My Instead: I went to a belly dancing show called Urban Cabaret at the Ready Room in The Grove in St. Louis.
Stretch marks. There’s my
reason that I have never tried belly dancing myself. My new girlfriend Annette,
on the other hand, has abs of steel and has actually taken a few belly dancing
classes to get a little more “hip action” in her dance step. Earlier in the
month, she learned that one of her teachers, Ami Amore, was hosting an Urban
Cabaret, featuring belly dancing. And so my first dose of this “torso
articulation” was about to be dispensed.
Annette purchased tickets
for us and two friends, Jan and Donna, to attend this extravaganza.
Of course, I arrived late, more curious than pumped about this virgin experience.
Annette had already shown me some of her fluid moves, so I did have a clue
about the degree of difficulty this form of dance entailed.
So let the show begin! As
the diverse belly dancing acts appeared on stage one by one, I was surprised at
the different shapes and ages of the women. They were not all slim and tiny. In
fact, the “fit” ones were less entertaining because they didn’t have that much
of a “torso” to “articulate”. The women were not all young either, but their
spirits were ageless! It was obvious that ALL the women were simply enjoying the
freedom of movement…beautifully. I was filled with admiration, but was also feeling
somewhat humbled. Here I had been making such a big deal out of my year of “insteads”,
while these women were working so hard for so long to perfect these complex,
textured movements. Now there’s an “instead”!
The beauty of the dance was there and evident for all to
see, but the inner beauty in each of the women was bursting at the seams.
Maybe I will take that class…
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