A relaxing weekend

I finally had a relaxing weekend after what feels like months. No dinner plans at midnight, no family reunions, no commitments... Bliss! And it was sunny too!


I got the pattern and fabric for my first dressmaking project! I love, love, love this fabric and I think it's perfect for a belly dancing costume. I'm going to make the skirt only and if everything goes well, I'd make the top and a veil too. My class is tomorrow and we're going to learn how patterns work... which I'm really intrigued about, as I have no idea what to do with them.


We had friends over for dinner on Saturday. It was fun, it was relaxing and our wine had a yellow label (yes, I chose it for the label). Sorry, not the best photo, I've already had some of the contents when I took it.

And today, it was sunny and warm, so I spent the whole day in the garden, reading the Saturday Guardian (not the news, only The Review and the other supplements) and looking at magazines. We even had a picnic for lunch!

Of course this is only going to make it harder to go to work tomorrow...

Behind a veil

My belly dancing classes have started again after the Easter break!!! Shimmy, shimmy, shimmy! I'm taking two different classes this term, I'm still taking an improvers class on general dancing technique, and am also taking an intermediate (a big deal!) class on veil work. I really like dancing with a veil. Anything you do looks mysterious and sexy. And of course, the veil can help you cover those parts of the body that you're not supposed to be moving. Although that's not the point of it, of course, don't tell my teacher I said that!
I feel so much freer when I'm dancing with a veil. Belly dancing is not easy, you need to move muscles you probably didn't know you had, and in most cases, keep the rest of your body still (isolation is my teacher's favourite word). It's all too easy to concentrate on doing the movement right and forget about the music, or the feeling of the dance. Which is of course the most important, and most enjoyable part.
When I dance with a veil, I can forget about technique, I don't think about "getting it right". I just move around the room, floating, somehow my hands know what to do, they listen to the music, and this help the rest of my body to move accordingly. And if in doubt, I can always hide behind my veil. I love it!

Shimmy!

I did it! I performed as a bellydancer for the first time! All the students from the Improvers class had prepared a really nice choreography to Hayaati Milkik by Emad Sayyah (Listen to a preview here) and we showed it at the Hafla that the Oxford Middle Eastern Dance Society organized last Friday.
A Hafla is an Arabic dance party, where people dance, watch performances and get to know other bellydancers. I had already attended several but had never danced. We were all really, really nervous as, for most of us, it was our first performance. I was really shaky, but hopefully nobody noticed through my shimmies! The coreography was quite cheeky and a lot of fun, and I think people enjoyed it.
I'm really proud that I've finally done it, because I think performance is a big part of this dance. Bellydancing is a form of communication, and it's a very social dance. At the Hafla, you dance while you talk to others, and you move around the room with bellydancing travel steps, oh no! You should not walk! Although the origins of bellydancing are unknown, it's clear that it was always part of rituals and social ocassions, a way of interacting with others, and that's one of my favourite things about it.

Belly dancing

I haven’t done it in a while and I miss it. I must find the time. Because I LOVE belly dancing! It’s hard, and at times frustrating, but it’s beautiful and so, so worth it when your body finally gets that move (like the camel, difficult one!). Or when a song really inspires you and you find yourself just dancing to the rhythm, improvising without thinking, just dancing. Belly dancing.
I love telling people that I do it, as well, because most of the time I have to explain that belly dancing was traditionally a dance by women for women and men were not allowed to watch, despite what most believe in the Western world. So belly dancing has also been the door to learning and understanding about other cultures. But it’s mainly a way to make me happy.