Huge thanks to Barbara of www.thedancingspirit.com for sending me this and allowing me to publish it on the blog for you all to share:
The room was huge, elegant, white –
lovely tall ceilings that go on and on,
a large wonderful wooden dance floor
round white tables for 100
– the smell of chocolate ,oysters and excitement filled the air………………..
They were expecting
Just a belly dancer
but they watched
a goddess dancing
to the rhythms of a drummers hands and heart beat
The very dramatic moody music began ……………………………….
The handsome man in a red crisp shirt and suede vest came on stage alone to gracefully set up his drums and two chairs. Putting the gold dancing cane in place, he strategically wrapped the long bright red silk veil around his neck, placing it where it could later be slowly, gracefully pulled off. Then he took his place in his chair, on stage, where he sat smiling at the audience with an inviting and knowledgeable smile of what was to come.
The “grand entrance theme began”.
With light, sizzling energy and grace she appeared to circle the large, grand dance floor in the romantic glamour of days gone by
Her black floor length velvet cape flowing behind, red skirt flirting from beneath
She caught everyone’s one’s eyes, smiling brightly to them and to herself .She filled up the space twirling and twirling, long hair flowing around her
She was completely and freely dancing to the music ,filling every nuance with her dancing soul - revealing, concealing, manipulating the cape to the big music until it was time to dance free of the cape
He assisted her transformation from black cape to red wings
Beneath her cape, bedecked like a goddess from Olympus, was revealed her shimmering lipstick red and gold costume
Chest in molded, lifted, glittering cups, hips wrapped securely and beautifully so each movement was accented to the fullest, muscular but womanly arms, wrapped in glittering bands, smooth white abdomen and back , contrasting against the bright red, legs swathed in gossamer red flowing skirts , like the wings and on her head a matching crown securely fastened on long tresses
The man put a stick in each of her hands for the next dance,“ Wings of Isis” .Her hips never missed a rhythm of the music
The sheer, shimmering, flowing red wings, fully expanded out from her body, lifted fully with strong percussive movements, filled with air and light. Step by step, hip by hip she moved towards the audience, shimmering ,breathing, reaching always higher to fill the music ,to fly up and up away .Around the dance floor she flew the wings ,side to side, in figure 8’s, posing, framing her torso with pride and dignity.Always lifting higher, never missing a beat with each step. Turning wildly, engulfing herself in wings to create a tornado, slowly unfurling again to turn and turn and turn, faster and faster, spinning with complete abandon………….until the music changed and again it was time to remove and free her body again from an expressive dancing image
He was waiting to help her transform again
She stood in front of him, close to his body, looking into his eyes, waiting for the next rhythm to take over.
He lifted her wings slowly off her neck, behind her. She waited while he slowly lifted the wings above her head to the showed rhythms of the next song.
She was shrouded in a framing veil of wings, between him and the wings
Very slowly to the heart beat of the music her arms and hands only, began the sensual mesmerizing dance, from behind the wings – strong, soft, magical, fluid, boneless flow of fingers, hands, elbows, shoulders and hands created from hours, hours, hours , years of practice – beautiful,flowing,detached,boneless,round, circular fluidity like a snake, like a flower unfurling its petals.
Pulling back from him, their eyes connected, she pulled away through the shroud of the gossamer wings. The fluidity moved out toward the audience, her back to them, they watched her energy move down to the floor through her spine, hips, legs, feet and back up again, through her abdomen, up her chest to her neck and shoulders and finally to her face and eyes. Turning towards them she now she watched the audience, watching her flowing fluidly to every heart beat of the music with her soul.
Dancing back to him again, flowing back to him, circling like a bird to find the edge of the long, red silk veil. Smiling knowingly, their eyes connected with a smile , she slowly pulled the veil off his body towards her, taking his energy into her dance with the veil, lifting the silk, filling it with air, flowing it around herself, in and around framing her every movement, losing herself ,lost in the silky brightness ,never stopping, motion forever in flow…………..until the music changed again
He was watching her She wrapped the veil around his shoulders once more and this time he gave her a gold cane to dance with.
The gold cane.
