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Gazing Bellydance Magazine:
Sample Articles
Belly Dance: A Way to Goddess,Gaia,Hathor
"All acts of love and pleasure are my rituals." Classical
belly dance is both love and pleasure, even if danced alone.
I was raised in a Christian family, and when I reached the age of
choice, I turned away; I had no other spiritual structure, but I
felt relief at the lack of strictures. In two years, I discovered
belly dance; I like the mystery ("How does she do that?"),
the colour and exoticism, and the glitter.
That was twenty years ago. I am studying without traveling to the
Middle East: dancing, the complicated history, customs of various
countries. I have also learned that the presentation of the dance
will change according to the mores of the the various cultures.
And because the dance is alive, it grows and changes; I will never
be finished learning.
The base of this dance is in the body, expressing what the music
dictates.
Take the undulation... a slow rippling sound evokes it... the ripple
of body pushing forward and up expresses the felling of pressing
one's body agains another... the ripple back down depicts birthing.
Belly rolls (independent of body motions) use the muscle contractions
similar to birthing.
The circular movements of parts of the the body, and of the body
in space, show the inclusiveness of love. The staccato moves of
hip drops and and lifes evoked by drums are the heartbeat of life.
Shimmies and vibrations (subtler than shakes) depict extreme emotional
involvement. Many moves start at the legs: as the hidden and unknown
source, they are the ground from which life comes. The degree of
movement in the shoulders indicates the degree of passion; of the
elbows, willingness. The circling of hands evokes spirituality.
The use of costuming carries further the concept of occult messages
within the dance... the skirts are the curtain that conceals the
true souce of our being... the veil is the mystery that, if we will
but try to see, some of our past, present and future can be revealed.
The body may be displayed in the dance, or not, but always something
around the hips accentuates the belly. The belly is the centre of
life, of creativity and procreativity, for there a woman carries
the egg; and though a man carries his seed lower, his creative centre
is still the belly.
When you dance from that centre, when you become the channel for
the music and for the feelings it invokes, you are dancing the power
of life.
And so have I come to spirituality through dance: When you dance,
you KNOW that the Deity cannot be male-alone... Deity is She, or
She-and-He.
copyright 1993 - 2002, Linda Joan Doerksen
first printing: Hecate's Loom, issue 20, page 21
2002 C.E.
In retrospect, I feel that I could also have included Joy in my
list of definitions. Joy is important because, as it is invoked
within the dancer (that is, the dancer calls for Joy to come into
his/her body), when expressed outwardly, it evokes (that is, calls
out to) a similar emotional response from the audience. And yet,
no audience is required for the Joy to uplift the dancer.
Also in retrospect, I must take issue with my conclusion. As my
mother has continually told me, "God" has no gender. The
trouble lies with language and how it changes from one to another,
and from one century to the next. It is the human need to anthropomorphize
the Divine that has led to the "maleness" of It. I now
feel that enjoying the gifts given to us by the Divine does not
require assigning gender to the Divine.
So, dance with all the love, pleasure, and joy that you possess!
And know that it shall multiply!
Tantra
& Dance
by
Dawnee Atargatis
Tantra embraces dancing as art & prayer form.
Dance creatively expresses one's divine self. Dance is a joyous
expression of Spirituality.
Dance is a natural ertic expression of the Divine Feminine or the
Divine Masculine. Refer to www.tandradance.com. Tantric breathing
& chakra energy awareness help a dancer to express her or his
creative sexual energy. Sexual energy is defined as creative life
energy flow. When one activates or arouses or energizes one's energy,
one's dance is greatly enhanced. Three keys to energizing our sacred
sexual energy, as taught by Margot Anand, are: breathing, sound,
& movement.
Breathing deeply into our lovely bellies and filling our wonderful
lungs rejuvenates our potential. Toning, singing and making wild
sounds opens the flow between sexual & spiritual.
Movement awakens the kundalini, our source of creative life energy.
Tantra teaches the healing of sexual wounds which block or numb
our sacred erotic energy flow.
Tantra teaches grounding our sexual energy in safe, spiritual ways
which enhance our Love & Trust for ourselves, our emotions ,
& our sexual experiences.
Tantra is not misogynist, sexist, racist, homophobic, elitist or
afraid of the dark. Tantra embraces all spiritual paths, encouraging
unique self-expression & acceptance of all.
Tantra allows for Gods & Goddesses who are playful, caring,
nurturing, respectful, tender, receptive, & vulnerable (yin
qualities).
"Every physical disease & mental disorder involves an imbalance
in male & female energies. Restoring that balance has tremendous
healing value." Avinasha & Saraswati, The Jewel in
the Lotus.
Tantra encourages taking responsibility for what we want & create
for ourselves. We all have the choice to heal ourselves sexually
or continue to wound ourselves. When we heal ourselves, we heal
centuries of abuse & denial. We heal our children, we heal our
community, we heal with our dance.
Tantra teaches that the female's needs are to be heard, respected,
honored, & satisfied. Her need to be Loved guides her lover
in opening his heart to satisfy her. She is valued as a teacher
of divine spiritual wisdom.
"We encounter archetypes of women from ancient
Greece to Tibet and from ancient Japan to India
who were & are deeply aware of their unique
sexual powers, free from shame about their bodies and
their sexuality. Such women have been leaders &
prietesses, regarded by their communities as
important teachers & high initiates."
— Camphausen, The Yoni.
Dawnee Atargatis is a succulent wild wombyn dancing on Hornby Island
for the past 20 years with her daughters. She's an old Belly &
African dancer dedicated to Tantra
The
Perils of Bra Shopping
by
Linda Doerksen
I persist in shopping for bras. I seek the ultimate:
fits well, looks good, feels good. It seems, however, I seek a
chimera.
I go into the store. With measurements in hand, I select a half
dozen or so based on those numbers, and in colors and cut that
look good on the packaging. With any luck, something will support
the weight of beads and coins, and thereby be destined for greatness.
I enter the changeroom, which is always a little too small, with
shelves and hangers inadequate to hold any of my potential purchases,
or my temporarily discarded clothing. I remove coat, vest, sweater,
shirt, undershirt, and bra. OK, it's been cold lately. And the
changeroom is cold. Very cold.
One at a time, I try on the bras, turning and posing in a cubicle
with a single cracked mirror, craning to look over my shoulder
at the back fit. With every back-hooked bra, I wish I was double-jointed.
Why didn't I put my hair up into a bun?
With each bra, there seems to be a litany of: "It gaps on
the side; it doesn't sit flat on the sternum in my cleavage; the
straps won't adjust to keep in place; the back won't stay down
and level; I'm spilling out all over... They call that a C cup?!"
Of course, sometimes I have to choose which one is the best of
the bunch, so I have to re-try a few of them. Maybe several times.
Now, was that on my "possible" list? (sigh!) Try it
on again...
My initial foray has failed. Fine! Back on with my own inadequate
bra, the undershirt, the shirt, and out to replace the bras on
shelves and hangers. Select another half dozen, and back into
the chilly changeroom to strip and begin the process all over
again.
If I am lucky, I find one that fits well OR looks good OR feels
good. And rarely in a color I want. And with every purchase, I
hope that, finally, with this one, it will hold the coins that
have for so long craved to be suspended from a dance bra. Will
I be disappointed again?
So I make my purchase. But I am not satisfied. I'm dressed...
but not satisfied... Ah, well. I return home with my dubious treasure,
there to employ scissors, needle and thread in an attempt to transform
it into a thing of beauty. Again.
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