Ladies, I would like to get very technically specific with you. Consider this
to be an advanced anatomy lesson, with very specific applications for
belly dancers. (Yes, also Goddess dancing, women's multicultural dance, and
all the many varied names we have for it -- but specifically, any form of
ethnically-based dance that encourages us to develop precise control over
abdominal muscles.)
There have been numerous articles written over the past few decades
regarding the (ahem) "sexual history" of belly dance. These articles
go through the usual drill: Women did it to entice men. (Of
course we did, but does anyone really think we'd put that much attention,
energy, and hard work just into turning men on? That's too
easy!) Women did this to prepare for childbirth. (Yes, of course
- an extra benefit of belly dance is improved abdominal control, which
certainly help us with childbirth. But again -- a woman might give birth
once every few years. Are we really going to keep up a dance practice
for that long just for those infrequent, albeit special, events? Not
likely.)
Other theories -- or rationales -- are somewhat more realistic. Women
did this for fun, and to express themselves in a community. (This
makes sense. Humans -- unless restricted and constricted by adverse,
and typically rigid, patriarchal, controlling religions -- have always
danced. So we are definately getting somewhere.) Women did this
as priestesses, leading the community in Goddess worship. (Again,
makes sense. See my earlier webpage on women, body awareness, and connection
with the divine. Good references, more to come.) And finally, my favorite:
Women did this to feel good - and turning ourselves on is part of
that "feel-good.". (This makes more sense than anything
else. Anything that makes us feel good is worth our time, energy, and
attention.)
So the real question is: If we are doing this dance to "turn ourselves on" (and let's have
some bonus from all those hours of perfecting vocabulary, technique, and choreography), then --
precisely how?
Doesn't that seem like a very reasonable question to ask?
I can tell you with certainty, after studying and practicing this dance art for over
twenty years, and having taught it for more than twelve, and from having studied with
the very best teachers that I could possibly find, that this subject has never once
come up in class. In fact, one of the teachers whom I love and revere the most said, flat-out,
"It's not about sex."
Well, of course it isn't -- if we're defining "sex" as the art of titillating men; of prancing
around in skimpy costumes, or of doing movements that are a little much of the vulgar, too little
of the aesthetic.
But this is the same teacher who mused, during one workshop, "We need to make this a bit more juicy,"
and substituted a series of soft, rounded single hip circles where she had previously used more
percussive techniques.
This wasn't quite sex, but this was "creating juice," and now we're getting somewhere.
If you've been dancing for a while (and I trust, if you're reading a Level 3 letter and thinking
that it applies to you, that you have indeed been dancing for more than two or three years),
then you know that some moves and some dances have indeed left you feeling a bit "juicy." Especially
if you go through them a few times. Whereas others -- well, they are lessons in technique, timing,
and concentration.
So what, you may ask, is there in this dance that we can deliberately use to "get that glow"?.
Herein lies our lesson in female anatomy.
If you were lucky enough to be attending to the news during 1998, you
may have come across a small bit of excitementwhen "new results," published
originally by Dr. Helen O'Connell, on clitoral
anatomy were released. It turns out the gross anatomical information
was not so new. But also, the research was by no means disputed, and
new neurological results were reported. By now, the correct anatomical
understanding is now much more widespread, and the Wikipedia
definition is reasonably complete.
We now understand that the "clitoral crura" extend as Y-shaped bands around the genital
opening, under the labia minor. (Please see the Wiki, above, for detailed anatomy and a
good illustration.)
Translating this to practice: When we dance, and contract our lower abdominal muscles --
meaning specifically the interior and exterior obliques, in the approximate two inch are
just above the pelvic bone, we can exert pressure through the very lowest portion of
our torsos, and indirectly stimulate these two internal, clitoral "wings."
Consider this to be a side benefit of the dance.
In order to get this benefit (and this should be an inducement to exercise,
if nothing else works), you absolutely have to do "core conditioning"
of the toughest kind. Straightforward sit-ups, the usual "crunches,"
will not work. We are after the obliques, both external and internal,
as well as the rarely-mentioned pyramidalis muscle. (See the Wiki
on abdominal muscles. Another good source shows
muscle layers.)
Once you have control over your lower abdominal muscles, you can use both regular undulations
as well as compression overlays. For example, you might try a "flutter" in your very lowest
abdominal area. Try alternating a "deep (lower) abdominal flutter" with a lower undulation for good effect.
As a side benefit of all the abdominal work, you will also develop a
stronger lower internal diaphragm, and (if you work your back muscles
as well), a stronger lower back. This will give you a strong, robust,
"muscular shell" in which to hold all the ching energy that
you'll be creating as you apply dance techniques. (And whatever else
you do with this energy is strictly your business.)
As my third-grade teacher used to say, "A word to the wise is sufficient." Add this to your dance training,
and see how you can play with the results.
