two cups of starbucks in shibuya

"I always make it a habit to learn belly dance whenever I visit a country."

That is what I wrote in every e-mail I sent to a few bellydance teachers in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka - the three cities that I had planned to visit earlier. I found their names and e-mail address through Shira's website.

Two teachers responded: Ms. Henna and Ms. Filiz Eren. Ms. Henna teaches American Tribal Style (ATS) and Tribal Fusion style while Ms. Eren teaches Oriental Style. I was really interested in learning the belly dance with a Turkish teacher (Ms. Eren is Turkish) however I had to concede to learning ATS because it is what I am interested in most and I find it very intriguing (what with all the coded movements and stuff).

However, Ms. Henna is not in Tokyo - she's back in the US for a while after giving birth to a baby boy, congrats congrats - so she referred me to her dance partner, Ms. Joe. Of course with all the recommendation and the gorgeous website, I said yes.

I also want to learn ATS dance from those who've had direct ATS learning experiences. Ms. Joe's background in Flamenco is also one of the reasons why I was sure - ATS's posture and movements are heavily influenced by the Flamenco. Plus, from what I read, Japan has some really weird Tribal Fusion style going on, and I am not wasting my time and money learning from someone with whom I can't communicate, eg. Japanese who don't speak a word of English.

At the end of the lesson, I realised that the only thing I was going to miss from Tokyo is learning ATS and Tribal Fusion with Ms. Joe. I told my friend, Tokyo is a bad imitation of Paris at its best.

I requested a four hour lesson with her, two hours in two days. On the first day of the lesson, I came very late that she crammed two hours of lesson into a short 45 minutes.

Ms. Joe taught me the ATS posture, (ATS) Egyptian steps, Turkish steps, Arabic steps, and the basic codes and cues. It was one of the greatest moments of my life. It was like opening a Pandora box and knowing the secrets! Or reading the Bloodline of the Holy Grail! Or discovering that T-Rex mothers nursed their babies!

We then discussed the matter of belly dance and the next day's lesson over Starbucks which was only a minute walk from the studio El Salaam in Shibuya where I took the lesson.

I was planning to buy bellydance props in Tokyo and she informed that right on top of the very studio, there's this shop called El Hobb. However, when I got there on the first day (April 11th), it was already closed. Because I was late.

The lesson on the second day (April 12th) was not held in El Salaam, but in Shop Kwaies's studio - also in Shibuya. It was a small yet cozy studio, with all the goodies in El Hobb shop left unattended. The owner of the studio (and the shop) so trustingly gave Ms. Joe the key to that goldmine. Had I been a kleptomanic, I'd surely run off with all those cool zills, CDs, and DVDs. Heck, I'd even help myself to one of those made-in-Taiwan bongos!

Before heading to Shop Kwaies's studio, I went to El Hobb and purchased a few things: bigger brass zills for my (future) Tribal Fusion pieces, FatChance Bellydance's DVDs, and a pair of pink Isis Wings. The shopgirl was a very nice young lady with good English.

Goodies hanging inside El Hobb's bellydance shop.
See the end of this blogentry for the complete address and phone number.

They had a shamadan on display, but thank goodness it wasn't on sale, otherwise I'd be fighting with Mom on how to bring the big thing all the way to Kyoto and Osaka by trains and Shinkansen. And then I'd regret buying the whole thing. But one day, I will definitely dance with a shamadan and maybe do the tea tray dance, and the candle dance... Yeah!

Anyway, the lesson on the second day was even more interesting. We got into layering, more ATS combos and movements, a deeper look into the ATS, and finally a crazy Tribal Fusion choreography with a jazzy feel.

It's jazzy, and let me tell you something about jazz. I hate it. I mean, I LOVE dancing, but not jazz. The intricate steps, the hands, the multitasking thing, the quick thinking thing... It's just too much!

However, I think I finally got the hang of it at around the umm... 10th time we redid the dance. Hah! What a record. I usually couldn't get it together even until the 30th, or whenever I started losing counts. I think it's because Ms. Joe did a very good job in explaning the movements with clarity. The fact that I'm adding more years in dancing also helped a bit (okay, so there! I'm giving myself a bit of a credit!)

And, there was also a Starbucks near the studio. How neat is that? And we chatted for almost an hour. I gave her a little present, a pendant made from aged silver and a shell of a clam. It's a traditional handcraft from Bali - I got it from Sarinah, a famous old-school handcraft and traditional souvenir shop in Jakarta.

We chatted, shared thoughts on ATS, Tribal Fusion, and the basic Tribal scene in Japan. I was so honoured to be able to learn from her, and learn new things (almost too many new things, even) and even more honoured when she said that she could see that I am very much into dancing, and belly dance, and that I can dance well.

Ms. Joe and me as The Starbucks bellydancers!

I was awestruck by her comments (can you believe that she even asked me to compete in the upcoming Japan National Bellydance Competition - or something like that - the first ever bellydance competition in Japan with Tamalyn Dallal and Bozenka as the judges??? I'm still not that good, but I may return to Japan for workshops. That means living frugally.) that my inferiority complex kicked in again. But I made up my mind that it won't stop me from learning and dancing.

Oh well, I still have three days until I reunite with Lilith (I miss her so much) and pursue my dreams that include going to San Francisco and learning ATS from the master, Carolena Nericcio.

El Hobb Select Bellydance Shop
4th Floor Inter Building (above the Studio El Salaam)
1-9-11 Jin Nan
Shibuya-Ku Tokyo-To
Phone: 03-3868-2083

dancing with lilith

I met Lilith at TribalLine.com. She was the last of the owner's stock for that period. The owner, Merilyn, was so helpful that even when I had problems with PayPal due to some technical difficulties and absurd stupidity (you don't think it was possible, do you? Well, think again), she promised to keep Lilith for me.

On 21 January 2009, I finally got her in my arms. Some tips for those living in Indonesia and expecting a really important package that you simply have to track by the minue, apart from tracking the item using the website of the delivery handler (DHL, FedEx - Merilyn used the Australian Post), you can simply go to Pos Indonesia's website and use their tracking system. It actually worked.

Actually, it was Pos Indonesia's tracking system that informed me that my package was sitting at the post office because Mom refused to pay a helluva amount of money (about USD 100) for the custom. I went to the post office that day and the next day during lunchtime to settle the bill. When I got there, it was not USD 100, it was only USD 10. Well, still a lot of money, but better than USD 100. I had no idea how it could get mixed up.

Also, when you're picking up a package at Pos Indonesia, always, ALWAYS ask for a valid receipt, with a stamp and a signature and all the works. Thanks to Anisa for this advice.

As soon as I got the then unnamed sword, I balanced it on my head, all the way while driving back to the office.

Michel Emile "Wael" Kfoury. My, my...

I have two songs in my head that I feel are perfect for sword dancing. The first one is by Wael Kfoury (such a hot, hot Lebanese hunk) entitled "Aahat". If I'm not mistaken, "Aahat" actually means "heard" in sanskrit (as opposed to "Anaahat" meaning "unheard). Ansuya uses the song for her floorwork piece in the Bellydance Superstars Live in Paris performance.

The song is only 2:55 minutes. Short yet dramatic.

The other one is a haunting number by Massive Attack, "Inertia Creeps". Now this is a very long song. I might do this one when I have enough vocabulary of movements in sword dancing and enough agility to balance the sword for about five minutes.

There are several reasons why I chose this type of sword. To be correct, it is actually a scimitar because of its shape. And based on my research, it might be the Turkish kilij. The dance community will know it as the Balady Sword, a smaller replica of the legendary Cas Hanwei sword.

I chose the kilij because it is actually affordable (unlike the Saroyan), it looks gorgeous and fierce at the same time, it gets terrific reviews, and it is available at TribalLine. TribalLine is based in Australia, a lot closer to Indonesia than the USA and it promises to send to everywhere in the world, and it has kept its promise.

"Lilith" by John Collier (1892)

Not so while ago, I christened the scimitar "Lilith". In Judaism, Lilith was Adam's first consort. However, she refused to lie underneath Adam during copulation because she believed that she is equal, not inferior to him. A fight erupted and Lilith abandoned Adam and Eden to the edge of the sea where she was said to become a demon and gave birth to baby demons. Even the two angels sent by God after Adam's whinings couldn't bring her back because her mind was set. But they finally made an agreement about demons and human babies.

Now, scholars and feminists have placed Lilith as an archetype of strong-willed women. She was the victim of patriarchy and served as a scary bedtime story for intelligent women who just couldn't keep their mouths shut. I am sure lots of women - even today - share Lilith's burden: to be called a demonness, to be cursed, to have to run away.

Remember Sarah McLachlan's "Lilith Fair"? The music and arts event was designed to celebrate women in music. Strong, intelligent women. Lilith is now a name that is synonymous to emancipation and fierceness.

And so I named my scimitar "Lilith". In the story, you'll also find that Lilith slays human babies, except when the human babies wear the amulets bearing the names of those two angels that tried to get Lilith back to Eden.

I hate babies and children, so it just seemed like it fell into place. Ha!

Want to know more about Lilith? Go here.

My first time dancing in public with Lilith happened on April 1st, 2009. It was during a surprise party for one of the general managers. His wife takes classes at the Interlude Dance Academy under the tutelage of Ms. Venyci Yefriadi. The GM's wife invited me to dance and I said yes and I would try to dance with my scimitar.

It was in Samarra, one of the most popular middle-eastern eateries in Jakarta and there, I met my other general manager and the financial controller. Thank goodness Friday, April 3rd, 2009 was my last day at work (I'll tell you about it later). So I danced my heart out.

I so hate my belly here. That's what no gym in three weeks can do to you!
Photo by Mrs. Suci Shipman.

It was almost perfect, but when I did my turns and rolls on the floor almost at the end of the song, my Lilith fell! Of course it was my mistake since I kind of tilted my head and hadn't isolated properly. But something unbelieavable happened: the guests, most of whom are complete strangers, wanted more!

The CD only contained that one song, "Aahat", so it got played again, and this time I improvised. And on that second time, Lilith stayed still on my head (and my thigh). I still can't believe the amount of praise I got. It just felt so underserved, especially because I flunked on the first try.

We all danced again with Ms. Ve at the end, and thank goodness I knew the songs, so I could improvise good enough.

Well, Lilith is now officially out and about. I hope in the next hafla (sometime in June or July), I'll get to dance with her once again.

nothing escapes the lenses

One time in my life, during senior high, I remembered that one of our assignments was to write a short story. It was so fun that I ended up writing a very long tale about a sappy high-school love story. Boy to boy, of course. It was not only loaded with love, but also with witchcraft, revenge and gore. I got the highest score at that time: 90 out of 100.

The funny thing was, although I did read and reread and proofread my writing that time before submitting it to the teacher, I couldn’t bear to read it once it was graded. And then I read a great quote that I hold true in many facets, even until today: you know you’ve written something good if when you read it one day, you love it and not embarrassed because of it.

Well, I’ve been reading and rereading many of my online writings, at my old weblogs at LittleScars and the Notes at my Facebook and I can say that I love them to bits. I mean, yes I am narcissistic and borderline megalomaniac, but I do love my writings and I’m proud of them. They may not be like Salman Rusdhie’s or John Updike’s, though, but I’m getting there – crossing fingers -.

The same thing is also applied to my dance. During the performances in Bellydance Jakarta’s 3rd Annual Recital Ball, I sucked at the veil number but thought that I did perfectly in the drum solo. But up until now, I don’t have the guts to watch the videos. During the performance at Shimmering Shimmies, I thought I did well in all the pieces, but I didn’t have the nerve to watch the videos… Until last night.

The glam tribaret attempt. The video didn't look this good, though.
Photo by Diana Tri Wulandari.

I finally watched the videos. And man! I was so embarrassed by so many things! I commented on this and that, told myself so many should-have’s and would-have’s and could-have’s and tried to pat my back by reassuring myself that it was just a hafla, but the trick didn’t work. I am a perfectionist, at least in dance.

So yes, I still need much guidance and lots of dance experiences. Hopefully in less than a decade, before my hair starts to fall off and I get my first wrinkle, I can present a dance that not only looks perfect in my imagination, but also in videos.

when the skinny bitch tries to dance

Sandra Bullock is one of my favourite actresses. Yes, I do have a handful of favourite actresses, and although sometimes I doubt Ms. Bullock's range of emotions, she shatters that doubt everytime I watch Hacker, Premonition, Lake House, or the totally awesome Crash.

I remember Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous. It's one of the most gorgeous, funniest, totally underrated movies. Plus there are fabulous lines and dialogues in it that I live by.

One that I remember well was from the beginning of it. It was when Sam Fuller (Regina King) "accidentally" bumped Gracie Hart (Bullock) and delivered a non-wholeheart "sorry". Yeah, Hart was indeed pissed.

The following dialogue is ensued before a fight erupts.

Gracie Hart: How about a real sorry?
Sam Fuller: Come again?
Gracie Hart: You heard me. I said how about a real sorry.
Sam Fuller: You are about to feel some real pain if you don't back off
Gracie Hart: You don't want to talk to me about pain, sister. I invented pain alright.
Sam Fuller: You didn't just call me sister, because I don't recall seeing a little skinny ass white girl around the table growing up.
Gracie Hart: HEY! First of all thank you for calling me skinny, second of all what is your problem and third of all you'd better apologize to me.

Classic.

Now, Bullock (or Hart) is not skinny. Nor is she overweight. She is a healthy, HOT woman. In the movie, she doesn't really emphasize the need of being stick thin, but I think like (almost) all women, Gracie Hart does think that being skinny means being more gorgeous.

When I first entered the gym, my intention was not to bulk up. I said I wanted to look like Kylie (Minogue) - with nice, shapely ass and tone, flat abs. I ended up looking like Janet (Jackson) - with a heck pair of arms and... well, and my ass does look a little bigger.

Earlier today when I checked my facebook account, I noticed that my friend had put up a photo of me dancing during last Sunday's "Shimmering Shimmies" and there was a comment that followed.

I wasn't ready to read what I read. But I did read it and it said, "Wait, the dancer doesn't have breasts and has really thin stomach. How can that be a belly dancer?"

Well, first of all, whoever you are, thanks for calling me thin.

Second of all, I can't forgive you for being ignorant and loud about it. I mean, okay, so you don't know anything about belly dancing. If you don't know anything about it, SHUT UP!

I can't believe how enraged I am. But I am very offended and upset. I am so sick of this body image thing. I am so sick of people telling me that I cannot, may not, and must not dance because of my size.

Those who tell you that stick thin people rule don't know anything about life. We are just as irritated by this hullaballoo as the big-sized people are.

Those who tell you that people who don't have great bodies should just stay at home and never come out and do anything that they greatly desire should be tortured and put to death.

Dance, like EVERYTHING else in this life, is created for those who dance well. And the first rule to dance well, like EVERYTHING else in this life, is to be passionate about it.

I have two extraordinary teachers who are not cut like Giselle Bundchen. I have seen them danced and they deliver the dance perfectly. None of my dance sisters have the zero-fat supermodel bodies, but when we dance, we dance with passion.

So don't tell me I don't have the body to belly dance. Criticize my poor and amateurish technique, but never my physique.

So there.

i live for you, the best years of my life

OMG. I can't believe this.

My gym teacher, Ms. Miftah is organising a hafla for her cardiobelly students. She teaches in quite a few places and her first ever hafla will be done this Sunday, 8 February 2009, at Shisha Cafe, Kemang.

But that's not it.

I'm going to be dancing too! *screams*

I won't be dancing the elegant Egyptian style that Ms. Yaven teaches, though. I mean, apart from not having the guts and enough knowledge, I am more inclined to the American Cabaret style. I don't even mind calling it "Cabaret" or "Nightclub" because no matter what, I do love cabaret and I do go to nightclubs (although I don't drink alcohol or smoke). But I know for a fact that it is impossible to do any style without learning the basic first. And the basic is Egyptian.

I'll be dancing solo twice. The first one will be the (attempted) American Cabaret style with veil. I've actually been making, completing and practicing this choreography since July last year. The songs I use are "Kamasutra" by Sarah Brightman, "Ayshalak" by Elissa, and a drum solo that I have yet found the title and the artist.

The "Kamasutra" song is actually one of the pieces from the original soundtrack of Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (directed by Mira Nair, released in 1996, rated "R" for American audience). The title of the piece is "Maya's Theme", which I found appropriately said because I love, love, love the maia movement. To tell you the truth, it's kind of a rip-off from the seven veil choreography of Ms. Tamalyn Dallal, because that's where I got the inspiration to do something with the song.

That song will be used to enter with veil.

The second song is "Ayshalak" by Elissa. I first heard this song last year after an impulsive purchase of a double CD Arabic album. "Ayshalak" is the first song in the first CD and I didn't know how, but a set of choreographies just flooded my mind. Below are the lyrics (in Arabic) and the translations.

"Ayshalak"

ayshalak ahla sneen
fil omry ya dayy el ain
wa bi alby ya ghaly haneen
wi gharam min awwel youm fi hawak
kan helmy akoun wayak
law youm min omry maak
wa kteer wana batmannak ya habibi
el alby we bastannak

arabny habibi kaman
ana shoui eleek we elhan
emlani iddounya hanan naseeny
maak kull el ahzan
ashak wana mahma aoul
ana rouhi maak ala toul
dana alby kteer mashghoul
ya habibi el omry baa li zaman

ayshalak
aaah arabny beek

***

"I Live for You"

I'm living for you
the most beautiful of years In my life
oh gleam of my eye
And in my heart,
oh precious, there is desire
And passion from the first day of your love
My dream was to be with you
Even for one day of my life with you
And much time I spent dreaming of you my love
My heart and I'm waiting for you

Come closer to me my love
my yearning for you "walhan?!"
fill my life with desire,
make me forget with you all the sadness
I adore you and whatever I say
My soul will be with you always
My heart is so occupied
My love, my years have been long

I live for you
Get close to me

***

I just love the music and when I found out about the lyrics, I was so overwhelmed by the fact that I was going to use it with my first ever solo choreography. And indeed, the best years of my life I've spent with dancing. I've danced my sadness and broken-heart away, I found new friends, new talents and passion through dancing.

Since Elissa is Lebanese, I'm definitely going to (attempt to) dance Lebanese style, fused with American Cabaret. Hopefully Anaheed and Ansuya would be proud.

The second one will be my (attempted) glam Tribaret (Tribal-Cabaret) piece, with a song from Raul Ferrando called "Yearning". The song is quite a sad one, very good for slow, hypnotic, undulating movements.

Show starts at 7 PM, do come if you have the time!

belly dance pet peeves / upcoming performance

I probably shouldn't be daring myself to join the group performance for Bellydance Jakarta's 3rd Annual Recital Ball, but Ms. Yaven so kindly asked me to perform and since I'm such an attention whore, I jumped at it.

My group, Beginner 2, will perform two numbers: veil and tabla. Now veil has never been (too much of) a problem to me. I could do veil just fine, I could do double veil just fine, my first solo dance includes veil, and right now, I'm even choreographing a solo seven-veil number. Hopefully it could be unveiled (ha! Love the pun!) very soon.

However, with veil, I'm still trying to improve my fingerhold and my limp wrists. Who would've thought that such a feminine dance would require straight wrists??

The second one is tabla. I love tabla as much as the next girl, but I do have problems with shimmying. It's ironic really, to call oneself "the boy who shimmies" and yet unable to do so. Two weeks ago, after being exposed to the tabla choreo, Ms. Yaven went to me and told me to improve my shimmy.

So I went home, totally freaked out, what with the recital being on December 13th and the tabla choreography requires many shimmies. I consulted (more like lurked on) websites such as BellyDanceForums.net and frantically browsed for instructional videos on YouTube. Choo Choo Shimmy is never a problem, although I need to work on my leg strength. However, it's the knee shimmy that's putting me down.

And not just a single knee shimmy, the darn choreography also requires layering. WAAA...

I remember when I was in Greece, Ms. Maria Aya also taught me to shimmy and I couldn't do it *burst out crying*. She told me two types of shimmies: the one with the knees and the other one with the glutes. Glutes worked easier than knees.

For a week, after being so frustrated with the shimmy, somewhere in BellyDanceForums.net, I read that it is always good to not shimmy and forget about shimmying, kind of unlearn the shimmy and refresh your knees for one or two days. And then, just shimmy slowly and build up the speed afterwards. And most importantly, practice, practice, practice.

So I took heed of that advice, rested my knees well, and started shimmying again. Until now, whenever I stand, I automatically start to shimmy. I can even layer my shimmies now and last Saturday, when we practiced the drum solo again, Ms. Yaven didn't say anything about my shimmy (I sure hope that's a good sign).

I think I'm back to loving my shimmy.

If you're available on December 13th and would like to come to my first performance with BellyDance Jakarta, please do. In the meantime, here's a video of one of the best shimmier, the infamous Ms. Fifi Abdou.

the tamalyn dallal experience

I don't regularly open Bellydance Jakarta's website, so imagine my shock when I browsed it about five weeks ago and discovered that the great Tamalyn Dallal was coming and doing a workshop. And not just any workshop, but workshops that I had been dying to go to.

So, without hesitating, I signed up. The fact that Bellydance Jakarta was not open to male students didn't even cross my mind (I'll talk about this later).

