The huge dance hall at Latino Rhythms, Koramangala, is brimming with women learning belly dancing. Leading them is the tall and beautiful Sedona, a belly dancer from California.
Her flawless skin, dressed in black tights, a bright red blouse and a belly dancing scarf wound around her waist, her liquid rhythm is eye popping. There is nothing sleazy about her moves—it is pure joy and grace. As she dances, around 80 women, of all age groups, try to imitate her.
Sedona, who was “crazy about dance”, was in the city recently to “popularise belly dancing.” The dancer is currently learning Odissi.
Trained from a “prestigious performing arts college in the US”, Sedona discovered belly dancing 12 years ago “by chance. I was gifted a belly dancing scarf. I put it on and suddenly became aware of my hips and started creating my own moves. Someone asked if I was into belly dancing. That is when I first heard the term, I went online and researched. It was the start of my journey in this sensual folk dance.”
About the challenges as a learner she says, “Some parts came easily and some took time. I was comfortable being on stage and expressing emotions. But techniques such as neck movements took a while to learn.”
To get the moves and the music “into my system”, Sedona recalls listening to “only Middle Eastern rhythms for over a year to imbibe the mood and the beats of the form.”
She choreographs new movements and trains women across the world and has brought out CDs, which even “shy women can follow within the confines of their homes”.
“Through my DVD I have tried to show that belly dance is an art form. Sadly it has a reputation of being profane though it is a part of a sacred history. It began as a woman’s healing dance. It helps heal the woman’s reproductive system, helps her during childbirth by expanding her hips and also helps lose the flab from the tummy post delivery. It is believed to bring the whole body into an energetic balance and was a form used to celebrate the woman as a creative vessel. That is not all; it tones your body and keeps you fit. This dance can be practised by a home maker or by a performer. The moves come naturally to women and make you feel beautiful on the inside out. Sadly, we live in a world where there is negativity associated when it comes to a woman’s body in general. Belly dance helps us overcome those inhibitions and come into that comfortable ownership of our body.”
