| Women Rediscover Femininity in Dance |
| By Sandy Cullen for the "Patriot-News", Harrisburg, PA |
As strands of shimmering coins begin to jingle with the movement of the hips they encircle, the everyday stresses of work and family drift away while a group of area women reconnects with an ancient female dance ritual.
For more than a year now, Shelby Pizzarro of Camp Hill has been sharing her lifelong love of Middle Eastern dance with women eager to escape their daily routine and embark on an exotic journey through music and movement.
The rewards of what is commonly known as belly dancing are myriad, the women say.
Among the many health benefits are staying in shape, increased flexibility, improved posture and coordination and a general feeling of well-being.
Some say the gentle, fluid movements may help prevent osteoporosis and some forms of arthritis.
"It helps with a lot of female issues", Pizzarro said. For many women, menstrual pain and lower back discomfort are alleviated with the undulaing motion of the hips and spine. Postnatal women also have found that belly dancing helps restore muscle tone to the abdomen and strength to the pelvic floor muscles.
Many participants embrace belly dancing as a way to celebrate their womanhood.
The centuries-old dance tradition is imbedded in cultures in Turkey, India, Persia, North Africa and the Middle East. Legend has it that the art form was introduced to the United States at the Chicago Worlds's Fair in 1893 by a dancer called "Little Egypt". A popular form of cabaret entertainment in the 1920s and '30s, it found renewed popularity in the late 1950s and early '60s, and again in the mid to late '70s, when it came to be regarded disparagingly by those who felt it objectified women.
"It's moved on from that", Pizzarro said. "It's really gone back to what it was really all about-women being together and enjoying themselves."
Belly dancing is once again enjoying a resurgence in popularity, this time as a workout for the body, mind and spirit.
"It gets you in touch", Pizzarro said, adding that as a sedentary culture, "we're not really in touch with parts of our body."
"This is very, very freeing," she said. "It gets you in touch with moving in a way you're not used to moving."
The result, Pizzarro said, is "a natural high."
"If you want to call that spiritual, it is for me," she said.
Born in Brooklyn, Pizzarro grew up in Camp Hill. In her early 20s, she went to live in Israel and then England, where she began studying and performing Middle Eastern dance.
"I've always just loved the Middle East", she said. "It's the language, the food, the culture, everything. It's just always been a part of me."
Pizzarro, who has been dancing since 3, established a Middle Eastern dance troupe, which performed throughout England. She is now working on creating a performing company here.
Belly dance was first recommended to Fox after she separated from her former husband, at a time when she was feeling a lack of empowerment.
The classes have drawn women ranging in age from 12 to 65, including family members spanning three generations.
Pizzarro teaches and performs the Egyptian style of belly dance. "It's layered, and the movements are very contained with not a lot of movement about the floor."
The top dancers in Egypt today are women in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, Pizzarro said.
In her classes participants learn basic movements, which Pizzarro incorporates into choreographed dances "so they have something to perform for themselves, friends or family."
"It is something they can go home and do on their own," Pizzarro said. "It's a lot of fun. You get to wear a lot of shiny stuff."
Participants cited a variety of reasons for taking the classes. "I like to do it because it makes me feel good about myself," said Cathy Shuey of Carsonville.
"You feel like you're just a kid again," said JoanneCassaro of Mechanicsburg. "It's just girly fun, and it's really good exercise."
"It's the only time I really have for me," said Shannon Shuff of Dillsburg. "I love the music and I love to dance. Dance is so ancient. I think all women like to dress up and feel pretty and dance."
"It helps you feel more feminine," said Cindy Weinstock of Harrisburg, who has been taking Pizzarro's class since February 2002. "You have this beautiful thing that flows with the music, and it just touches your soul."
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