Belly dancing 101

Yesterday I attended my first belly dancing class.  It took me a bit by surprise that the teacher is one of the least exotic people possible.  40ish, fat, American, with a tight blond bun.  Very good-natured and fun, and I don't doubt that she knows what she's doing.  I guess I must have expected a dark-haired, dark-eyed Middle Easterner.  So much for stereotypes.

One feature of the class was that the large room we met in was cold.  And of course most of the warm up exercises were on the floor.  Not to self: bring a yoga mat!

This class focused on the basics of moving shoulders and hips independently, isolating one movement from the rest of the body.  Fortunately I've done lots of kinds of dancing and many, many types of workouts, so I understand the principle of isolating movement, and am able to do it pretty well, although I am stiffer now than I used to be, so I'm hoping this class will help me become a bit more fluid.  It certainly uses very different sets of muscles than clogging does.

The teacher had spangled, belled scarves for us to tie around our hips, and it was so fun to see them sparkle and hear them tinkle as we moved.  There are five of us in the class, one returnee and four beginners, all women, and all of us did well.  My muscles, especially around my shoulders and chest, are just a bit sore today, which I like because it means I've actually used them.  I think I'm going to enjoy this class, although I don't predict that I'll stay with it with the fervor I give to clogging.

Celebrating the end of the year

As mentioned in my most recent post, one of the highlights of the holiday season was seeing "A Klingon Christmas Carol" with Sweet Hubby.  Except for a few sections between scenes that were spoken in English by a Vulcan narrator, the entire show was spoken in Klingon, with supertitles.

The Klingon language was created by Marc Okrand, who developed it from a few sounds used by Klingon characters as Star Trek shows into a full language with its own vocabulary and syntax.  If you are interested in learning this unique language, check it out on Duolingo.

The play production was both a little cheesy and also terrifically fun.  Grand kudos to the actors for learning this guttural language.  In this particular adaptation of the classic Christmas story, Scrooge isn't despised because he's a miser, but because he lacks honor and courage, both major pillars of the Klingon ethos.  So fun to see something completely different from the dozens of other "Christmas Carol" offerings.

Another treat for the season was going to the zoo with my friend Laurie and walking around the grounds at night enjoying the giant plant and animal figures lit up all everywhere.  We also happened to be just in time to see a group of young Chinese performers putting on a show of juggling and other sorts of circus-y acts.  Their costumes were rather shoddy and not one of them seemed to enjoy what he and she was doing, but they were very talented.  Not quite breathtaking, but fun to watch.

Speaking of a holiday show of which there are many, many versions available, Laurie and I also saw a Nutcracker ballet unlike any I had seen before.  The performers were all students at a dance school, and ranged in age from toddlers to elders.  The skill levels were uneven, as might be imagined, but the costumes were knock-outs, and of course that music is absolutely delicious, no matter how many times I hear it. 

There were also all the usual, not so new holiday treats as well, but the above were the ones I had never experienced before.  And by the way, if you happen to be in the environs of Seattle, I recommend you attend a performance of "A Very Die Hard Christmas", a clever adaptation of the Bruce Willis movie.

Have a swell 2026.  I believe it's going to be a good year.  (Unless our President drags us into a war just so he can feel powerful, but that's a different sort of post.)