Shake that belly
It is the latest dance craze sweeping the world and Cyprus has kept in step. We try out belly dancing
It all started as a dance of celebration. Women would celebrate life by dancing together and raising their hands toward the sky. Being a dance of celebration for women alone, away from men, they weren’t afraid to move and dance in a sensual way, mainly using their hips and lower back. Belly dancing didn’t start as a form of seduction. And to understand the rapid growth of this form of dancing is is perhaps necessary to banish those images of half-naked women dancing on tables for the eyes of ugly, old men reminiscent of sheikhs. Belly dancing has been around for centuries but its popularity seems to be developing lately due to it being a great way to get in shape while having fun.
Not one for passing up the opportunity to take a dancing lesson during office hours, I grabbed my gym kit (minus the towel) and waltzed into a belly dancing class feeling confident, calm and strong. How hard can dancing be? “You’ll be surprised,” said Thalia Markidou, inspired belly dancer. By the end of the first half hour, my left hip felt as though it was in tangles, while my legs were trembling with weakness. “A single belly dancing session has you using and moving parts of your body and muscles you didn’t even know you could move,” explained Elena Shakalli, belly dancing instructor, “and of course, it isn’t only the abdominal area. It’s the legs and the buttocks.”
As a beginner, the first lesson focused on the ability to move my hips, preferably ‘popping’ as I went along. “In fact, the size of your belly has nothing to do with the dance movements. The major elements are the hips and the lower back,” another instructor explained. This comes as no surprise as belly dancing is known to relieve one of back pains while getting rid of extra pounds around the pelvic area. “It really is an intense body, heart-pumping workout,” said Anna Kirmilis, a regular belly dance student, “and it’s perfect if you are one that hates gyms and running.” Belly dancing can also be soft on the joints, so anyone can try it out. Sure enough, the class was made up of women of all ages. Silia Stavridou, 54, said: “You may think I’m too old to be coming to a belly dancing class but at my age all one is looking for is fun and the ability to combine that with exercise.”
One of the most important factors in belly dancing is the circular movement of the hips, which may seem wondrous but in fact has a well-kept secret behind it. “If you keep your legs together and bend your knees to a considerable degree, then it is much easier to sway your hips,” explained the instructor. Basing my body weight on the tips of my toes, I pulled one hip upwards and slowly pushed out my rear trying desperately to form a circle with my knees and bottom. It nearly worked but the instructor kept on telling me to let go, feel it and enjoy, which I found very difficult to do as every time I swirled, I felt as though I was being too provocative. “This is exactly the same thought Westerners expressed when they first came face to face with this artistic expression,” explained Shakalli.
In 1893, belly dancing (then known as Dance du Orient) was brought to America by a Sol Bloom, who had authentic Middle Eastern dancers and musicians put on a show at the World’s Fair in Chicago. Although the dancers were fully clothed, the fact that they danced without wearing a corset under their clothing, shocked the straight laced Victorian spectators. Belly dancing wasn’t accepted as a legitimate art form until many decades later when Hollywood picked up on it, making the dance popular, not to mention, sexy. However, the exact origins of this seductive dance aren’t clear. Most evidence links it to the Middle East and Africa but some say it was introduced into Egypt by the Turks. Egyptian tomb paintings dating from as far back as the 14th century depict clad dancers in callisthenic positions much like those used in belly dancing. “There are hundreds of versions as to where it came from but here in Cyprus we tend to believe it’s the Middle East and Turkey that were responsible for the dance,” explained Elena.
Nowadays, women adorned with gold coins, shaking their hips and pattering their bare feet on the ground is seen as a beautiful expression of feminine strength. “Women aren’t ashamed anymore,” said Shakalli, “They are gradually discovering what they can do with their bodies and now many women dance at events, parties, on TV shows. It’s getting around!” In fact, most gyms in Cyprus offer belly dancing classes and women seem to prefer shaking their hips to any other exercise class. “It is so big right now, every dancing school is adding it to the curriculum because otherwise it’s incomplete,” said Stavros Karayiannis, author of Dancing Fear and Desire; Race, Sexuality and Imperial Politics in Middle Eastern Dance, “and generally speaking, there’s a new wave of Oriental in the music industry. Look at Shakira! It’s all about Arabic music and belly dancing.”
Ethnic music was pounding in the background while the instructor went around all her students checking the position of their bodies, making sure we were belly dancing in the correct way. Even though I wasn’t wearing the belly dancing gear, I couldn’t help but imagine what I would look like in a veil, shaking my rear while trying to balance myself on a table. Not for the faint-hearted!
Where to go
Nicosia: Shakalli School of dance: 22-439992
BodyScience: 22-448130
Stavros Karayiannis: 99-422071
Larnaca: Institute of Dancing Arts : 99-585439
