Cultural Blog

This weekend, I went to a belly dancing Hafla, sponsored by the Sultana Dancers. It was an all day cultural event, held at the Clover Island Inn. Belly dancing troupes from all over the country preformed, employing a wide variety of belly dancing styles and methods. It was a very interesting and intriguing affair. I had no idea what to expect, when my friend (who preforms in one of the troupes) invited me to attend. Of course, we all have our preconceived notion about what belly dancing entails...the sexy, sultry, undulating maneuvers associated with middle eastern dancing. Truth be told, this is what peaked my interest and what I most looked forward to observing. I was shocked and surprised by how eclectic the various types of dances preformed were. I was also surprised by the diversity of the dancers, themselves.

Of course, there was the classic belly dancing performances, such as the example displayed in the short video clip above. There were also performances of tribal infusion belly dancing, as well as some more modern dance infusions. The dancers performed to a wide variety of music. They danced with swords balanced on there heads. They performed choreographed dances, as well as some amazing free form dances. They performed singularly and in a variety of numbers. There were also live drummers that were amazing to watch and listen to. What was most interesting, to me, was the different types of dancers themselves. Of course, there were the classic beauties, with society's current definition of what the female form should look like; but, there were also every type of size, shape, age, color, and yes... even gender. One of the best performances, I felt, was by a troupe led, directed, and choreographed by a male belly dancer.

 At first, I focused most of my photos on the classic beauties. After a little while, I started to pay more attention to the more diverse population of dancers. I observed the passion and joy that ALL of these dancers performed with. These dancers felt sexy and alive. It didn't matter if they were big, small, old, young, talented, or maybe not so talented... These dancers really loved what they were doing and it showed in the joy and enthusiasm that they performed with. Everyone in the audience seemed to be enthralled and thoroughly entertained; I know that I was. I would highly recommend attendance at the next belly dancing Hafla, held by the Sultana Dancers, to anyone who enjoys the world of dance.