Belly Dance Love, American Tribal Style
On the word "release," belly dance instructor Jen "Edara" McDonald lets her abdomen slacken, revealing a midsection that is at once muscular and voluptuous. It's a shocking gesture, really, with a rarely seen degree of physical candor.
That I'm briefly taken aback by the frankness of this move only shows me how deeply my own programming has been implanted. Here's another measure: if forced to expose either my bits or my belly, on most days I'd probably go with the bits. They've certainly brought me more happiness than the belly ever has.
So what am I doing in a class with the word "belly" right there in the name? Mainly, it's because belly is a better fit than ballet. There's certainly no ballerina types in this room, but the variety of women that are here is as curious as it is delightful. I look around the room and make guesses about their daytime personas: sales rep by day, belly dancer by night. Hausfrau by day, belly dancer by night. Sysadmin by day, belly dancer by night. The people watching is every bit as fun as the pelvis wiggling.
As a workout, opinions about the class seem to vary; some sigh with exhaustion, while others don't break a sweat. But as a method of "Awakening the goddess within"? Well, that can hardly be helped. Witnessing Edara's body confidence while spending an hour having her encourage you to jut out your breasts, swivel your hips, and even remind you that "there's an elbow goddess, and she likes to be lifted," it's hard not to be swayed.
The next American Tribal Style Belly Dance session at Granada Pavilion (11128 Balboa Blvd.) begins in October, but if you don't want to wait, a new session in Sylmar on Monday nights is beginning September 13 at L.A. Mission College. For full schedule information, visit Edara's website, http://edaradancing.webs.com/.
i want to poke her navel
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