Baubo Belly Dancing News Stories

Shimmy, Shimmy, Hip Drop

Yours--01st of August 2004

"Snake arms - shimmy, shimmy - hip drop. Now, elephant arm to the left and glide." In Milford Havens community centre, half a dozen women are striving to follow the lead of their gracefully undulating teacher, Guinevere Clark. Some of them are wearing full regalia - from tassled bras to ankle bracelets - while others are simply clad in everyday clothes, plus a hip belt (a sarong-like triangle hung with coins), but all of them are clearly enjoying themselves.

Guinevere says: "One of the things I like about belly dancing is that it is a bit different; it always raises an eyebrow and gives people a giggle. It seems to release the fun in everyone." Blonde and petite, it would hard to imagine anyone less like a belly dancer but, as she explains, there are many misconceptions surrounding the art of Oriental dance.

The myth she explodes is that this is a dance for voluptuous types only. "Whether you have a belly or not is irrelevant - you dance with your whole body. Of course, there are abdominal moves but these are really in the nature of party tricks. There is a lot of symbolic meaning attached to various gestures, but belly dancing is essentially about feeling and you don't have to worry about the significance of every movement."

Forget, too all that 'wink-wink, nudge-nudge' stuff. Far from being solely for the entertainment of men, belly dancing was traditionally performed by women for women, usually within the seclusion of the harem. It was a social grace handed down from mother to daughter.

Guinevere first saw belly dancing on stage at a U2 rock concert but didn't take it up until some years later when, having strained her back, she was looking for a way of keeping fit without the boredom of working out at the gym. By chance she saw an advert for classes given by Jacqueline Chapman, the acknowledged doyenne of British belly dancing, and thought: "I really fancy that". It proved a life changing experience.

At the age of 30 she has given up her job as a nurse in London and moved to Haverfordwest where she is busy building a completely new career based on her skill as a belly dancer - as well as raising a few local eyebrows. In addition to teaching she runs The Shimmy Shop, which sells belly dance music and instructional videos as well as costumes and jewellery imported from Egypt and Turkey. On the day of my visit the Mayor had officially opened this unusual addition to the towns more traditional attractions like the half-ruined castle on the hill.

Guinevere, who has a degree in drama and poetry, comments: "I am a creative person by nature and need to be creative in my work, Belly dancing is an infinite art form - you're always learning because there are so many different styles." Her own style is a mixture of the two main strands of belly dancing - Egyptian and Turkish.

When I spoke to her, she had just returned from ten days in Egypt where she attended classes by the half-Greek, half-Australian teacher Keti Sharif. "It was good to watch professional belly dancers," says Guinevere, who has also been to Turkey in her quest to learn as much as possible about her chosen vocation. "It inspired me to give something new to my students."

Each class starts with basic exercises like wrist circles, hip circles or rib cage slides before going on to more complex sequences of moves with rather strange names like the camel walk. Guinevere says some people pick it up quickly while others take longer to loosen up. "Belly dancing ripens with the years; the longer you do it, the better you get."

Yours reader Pauline Hughes, aged 71, is certainly proof of that. One of the first to join the Milford Haven class, Pauline just loves all kinds of dancing and her weekly schedule would challenge many younger women. On Mondays she goes to salsa and modern ballroom dancing, on Wednesdays she is off to the line dancing in the afternoon before belly dancing in the evening, then she winds up with a bit of sequence dancing on Thursdays.

In addition to all that Pauline makes her own costumes. On the evening I met her she was wearing a slinky little number she had run up from an old sheet and trimmed with sequins. "I like the belly dancing because it is friendly and we have a bit of fun," she says, adding, "It's relaxing and makes me sleep better too."

Having been a nurse, Guinevere is aware that some people need to take a little extra care when embarking on any new form of exercise. "Most people who take it up find that their aches and pains improve although I did have one lady with arthritis in her knee who was unable to continue I always warn people with diabetes that they should take care not to cut or damage their feet when dancing barefoot as the injury can take a long time to heal. Ideally, they should wear shoes."

When I went with Guinevere to her class in the distinctly unexotic environs of Pembroke Dock, I met three ladies who'd been inspired to take up belly dancing after seeing a demonstration at their WI meeting (proving once again that since calendar girls hit our screens it really isn't all jam and Jerusalem) Nanette Armstrong says, "After her talk, Guinevere invited us up on stage and even though I was suffering with a bad back I went, asking myself, "Why am I doing this?" The next morning my back felt absolutely fine so I decided to go along regularly.

Her friend Marion Bird (at 77, one of the senior members of the group) adds: "I was getting a bit stiff and belly dancing has done me the world of good; it helped me with my breathing as well."

Sarah Thomas chips in, "We are hoping to bring along more people from the WI now that they see how much fun we're having. And after only eight weeks, we are already more supple with fewer aches and pains."

Then off they go, doing the camel walk with the rest of them.