Belly Dancing the Night Away

This weekend, I was finally able to start belly dancing again.

Last summer, I had a painful pinched nerve that led to stomach pains as well, resulting in my not really being able to exercise much because of the agony it induced. Yes, I've pretty much been hurting every day since last summer. I've finally started seeing a chiropractor who's able to help me not hurt so much - yay for that. Boo for this town having really stupid doctors who didn't "get" what was hurting me.

Anyway, so this Saturday I danced for almost a half hour, and the only thing that hurt after was my left leg. But that's an old injury, from the time I accidentally ran to another town. Don't worry, if you haven't heard that story, I'll post it here sometime soon.

Getting to dance again without pain made me way excited, as did paying my monthly bills and having one less student loan to pay. So I figured I could allot myself the amount I usually pay for that loan, and use it toward a new skirt and a belly dance DVD. There are no dance classes in town, and sometimes I feel like I've forgotten how to do some moves properly, so the video will keep me from developing bad habits.

This is the DVD I'm getting (recommended by my belly dance instructor YEARS ago):

I can't wait to see the dancing on this one, of course, but I'm also excited to see the costumes. That's half the fun of belly dancing, I think.


Here's the skirt I picked out.


Crazy beautiful, isn't it? Look at all the colors, and the patterns, and the weird way it all fits together. And the trim.



Love it. The skirt was more expensive than I was hoping it would be, but it's good quality, I bought it locally, and I only get a new skirt for myself about once a year anyway. I can't wait to dance in it today.

And I want to share this next part just because I think it's so fun: a list of some songs I practice with. All you need for belly dance music is something with a strong beat at the right pace - not necessarily something tribal-sounding. Here are a few of the weirder things on my playlist.

Put de Lime in de Coconut - Harry Nilson

Whirlwind - Dispatch

Viva la Vida - Coldplay

There There - Radiohead

Donald McGillavry / O'Neill's Cavalry March - Silly Wizard (a Celtic tune - is your mind blown yet?)

Day You Die - QuinnElizabeth (a lot of their tunes are great for belly dance)

Hey Ya - Outkast

No Rain - Blind Melon

Are Ye Sleepin' Maggie? - Dougie MacLean

Tunak Tunak Tun - Daler Mehndi (one of the not-so-weird tunes, but definitely one of the most fun for dancing!)

See you all tomorrow - in the meantime, I'll be belly dancing the night away.

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