Bellydance expert Yasmina Ramzy tells us how bellydance is more than just swaying the hips -it awakens a woman's spirituality.
Born in 1960, I was fed a steady diet of feminist ideals by my mother and school teachers from ages 9-16. My mother marched, burned her bra, read Gloria Steinem, Germaine Greer, Betty Freidan, and lived by their mottos. I consider myself a feminist and it was never a question for me that I could do anything a man could do and often better.
At age 21, I became a full time career Bellydancer. It was at the suggestion of a Buddhist Lama who said that Bellydance was going to play an important role in the future of women's spirituality which he said had been neglected for too long. Needless to say, my feminist mother was quite puzzled by my choice of career – one that exploits the female body and is practiced in a land where women’s rights are held in little regard. It made her believe she had failed in impressing her liberated ideals on me. After 30 years of performing and teaching Bellydance all over the world, I have come to know this art form as a very powerful tool for awakening women to their potential and releasing them from fear.
The reasons are many. It is perhaps identifying with ancient goddess archetypes. The often courageous act of baring one's belly is instrumental in learning to accept one's body as beautiful simply because it is a female body for which the dimensions can be limitless. Perhaps it is the support and camaraderie of the predominantly female Bellydance community. Perhaps it is the earthy, gentle and organic way of movement or the possible links to childbirth.
The list can go on but one element is crucial; sexuality. Reclaiming the freedom to express and enjoy feminine sexuality is liberating and empowering on so many levels. Bellydance is the dance of Joy. One of the roles a professional Bellydancer plays is that of the Zaffah dancer where she leads the young newlywed couple from alter to bridal chamber to consummate the marriage. On route, she performs a dance which celebrates love and teaches them about the birds and the bees. If you are the conduit for the most important aspect in life and human nature, then that can be quite empowering.
It seems to me that Bellydance is an act of feminine expression and to take pride in this act is a feminist statement.