Bellydancing
Classes Approved for Samaritan Employee Wellness Benefit
“Queens Of deNile” ~ Gentle Bellydancing For EveryBody
All the beauty, grace, sparkle and fun of Bellydancing, without the impossibility!! Suitable for any body age, size or shape, open to all. We will accentuate the positive, the pageantry, the expression of sensuality and grace! Come celebrate your fascinating self, release tensions, and grow in strength, beauty and energy!
Bellydancing As Stress Management
Physical expression is absolutely essential to our health. We are naturally made for movement, for action, for working and playing through our bodies. Many of us live unnaturally sedentary, physically stagnant lives, causing ourselves to suffer on every level ~ physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. A stagnant body is more vulnerable to the accumulation of tensions, on all those levels, and those levels affect one another easily. For example, we’re all aware that going for a simple walk can help calm the mind and emotions ~ there is no real separation between the body, heart, mind and spirit.
Dance is perhaps the earliest form of intentional expression. No tools are needed, and anyone with a body can do it; even a voice isn’t required. Anthropologically, “abdominal dance” is considered the most ancient of all. Dance is an expression of life, and the belly is at the center of life’s most basic events: birthing, eating, lovemaking. Bellydancing, then, is known as “The Oldest Dance”, and is a celebration of the natural, organic movements that flow from these deepest of life’s experiences. Within all the individual interpretations of bellydancing (particularly the tribal/gypsy styles, as opposed to the nightclub/cabaret styles), the defining characteristic could be said to be bellydancing’s earthiness, the embracing of the senses.
Although bellydancing is most common now amongst women, men have been and can be bellydancers, too! Women and men both have needs for liberating their sensuality, for connecting with the earth, for experiences of grace and flow, expression, beauty, release and renewal. “Manly” modifications are easily made. By the same token, bellydancing is open to all ages, shapes and sizes of people; there are no standards to meet, tricks one must be able to do, or appearances one must have. It is a true folk art, accepting of and celebrating us all, in our uniqueness and in our common humanity. Every dancer is encouraged to express themselves, and in that expression, that acceptance, and that physicality, freedom from tensions and healing from the effects of life’s stressfulness can be found.
History and Style
I have been bellydancing for 35 years, since I was 15 years old. My first teacher was the famous Zarifa Aradoon, author of “The Oldest Dance” and “The Bellydancing Costume Book”. She was Arabian, and that style suited me well, with its flowing, emotive form.
I have taught off and on since 1975, at countless venues: universities, colleges, parks departments, studios, clubs, and festivals. I have enjoyed performing on stages, at weddings and bridal showers, Renaissance fairs, nightclubs and cafes. My bellydancing is always improvised, keeping it present-moment and meditational, and honoring its folk art roots. I dance to remind the audience of their own basic beauty, goodness and truth. I love bellydancing, and love to share it with others.
Performances
Some of my favorite performance venues are weddings and banquets! Festivals, parties, bat mitzvahs, baby and bridal showers are also great fun. I am not available for bachelor parties. I can also teach one-time fun classes for showers, clubs, etc. Rates vary; please inquire!
My dance name, “Levanáh”, means “moon” in Hebrew; specifically, the white, pure, feminine and receptive aspects of the moon. I am also of Jewish ancestry, and chose this name for all these qualities.
I am also a performing member of the Corvallis Belly Dance Performance Guild (CBDPG), which has produced the weekly bellydancing show at the Old World Deli in Corvallis for over 17 years! To check my performance schedule, please see the “What’s New” page, where I post it under “Performing Now”. If you come, be sure to stay after the finale to say hi! The shows begin at 8pm, but seats are usually taken by 7:30. The Deli is open for business, and the food is great ~ come and enjoy! Find out more about the Guild at www.corvallisbellydance.org.
