I started my belly dancing lessons last night. When I first walked into the classroom, I was very nervous. I am doing this by myself and for myself, but it is still quite intimidating. My teacher is one of the most graceful women I have ever seen. She has beautiful arms. Isn’t that an odd thing to say? But you can’t help watching them. She looks so effortless … and for the first half of the hip isolation movements I felt more like a stripper. However, once you get into it, once the drums worm their way into your subconscience, it is an incredible feeling. La danse du ventre is a celebration of everything feminine. I know that there are male dancers out there, but I cannot fathom what they experience mentally and emotionally when they perform. Perhaps that is because for me, when I was dancing, I felt beautiful. Like I embodied every mystery, knew some huge and important secret. It was wonderful. I just hope I can recapture that … we shall see next week! Curious? Look here: