Photo from the archive of “Zagranitsa”
Fairies from the Boudoir
- One, two, three, four. Step left, step forward, step right, step back. And now a hip movement. Down-up, down-up. And diagonal, go!
15 dancing women - some in tight leotards, some in a skirt and short top - are reflected in a large, full-wall mirror. They are dressed differently, yet move in unison. They rotate their hips, sway their shoulders, and rise on their toes, following the commands of a flexible young man with a thin toothbrush mustache. This is the teacher Damir Almazov, choreographer of the belly dance school “Boudoir”, who invited me to one of his classes. For several years in a row, Damir studied at an Arabic dance studio with the famous Egyptian choreographer Mahmoud Reda, and now he runs a studio in a community center. Girls sign up here six months in advance to study with Damir.
- Let my fairies tell you themselves why they are so eager to take belly dancing lessons. Ask Yulia, for example. She has been coming to me for three years now, - says Damir.
During the break, I approach a pretty green-eyed young woman with loose hair. I ask her why she needs exotic oriental dances so far removed from our reality. The answer was unexpected: it turns out that from five to seven in the evening, this is the best place to wait out traffic jams.
- Is that really the main reason? - I continue to press.
- No, of course not. It's just that I don't want to remember a sad period in my life. Back then, the man I had lived with for several years left me. I sat in front of the mirror and hated myself for stretch marks on my skin, clumsy hips, stooped shoulders, a flabby belly. What could I do? I had to fight my body to become beautiful and desirable again. You have no idea what a woman is capable of for that! I threw myself into shaping, went on a diet, started swallowing pills, and almost went under the knife of a plastic surgeon. But it was all useless. Oh, sorry, the lesson is beginning! Let's continue later...
The first half of the lesson consisted of a warm-up - warming up the body, stretching the spine, working the abdominal muscles. And in the second part, music with a dominant beat of drums began. The students repeated a special movement that helps rotate the hips and rib cage separately. I never imagined that you could use your stomach to trace pirouettes that you can't always do even with your hand. However, it's not just about the belly. In oriental dance, the whole body speaks, and often a slight stroke or a barely perceptible hint drives you crazier than the movement itself.
After the class, Yulia and I drink tea and continue our conversation.
- In short, no matter how I tormented myself, nothing helped. Once, while on vacation in Turkey, I saw belly dancing on stage and began to repeat the moves after the performer. And, lo and behold, I tried it and something worked. After a while, I happened to come across an announcement for the “Boudoir” school. “What a name,” I thought. Then I called and signed up for a group. I started almost immediately, since back then there wasn't such a waiting list as now.
Liberating Dance
In the first days, Yulia learned to control her own body. Before, it was wooden, as if carved from a single piece. But now she has developed the ability to control her arms, shoulders, knees, and chest. After about a month, Yulia drew her main conclusion: she should not try to look like a skinny top model. On the contrary, she should emphasize her individuality. A woman's body should have seductive curves that are not at all hindered by little folds at the waist or a rounded tummy. And who said that the stomach must be flat and pulled in? In fact, it should be alluring and mobile. Men find a special charm in the languid sway of a woman's belly, which resembles the outline of a child's figure and hints at defenselessness.
Once Yulia met a friend on the street whom she hadn't seen for about three months. She threw up her hands: girl, you are something! Straight back, shoulders squared, hip-swinging walk. And you have a flush on your face, sparkling eyes, and fresh skin. Have you got a new beau? Yulia just smiled in response. She herself began to notice that she had changed - and not just on the outside. She felt her own attractiveness, a feeling of joy and love for the world. Damir explained that all this was a result of increased production of regulators of the so-called “pleasure factor,” which is responsible for good mood. In general, he said, those who start doing bellydance sharply increase the production of female sex hormones that rejuvenate the body. Dancing relieves stress and gives self-confidence. In addition, “shakes” (that is, belly movements) improve the functioning of the digestive tract, massage internal organs, and remove toxins. And intense hip work trains muscles and improves bowel function, beneficially affecting the complexion.