The symbol in the dance of mischievous power – a way for the girls to poke fun and flirt with the boys – a daring ultra earthy, feminine rhythm of joy, eternal youth, of down beats, up beats,of hitting the ground so hard with one end of the cane , as if to say “ I am here – see me – I can do this and that and everything – I can do this and not hurt anyone – I can laugh and smile for just the fun of it and I am completely free to be myself and to dance my dance – why not come dance with me?????? Clap for me – hear those happy rhythms and if not? ok then – watch me dance and be so happy with my cane – very jaunty, jaunty, jaunty and happy until…………the music changed again
He then took the cane with a smile she became the drum for the “ hot drum solo”
The drum solo
The culmination – the heat, the hot, following the loud definite drum pounding rhythm with body parts and soul parts – shuddering and shimmering with practiced control and delight – following the definite rhythmical phrases, repeated again &
Again and then slightly changed – the dancer following each beat with her body parts as they are played – on and on until the rhythm gets faster and faster and faster and faster when there is a final explosion and end!!! Like lightening or thunder. This is the end of the fully orchestrated music which leads to a grand finale.
While she once again swirls the dance floor, smiling to them and to herself, gathering them in her shininess, she exits
Swirling and glistening from the space and leaves him on the dance floor for the drumming of his heart beat and soul
…………………………………………….
He smiles now at the audience and to himself. Slowly he begins to remove his vest. He pulls his shirt tails up and removes
his shirt off completely to reveal taught, tanned, sinewy muscles, subtly tattooed arms and smiles broadly . He is ready to share his story now.He stands behind the wooden stand that holds his steady life partner, the jembe. He breathes deeply, smiling all the while, eyes glistening with excitement, energy cursing through his legs and arms and fingers as he begins to play his rhythms – rhythms he has practiced for so many hours time ran away into the next day,rhythms he learned from many world teachers, rhythms that have made him feel alive, rhythms that gave him hope, that made him friends, that took him on surprising voyages around the world and within himself , magical healing rhythms of the heart and spirit – his rhythms – their rhythms
Slow at first, consistent rhythmical pounding, then phrases – recognizable and then pauses into different phrasing
He calls to the audience – come dance to my rhythms – break out into your bodies, feel my rhythms and they do – dancing and dancing and he is drumming and drumming……………………….he drums them into a frenzy, then he brings them down to a gentle
song and takes them up again……………………..until he says “Now you must leave the dance floor for “ she “ is coming back to dance for you and for me, with me, one more time
He changes from the African jembe to the Middle Eastern dumbek
The dumbek calls
Her zills respond
The dancer and the drummer
She reappears dancing under a black netted veil – mysterious, tantalizing, shimmering , red gold under netted black dancing with the zills – playing to his rhythms – he brings her out to the audience again –
she stops, he stops, he plays, she plays –
they flirt with the rhythms together –
all in play –
is it her? Is it him?
– they are watching and listening –
he watches her feet and hips –
she listens to his beats and sees his smile
…………………Slowly the netting is freed loose and is flowing around her – the netting is different than the silk – it isn’t soft – it doesn’t float in the air – filled with air – it is stiff and electric and mysterious in a different way – off it flies around her in space and lands now
at the drummers feet –
She swirls around him; they smile knowingly at each other
His rhythms change to the waves of the ocean, the waves rolling over and over – up up, down down, smooth, round, undulating, appearing, disappearing
pushing the seaweed from side to side, to and fro
………………she descends to the floor, elegantly, moving her torso this way and that, moving her hips in circles and spirals and figure 8’s over knees and thighs,
She offers her back to the audience, they see the rhythms with her shoulders, her back muscles, her hair adding to the motion – she stares up at him from the floor and they have their wordless conversation across the dance floor………
.she turns forward again to the audience, rolling the waves, smiling to them as they watch her, smiling to herself because she feels so free, so in love with the rhythms ,the movement ,the dance……………………………..
Slowly the drummer bring her up to her feet and she hears the break –
1 break, 2, 3…………..she rushes to him for the red silk veil one more time 4 –
the beginning of their drum solo!........
She dances with a new gusto, with everything in her
With happy familiarity to the steps and rhythms which they both know by heart,
rehearsed and rehearsed over and over again ……………
.the 8’s, the 4’s, into the 3’s – harder transition – the 16 count shimmies – 8 times – what joy –
4 banged out, the 4’s and 1…….,1…….,1…….,1……. Arms and veil swirling in passion,
4 bangs,4 more bangs, back into the waves –
and then they are both free again from form rehearsed –
dancing and drumming freely until she/ he – they feel the end coming…………………
….. he breaks again 1,2,3,4!!!
She has 4 8’s for the culmination –
they both hit it together –
explosion………………..
the end …………………….
