanges, which I really liked. After the veil work, we enjoyed the middle eastern dinner, and Gretchen performed in costume for us (Gretchen is a student of Najia's who's been studying bellydance for 3.5 years.... she's really good! And her yellow sparkly costume looked so gorgeous on her). Then Najia performed for us, using veil and sword as props.... Najia is so talented, she can dance while balancing a sword on her head, keeping it there as she slowly dances down into a split! Wow! I've also seen her do that move while balancing a HUGE serving plate of LIT CANDLES on her head! It is so amazing to see. And then.... I was asked/prodded to try an improv veil dance! So I tried it... it wasn't that fabulous, but it wasn't that bad either! Not bad for never really hearing the music before, and still being pretty new to bellydance. I was glad to do it though. It was great to get feedback from the other women there.

At the very end, we "shopped" through some of Najia's things she has for us to buy, and I bought a gorgeous new hip scarf. I only had one black one that isn't that great, so I could use a new one. This one is a shimmery aqua color with royal blue and gold bangles on it. It's so pretty and makes up my favorite colors, so that's why it caught my eye. :)

Overall, the night lasted four hours which seemed to fly by. I had such a great time and can't wait to do it again. I'm so glad I ended up picking Najia's bellydance class for Main Line School Night.... it's been so great and I'm loving every minute of it! Who knew that what I thought would just be a fun thing to do for four weeks whould end up being my new hobby? :)

Click on this link to see a picture of my instructor, Najia, in one of her beautiful bellydance costumes with the tray of candles on her head! http://s95204971.onlinehome.us/najia/index.htm