When one’s daily routine gets way too mundane, it’s time to try out something completely new to spice things up a little. So, we decided to learn how to, at least properly, belly-dance. Not only is the dance deeply rooted in our culture, it also presents a viable backup career for when our college majors completely devour us whole and send us running away from corporate life as fast as we can- just kidding! Anyway, here are the thoughts we had while learning how to shimmy and shake every part of our bodies to infectious oriental beats:
“Belly dancers do NOT have easy jobs.. This is as tiring as running!”
We kid you not, belly dancing for 15 minutes got us panting and seeing black circles- it takes lots of practice to build up the stamina to dance for longer without possibly fainting!
“The classic vibration move is done with one’s legs? WOAH what?”
Yes, we’ve all been doing it wrong apparently. You see, you apparently need to move your legs in a certain way to result in a vibrating belly. Mind = Blown.
“Why is my waist so stiff? It never felt that stiff before…”
Yes, belly-dancing does show you how flexible your waist area is… And probably, it’s not THAAAT flexible. No worries, though, practice makes perfect and eventually your waist will loosen up!
“There we go, yep, that’s it, move over, Safinaz, you’ve got nothing on me- this is in my blood!”
With practice also comes a false sense of confidence- we mean, belly-dancing for half an hour straight does not make you, in any way, a professional, but this fake confidence will help you get better and better so no harm done!
“When Tante Samia throws me on the dance floor in the next family wedding, I will totally SLAY this!”
Yep, that’s what older relatives do at weddings. They literally throw the younger ones onto the dance floor and force them to dance; it’s an age-old, completely mortifying tradition that leaves us all wanting the floor to swallow us whole. After learning how to properly shake what our mamas gave us, we’ll totally own the dance floor!
“Why do we not have the likes of Hend Rostom, Samia Gamal and Tahiya Karioka today?”
We have one thing to say about those talented divas: SO MUCH CLASS. They definitely honored their profession and danced with insurmountable grace and elegance. Do we have anyone doing the same today? Hmm…
To wrap up, belly dancing can truly be fun and we definitely loved learning how to properly quiver our bodies to the beat of uplifting Egyptian music! If you’re bored, sad or just feel the need to try something new, we definitely recommend shik-shak-shok-ing your way to a happier state.