They were expecting just
a belly dancer
But they watched
A goddess dancing
To the rhythms of a drummers
Hands and heart beat
Written with love by Barbara, The Dancing Spirit
In honor of all the dancers who danced before, now and through all of time
And for all the rhythms of the drummer hands and heart beats
www.thedancingspirit.com
lovely tall ceilings that go on and on,
a large wonderful wooden dance floor
round white tables for 100
– the smell of chocolate ,oysters and excitement filled the air………………..
They were expecting
Just a belly dancer
but they watched
a goddess dancing
to the rhythms of a drummers hands and heart beat
The very dramatic moody music began ……………………………….
The handsome man in a red crisp shirt and suede vest came on stage alone to gracefully set up his drums and two chairs. Putting the gold dancing cane in place, he strategically wrapped the long bright red silk veil around his neck, placing it where it could later be slowly, gracefully pulled off. Then he took his place in his chair, on stage, where he sat smiling at the audience with an inviting and knowledgeable smile of what was to come.
The “grand entrance theme began”.
With light, sizzling energy and grace she appeared to circle the large, grand dance floor in the romantic glamour of days gone by
Her black floor length velvet cape flowing behind, red skirt flirting from beneath
She caught everyone’s one’s eyes, smiling brightly to them and to herself .She filled up the space twirling and twirling, long hair flowing around her
She was completely and freely dancing to the music ,filling every nuance with her dancing soul - revealing, concealing, manipulating the cape to the big music until it was time to dance free of the cape
He assisted her transformation from black cape to red wings
Beneath her cape, bedecked like a goddess from Olympus, was revealed her shimmering lipstick red and gold costume
Chest in molded, lifted, glittering cups, hips wrapped securely and beautifully so each movement was accented to the fullest, muscular but womanly arms, wrapped in glittering bands, smooth white abdomen and back , contrasting against the bright red, legs swathed in gossamer red flowing skirts , like the wings and on her head a matching crown securely fastened on long tresses
The man put a stick in each of her hands for the next dance,“ Wings of Isis” .Her hips never missed a rhythm of the music
The sheer, shimmering, flowing red wings, fully expanded out from her body, lifted fully with strong percussive movements, filled with air and light. Step by step, hip by hip she moved towards the audience, shimmering ,breathing, reaching always higher to fill the music ,to fly up and up away .Around the dance floor she flew the wings ,side to side, in figure 8’s, posing, framing her torso with pride and dignity.Always lifting higher, never missing a beat with each step. Turning wildly, engulfing herself in wings to create a tornado, slowly unfurling again to turn and turn and turn, faster and faster, spinning with complete abandon………….until the music changed and again it was time to remove and free her body again from an expressive dancing image
He was waiting to help her transform again
She stood in front of him, close to his body, looking into his eyes, waiting for the next rhythm to take over.
He lifted her wings slowly off her neck, behind her. She waited while he slowly lifted the wings above her head to the showed rhythms of the next song.
She was shrouded in a framing veil of wings, between him and the wings
Very slowly to the heart beat of the music her arms and hands only, began the sensual mesmerizing dance, from behind the wings – strong, soft, magical, fluid, boneless flow of fingers, hands, elbows, shoulders and hands created from hours, hours, hours , years of practice – beautiful,flowing,detached,boneless,round, circular fluidity like a snake, like a flower unfurling its petals.
Pulling back from him, their eyes connected, she pulled away through the shroud of the gossamer wings. The fluidity moved out toward the audience, her back to them, they watched her energy move down to the floor through her spine, hips, legs, feet and back up again, through her abdomen, up her chest to her neck and shoulders and finally to her face and eyes. Turning towards them she now she watched the audience, watching her flowing fluidly to every heart beat of the music with her soul.
Dancing back to him again, flowing back to him, circling like a bird to find the edge of the long, red silk veil. Smiling knowingly, their eyes connected with a smile , she slowly pulled the veil off his body towards her, taking his energy into her dance with the veil, lifting the silk, filling it with air, flowing it around herself, in and around framing her every movement, losing herself ,lost in the silky brightness ,never stopping, motion forever in flow…………..until the music changed again
He was watching her She wrapped the veil around his shoulders once more and this time he gave her a gold cane to dance with.
The gold cane.