The announcement that started it all.

The two-day workshop was divided into four parts. On Saturday, October 18th, we studied basic moves and choreography (10 AM - 1 PM) and the Andolous choreography (2 PM - 5 PM). The next day, we were exposed to double veil techniques (10 AM - 1 PM) and the zills (2 PM - 5 PM).

The first time I heard about Ms. Dallal was from Miles Copeland's Belly Dance Superstars. Although deemed heinous by many belly dancers due to the fact that Copeland only hired gorgeous, young, slim dancers - albeit talented and hardworking -, the DVD was a source of inspiration for me. Through the same DVD, I was also exposed to Ansuya and Rachel Brice *shudders*.

Now, this post will be such a great opening piece for my next project, that is to thoroughly define the many styles of belly dance.

Dancing the middle-eastern dance since 1976, Tamalyn Dallal is now one of the most experienced non-middle-eastern belly dancers and a legend in her own right. Her style is gorgeously flowing, oozing endless elegance and it is crystal clear that she has reached that height aimed by all aspiring belly dancers: the height of raks sharqi.

Ms. Maria Aya of Oriental Expression Greece once told me that there are three levels of dancers. The first one is the choreographed dancer. This kind of dancer knows the beat and the music by heart. And then does the exact movement constructed (and memorized) for that one particular song. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the dancer lacks in feelings. This level is for those who just began their lessons.

The second level is semi-improvisational dancers. This kind of dancer knows the song and the beat, knows when the chiftitelli is transforming to taksim, the accents and everything, and knows the overall movements. During each of the movements, the dancer will add his/her own improvisations, making the dance more personal.

The third level is the fully-improvised dancers. You know, the kind of dancer who just heard a song for the first time and then dances his/her heart out as if he/she had danced to the song a million times before.

It is without a doubt that I place Ms. Dallal in the third-level category. Through years of experience and vast knowledge (she traveled to several Islam-oriented cities around the world, including Aceh, Indonesia just after the tsunami – she wrote her experiences in the book that I bought while she got here, entitled “40 Days and 1,001 Nights”) this is the woman whose “seven veil” dance made me cry. And on those two days, she stood in front of us all, with no goddess or diva-like atmosphere, sharing with us her secrets of dancing flawlessly. I think the only thing that reminded me that she was only human was that she was not feeling well at that time from the 20-hour flight.

I bought this book!
Had I more money, I'd buy all the CDs and DVDs of hers!

With great depth and understanding, Ms. Dallal taught us the tips and tricks of veil works (single and double), how to incorporate the usage of zills (finger cymbals) in our movements, and what I find as very important was when she taught us to reach inside ourselves while doing the warming up.

One of the coolest things was when she taught how to differentiate between the feeling of aerial (for Egyptian dances) and earthy (for Tribal). She taught us (or was it only me who found the trick very beneficial?) to take control of the soles of our feet, the balls, the heels, everything. Everything down there is connected with everything on the up.

The video that made me cry.
Being with her, as being with other teachers who teach middle-eastern dances, really made me become more aware of my weaknesses: I can’t shimmy right. And I will never forget how patiently (and how embarrassing for me) Ms. Dallal went to me and taught me how to do the darn ¾ shimmy! I also suck at stepping and creating space. I think a 3-hour drill on steps was not enough.

But strangely, apart from all of those, Ms. Dallal told Ms. Christine Yaven (the owner and director of Bellydance Jakarta) to let me take classes with Ms. Yaven. I have been wanting to learn more about the true Egyptian style belly dance and so far, only Bellydance Jakarta offers the program. And in the end of the workshop, Ms. Dallal gave me this beautiful performance DVD with many male middle-eastern dance performers.

I was also very excited when Ms. Yaven told me that the intermediate class is filled with women who wouldn't care if a male joined in. It was the beginner class that's not open to men because many of the ladies who joined are married and their husbands are not comfortable if there are men in the class. I think any man who survives the beginner's class is considered serious enough to really study this ancient art. It is really hard! The steps and everything... Shaking your hips is one thing, but really understanding the art of playing zills while shimmying is totally difficult. And I thought I was a great multitasker!

All in all, I can only say that Ms. Dallal’s dance does have this transcendental, aerial quality, but when she’s stepped out of the dance and changed into her teacher’s suit, she returns to Earth and gladly assists us mortals.

Yours Truly with Ms. Tamalyn Dallal *sigh*