Articles by Sahira Zedare

Bellydance: Art Empowering Women

The term "bellydance" can conjure up many different images, from slinky Bellydance Superstars to "harem girls" surrounding a sultan, to mature divas performing Raqs Sharqi or Danse Orientale, to groups of new age women dancing for camaraderie.

But only some of these perceptions are accurate. The seediest images of scantily clad women dancing to entertain men are at best Hollywood fantasy, and at worst, vulgar misrepresentations of a beautiful art form. Indeed, the roots of this dance are in the Middle East, where women have danced for women for many, many years. I'd like to quote the legendary dancer and historian Morocco, "Danse du ventre, or belly dancing, is not at all what Western society thinks it to be, i.e. a dance of sex and seduction. This is an erroneous and ignorant belief, reinforced and perpetrated by stage and movie writers too lazy to do research." Morocco further expounds on the roots of the dance at her excellent web site. Morocco also discusses how "bellydance" is a misnomer, as most of the movements are from the hips. Read more....

Why I Teach Bellydance

I have been a lifelong student of dance, and my dance classes were often safe spaces, opportunities to just be who I am, to experience really living in my body and truly feeling my feelings. I dance for the exercise and for the creative expression that movement and music generate. I will always be a student of dance, and I keep learning so that I keep growing, expanding my knowledge and my repertoire in order to enhance my performances and the classes I teach. Read more....