Every morning Yulia stepped on the electronic scale and made sure she was losing the excess weight. Perhaps just a little bit, about a hundred grams a week - but the progress was visible. Body fat began to be burned through constant muscle work. The process of figure correction began, her walk and posture improved. Bellydance helped bring her weight into harmony, made her waist thinner and her hips slimmer. And all this - without any diets or pills. Yulia also noted that since she started taking classes, the back pain that had tormented her since childhood had stopped. When her doctor learned about this, he was first surprised, and then concluded that periodic smooth movements and bends had straightened her spine, put the displaced cartilage and discs back in place, and restored flexibility.
Russian Star of Cairo
Yulia slammed the door of her Audi and drove off to a date with yet another young man. There was still time before the lesson with the next group, and Damir began to tell me about the history of belly dance. According to him, no one knows where this dance came from. Most likely, it combined the plasticity of priestesses of Egyptian temples, the graceful movements of Bedouin women, and the magnetism of buxom inhabitants of sultan's harems. For many centuries, the oriental dance was performed by women of the peoples of North Africa and the Middle East, but it was in Egypt, where dancers delighted the pharaohs, wearing airy outfits and moving on stage to music, that belly dance became part of the national culture. Even in modern Iran, this dance is called Egyptian, and in Turkey it is performed to Egyptian music and uses a cane or a candelabra - typical Egyptian accessories.
In its time, the oriental dance was performed in a narrow circle during family celebrations, for which a professional dancer was hired. At the end of the 19th century, European lovers of exoticism began to visit the East more and more often, imbued with its mysterious charm. Among them there were rumors of an unusual and mesmerizing oriental dance - an exotic spectacle that absolutely should not be missed. Soon, dark-eyed oriental beauties appeared in Europe and the United States. The first show was presented in Paris in 1889, and four years later Arab performers came to Chicago with the program Danse du Ventre - that was when the expression "belly dance" appeared.
Unfortunately, Damir continued, recently in Egypt the level and quality of belly dance have slid downward. Perhaps the matter is that the old generation has gone - the rich Arabs of the Persian Gulf countries who attended dance performances in Cairo nightclubs. Today's youth prefer other entertainment and spend time at noisy discos. In addition, the influence of fundamentalists protesting against public performances has increased. After all, according to the laws of Islam, a woman is obliged to hide her beauty from everyone except her husband. Many Egyptian women have left dancing, and in the numerous show programs held at beach hotels in Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, mostly girls from the former Soviet Union work.
That our compatriots dance in Egypt was no secret to me. But I was very surprised to learn that Russian woman Tatyana Fedyaeva, performing in Egypt under the name Hyp, is considered a star of Cairo and the second dancer of the country. Egyptians give the palm of primacy in belly dance to their incomparable Dina, but our Hyp is also revered and adored. She performs at international Arabic dance festivals, appears in TV series and music videos, and graces magazine covers. Moreover, the concert activity of the Russian dancer is not limited to performances in expensive hotels. She is invited to perform at weddings - and this work is even more honorable than in a restaurant or nightclub.
Why do our compatriots achieve success in belly dance? Probably because they have persistence and determination. Just to get the hang of dancing, you need to spend at least a year - that is if you practice three times a week. Moreover, each person's body has its own characteristics. Some movements come out better for some, worse for others. Some exercises have to be repeated over and over. A lot of time must pass before they start to work. So belly dance is long workouts and multi-kilogram costumes. Yes, yes, it is only from the outside that the open Arabic outfit seems weightless. In fact, in a real stage costume it is quite difficult to dance for more than 10 minutes. For all its beauty and showiness, it is quite heavy - just one belt embroidered with three rows of small jingling coins can weigh about three kilograms. But what can you do, you have to endure. Sequins, rhinestones, beads, little beads - all this fascinates and attracts the viewer.
A week later I stood backstage and watched the participants of the "Boudoir" school getting ready for a performance. The girls darkened their eyes and sprayed themselves with colorful sparkles from aerosol cans. They put on fabulously sparkling costumes and transformed into oriental beauties. Rhinestones shimmered, beads rustled, coins jingled. An elevated atmosphere reigned, and I became more and more convinced that belly dance is a true celebration of body and soul.