Well, now, there’s a question! I’ve been rolling it around in my head for the past couple of days. In my head, I can certainly do it. I’m just not sure that my head talks with my body that regularly. I haven’t yet plucked up courage to actually try it, outside of my head, and in the strict privacy of my room.  I am thinking about it, but I think I’ll have to get the right music before I can have a go.

The reason for this somewhat startling cogitation on my part is that I recently attended a belly dancing class — as an observer — with a friend who is taking the class. There were women of all sizes and shapes and ages dancing. I really did want to be out there with them, but in spite of an invitation from the instructor to join them, it would have been silly of me to do it. They knew what they were doing and I didn’t. Mind you, not knowing what I’m doing has never stopped me before… But this was different. I need to know my limitations before I exhibit them in public.

Those of you who are belly dancers, or who know a bit about it, will have to bear with me here; I don’t know the language–the names of the steps. See? They aren’t really steps, are they? I mean, the feet aren’t where the action is. What would they be called?…moves? Anyway, it seems to all be in the hips. I figure I have two bionic hips, so I should be a whiz at it.

I’m just not sure about the shimmy. I don’t know if I could get the dangly bangles in the frenzy of motion that is called for. If the dangly bits were meant to hang off my upper arms instead of my bottom, I’d have no trouble getting them to shake and shimmy!

And then there is the veil. For some of the dances the veil is flying all over the place. Given how much trouble I have getting a table cloth spread out, I can imagine what sort of tangle my veil would wind up being.  I don’t fancy having to explain another broken leg to my orthopaedist as having happened when I tripped on my veil…                MM