I have recently been inspired by the TEDx video from Jennifer Siebel Newson and it got me thinking about my place as a powerful women.

This video is great because it points out so wonderfully how the media degrades women everyday in subtle and not so subtle ways. As I thought about this, I considered what this means for me as a dancer/performer.

Lets face it belly dancing is a sexual dance. It is about the female form in all its beauty. I feel that what I do is sexy, and I like that. I also feel that we as belly dancers do so much more. We are powerful women. Belly dance is a style of dance that is about loving your body and how it expresses the music. Though this is not how the media portrays it. For me belly dancing is about being powerful and saying this is who I am. I am wonderful! Sure belly dance has cute costumes and sure we do sexy movement, but I feel that real sex appeal comes from the confidence and power that a strong dancer shows.

The take home message is that the dance is about you. It is about what you do and who you are. It is not about the people in that audience that you think you need to impress. When it comes down to it, I dance for me and that is powerful.

-Nara