The symbol in the dance of mischievous power – a way for the girls to poke fun and flirt with the boys – a daring ultra earthy, feminine rhythm of joy, eternal youth, of down beats, up beats,of hitting the ground so hard with one end of the cane , as if to say “ I am here – see me – I can do this and that and everything – I can do this and not hurt anyone – I can laugh and smile for just the fun of it and I am completely free to be myself and to dance my dance – why not come dance with me?????? Clap for me – hear those happy rhythms and if not? ok then – watch me dance and be so happy with my cane – very jaunty, jaunty, jaunty and happy until…………the music changed again
He then took the cane with a smile she became the drum for the “ hot drum solo”
The drum solo
The culmination – the heat, the hot, following the loud definite drum pounding rhythm with body parts and soul parts – shuddering and shimmering with practiced control and delight – following the definite rhythmical phrases, repeated again &
Again and then slightly changed – the dancer following each beat with her body parts as they are played – on and on until the rhythm gets faster and faster and faster and faster when there is a final explosion and end!!! Like lightening or thunder. This is the end of the fully orchestrated music which leads to a grand finale.
While she once again swirls the dance floor, smiling to them and to herself, gathering them in her shininess, she exits
Swirling and glistening from the space and leaves him on the dance floor for the drumming of his heart beat and soul
…………………………………………….
He smiles now at the audience and to himself. Slowly he begins to remove his vest. He pulls his shirt tails up and removes
his shirt off completely to reveal taught, tanned, sinewy muscles, subtly tattooed arms and smiles broadly . He is ready to share his story now.He stands behind the wooden stand that holds his steady life partner, the jembe. He breathes deeply, smiling all the while, eyes glistening with excitement, energy cursing through his legs and arms and fingers as he begins to play his rhythms – rhythms he has practiced for so many hours time ran away into the next day,rhythms he learned from many world teachers, rhythms that have made him feel alive, rhythms that gave him hope, that made him friends, that took him on surprising voyages around the world and within himself , magical healing rhythms of the heart and spirit – his rhythms – their rhythms
Slow at first, consistent rhythmical pounding, then phrases – recognizable and then pauses into different phrasing
He calls to the audience – come dance to my rhythms – break out into your bodies, feel my rhythms and they do – dancing and dancing and he is drumming and drumming……………………….he drums them into a frenzy, then he brings them down to a gentle
song and takes them up again……………………..until he says “Now you must leave the dance floor for “ she “ is coming back to dance for you and for me, with me, one more time
He changes from the African jembe to the Middle Eastern dumbek
The dumbek calls
Her zills respond
The dancer and the drummer
She reappears dancing under a black netted veil – mysterious, tantalizing, shimmering , red gold under netted black dancing with the zills – playing to his rhythms – he brings her out to the audience again –
she stops, he stops, he plays, she plays –
they flirt with the rhythms together –
all in play –
is it her? Is it him?
– they are watching and listening –
he watches her feet and hips –
she listens to his beats and sees his smile
…………………Slowly the netting is freed loose and is flowing around her – the netting is different than the silk – it isn’t soft – it doesn’t float in the air – filled with air – it is stiff and electric and mysterious in a different way – off it flies around her in space and lands now
at the drummers feet –
She swirls around him; they smile knowingly at each other
His rhythms change to the waves of the ocean, the waves rolling over and over – up up, down down, smooth, round, undulating, appearing, disappearing
pushing the seaweed from side to side, to and fro
………………she descends to the floor, elegantly, moving her torso this way and that, moving her hips in circles and spirals and figure 8’s over knees and thighs,
She offers her back to the audience, they see the rhythms with her shoulders, her back muscles, her hair adding to the motion – she stares up at him from the floor and they have their wordless conversation across the dance floor………
.she turns forward again to the audience, rolling the waves, smiling to them as they watch her, smiling to herself because she feels so free, so in love with the rhythms ,the movement ,the dance……………………………..
Slowly the drummer bring her up to her feet and she hears the break –
1 break, 2, 3…………..she rushes to him for the red silk veil one more time 4 –
the beginning of their drum solo!........
She dances with a new gusto, with everything in her
With happy familiarity to the steps and rhythms which they both know by heart,
rehearsed and rehearsed over and over again ……………
.the 8’s, the 4’s, into the 3’s – harder transition – the 16 count shimmies – 8 times – what joy –
4 banged out, the 4’s and 1…….,1…….,1…….,1……. Arms and veil swirling in passion,
4 bangs,4 more bangs, back into the waves –
and then they are both free again from form rehearsed –
dancing and drumming freely until she/ he – they feel the end coming…………………
….. he breaks again 1,2,3,4!!!
She has 4 8’s for the culmination –
they both hit it together –
explosion………………..
the end …………………….
They were expecting just
a belly dancer
But they watched
A goddess dancing
To the rhythms of a drummers
Hands and heart beat
Written with love by Barbara, The Dancing Spirit
In honor of all the dancers who danced before, now and through all of time
And for all the rhythms of the drummer hands and heart beats
www.thedancingspirit.com
