Friday, February 18, 2011

Motion365 - Day 061: Janjara

This is a duplicate blog entry from Motion365, my personal dance adventure from 2010-2011.  Notable entries have been copied to this blog so students and fellow dancers may enjoy the ponderings and combos created from the experience.

February 18, 2011
Song: Janjara (5:38) by James Asher from Feet in the Soil, Volume 2

After a week filled with uncertainty and stress, a lifting on the wings of motion was exactly what I needed!  Tonight I taught a free demonstration class to a 30+ women of varying demographics and from communities both close and far.

As the room slowly started filling people came in ones and twos.  Some were chatting or giggling but many others were quiet, reserved.  A nervous anticipation - not necessarily a bad nervousness - filled the room in a calming yet energy-filled way.

A few women had experienced bellydance before (and I had even taught at least one of them at a previous event) but many were new to the art form - a fresh canvas and new colors to paint a vibrant work of art: the joy of movement.

The nervous excitement bubbled into laughter and sass as we explored the power of walking hip bumps.  “Hey, in bellydance the bigger the hips and toosh, the better!”  Camaraderie was formed as we grapevined into each other.  “Ooops!”  Warmth radiated as our heartbeats increased while our hips shimmied this way and that.  “Wiggles and giggles.”

I have enjoyed Track 12 (aka Janjara) since choreographing it as I lay in bed well over a year ago.  It’s about the power of the hips, the flirtation of the ribs, the coyness of a shy glance, the grace of femininity in action, and the bond of sisterhood created in movement.

Dancing and sharing and giggling and authentically being with this group of women, I experienced sheer bliss!  I realized I am who I am when I get out of the way and let myself be who I am.  Or, to translate, I am a movement artist who shares the gift of motion with playfulness, sass, sensuality, and a light heart with the wisdom of knowing it makes a difference in the lives of others and perhaps opens doors for them to experience healing, growth, and authenticity.

I love and accept me - all of me - including the parts I sometimes (okay often times) want to change.  It’s all the individual pieces which form together to make the package that is me.  And as those pieces change, I change too.  It doesn’t have to be a good change or a bad change - sometimes it’s just change, plain and simple.

So what’s the point of today’s entry?  Well, quite frankly I’m experiencing a healing and growing moment sponsored by motion!

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