And Today I was Brought Back to Life...........

Hello All,

Today I went to a bellydance workshop with Tito Seif, an Egyptian male bellydancer. This guy is amazing, and the best teacher I've ever had hands-down. We danced for three hours and I wasn't tired, and did not find him boring. I would travel all the way to Egypt just for the chance to learn under him again. I hope that I get that chance again someday. Luckily I didn't have to travel this time around, as he came to my town.

He doesn't speak English and mainly taught us through movements. He was able to count up to eight, say "left, right", tell us to smile, and smiled and told us that all women are beautiful. There were no mirrors either. But I was lucky and had a spot right in front of him, so I could mimic his moves. He oozes passion with each of his moves. The reason I love watching him is because he keeps the dance cultural, and does not dance like a woman. He wears traditional garb that men wear, and keeps his moves masculine. I do not like watching men bellydance like women. Somehow Tito manages to retain his manhood while bellydancing. And he says that he does that on purpose when he dances.

I fell in love with the whole experience. His moves were true to his culture, and he kept smiling the whole time and told his to smile. I also loved that he sang along to the music while he was smiling and dancing. It was easy for me to dance to his routines because he taught by example, not choreography. I feel like I'm functionally retarded when I have to dance according to choreography. He dances by listening to the music, not strictly by choreography. I dance best when I just listen to the music and move.

I was kinda glad that there weren't any mirrors, that way I could not judge myself. While I was mimicking his moves, I felt like I came alive. I was smiling the whole time, and my hips loosened up. I was able to shimmy as much as he did. I was able to do all the spins he did, and follow his lead. Usually I find myself tensing up after a few minutes. Today I felt like I could walk into a room and do any shimmy or twirl.

I also had a school-girl crush on him. I was embarrassed and tried to hide it, but I flirted with him a little, so did the other women, haha. But he was so friendly and smiled a lot and I couldn't help it. I also got my picture taken with him.

There were a lot of other women there, and it was nice to run into some that I already knew, but haven't seen in a long time. One of the women was my teacher, and a couple other recognized me from other performance events. The bellydance community is small, so you tend to run into the same people after a while. But everyone was nice, and one of the girls next to me helped me with some of my moves. She was really good.

Anyways, I just had to write about this, because I felt really happy today. I felt like I came alive again, and that this is what true happiness feels like, and I should feel like this every day. Isn't that what God intended ? For us to feel so happy and alive that we no longer care about what others think ? That we no longer think that anything is wrong with us ? I totally fell in love with Tito's attitude and dance style and was lucky to learn under him and discover that I can move like he does if I just allow myself to open up and practice more. This is really what makes me happy in life, and I am lucky that I discovered bellydance early on in life. 

And here is a picure of him and his smile that inspired me to smile more while I dance. You'd be amazed at how many bellydancers simply do not smile.