Shake, rattle and roll
For an all over body workout and a bit of fun, why not try belly dancing lessons?
MEETING Louise Iordanou during the day, she would not look out of place at a Women’s Institute bake sale but come evening, after she dons her tasselled badala or stage costume and those hips start to shimmy, she is transformed into an experienced exponent of belly dancing, a dance characterised by smooth, flowing, complex and sensual movements of the torso, alternated with shaking and shimmy type moves.
Neither is Louis in the first flush of youth, with at least fifty summers under her coin belt, but when this attractive, diminutive lady starts to move, it is impossible not to appreciate the sheer grace and sensuality of a dance that has been around for thousands of years.
Belly dancing classes are now all the rage in Paphos with women as voluptuous as a Rubens painting proudly displaying their ‘bits’ without a care for conventional ideas of the so-called perfect body.
Louise holds her weekly classes in the drawing room of her home in Chlorakas; here women as old as 70 and girls as young as 12 join together to dance. The air seems to positively ‘clack’ as with each tummy twitching manoeuvre there is a loud jangling of the dancers’ coin belts. Watching the group being taken through their paces, I was struck by how this form of classical belly dancing was a pleasant departure from the usual in-your-face, swinging-bosoms type of sexuality that currently masquerades as belly dancing.
I asked Louise if she was indeed instructing her pupils in the ancient art of belly dancing rather than as potential cabaret artists. “Oh never the latter, what I teach here is the classic, fluid form of belly dancing, not this quick roll of the tummy then the striking of pretty poses to show off ones attributes.”
Sadly, one would have to go on a dedicated search and seek mission to find true commercial exponents of this Pharaohonic art form. The dancing on display in our clubs and restaurants is usually performed by girls who were professionally trained ballerinas hailing from Russia and northern Europe. The hard facts of life are that there is little call by restaurants to employ chicks to prance around in virginal white tutus while Tschaikovsky tinkles over the sound system, so, the girls have just adapted the movements. They then (almost) clad themselves in diaphanous costumes and with tiny tasselled bras, Voila! They are belly dancers, but in a form that most Egyptians would never recognise.
But back to that drawing room in Paphos. Sara, in between practising belly rolls, told me why she joined the class: “I wanted to do something just for myself, and I have always found this form of dance to be both sensual and at the same time ladylike. I enjoy it and it’s a great way to work out as the dancing makes you use all of your muscles and it is a form of all over aerobics for me.”
Gina, a Cypriot lady, admitted that her family didn’t know she was attending belly dancing classes. “I just don’t tell the whole truth all I have said is it’s a weekly dance class, it saves all the jokes and fun taking if they knew. I really do enjoy it, although it takes a bit of time and practice to get the movements co-ordinated correctly. I also look forward to meeting up with the other women, having a gossip and a fun night out.”
Louise has a dream: that Cyprus will become a committed supporter of classical belly dancing, with the eventual hosting of an annual festival that will encourage dancers from all over the world to take part.
In the meantime, she’s busy arranging belly dancing parties (Hafla), with the next one planned for June. She also holds introductory classes in both Limassol and Paphos. Throughout the year she tries to bring celebrity belly dancers to the island for a series of workshops.
It is interesting to note that the Berber tribal birthing ceremony has the women gathered in a tent while the men wait outdoors. A hollow is dug in the ground where the mother-to-be is sat. She is then surrounded by concentric circles of women who belly dance for her while she gives birth. Many who have witnessed this ancient ritual comment that the same body movements used by the dancers are those taught at the Lamaze birthing classes. All this just goes to remind us that belly dancing in its purest primitive form was not intended to be a provocative spectacle for men folk, but was considered to be sacred and never intended to be relished by the opposite sex. For the Berber women, belly dancing represents maternity, the mysterious start of life and the joy with which a new soul is brought into the world.
l For information on belly dancing classes call Louise on 26 273505 or 99 580729. email [email protected]
