Gothic Belly Dancing Artical

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order of evii spirits: Melbourne gothic belly dancer,Ma'isah,teachesher troupe to harnessgroup synelgy,as doesZariel in her troupe, Khandroma,nar-nedafter a Tibetan spiritual energy who dances with wild abandonfnr outsidethe reach of humankind. Brisbar-re-barsed SaahirahRar,ynis also tr tearcher. Sheexplainsthe genesisof her name: 'lVIv name has been conceived througl-r meditation-"Saahirah"meaning "of the moon and stars"or "enchantress". "Raryn" is an acknowledgment of my spirit guides,one of which is a raven. To the Druids, the raven represents initiation, healing and protection. The raven is also a misunderstoodcreature and, like the Gothic subculture,carriesa stigmaof fearand evil.' These names are very different from dancer invites a spirit or archetype to the typicalArabicand Egyptiannames her dance, she discoverscourage and usedby cabaretbelly dancers. daring that may not have been there Among the belly dance community, before. Zariel tells her students:'Susie gothic belly dancers distinguish in accountingmight not shimmy, but themselves by the practiceof witchcraft. Cleopatra,Queenof the Nile, will.' Aepril is involved in severalcommunities The dancermay usemagicalelenents that practise regular seasonalritual. to add more fuel to the fire of the dance. Saahirah Raryn's private craft includes The mostbasicof theseis usingthe circle a dance ritual. She draws a protective with magical intent. Aepril explains: circleto dancethroughar-rdthen reverses 'Bellydanceisfull offigure-eights, circles, the direction to dissipatethe energy.A undulations etc. already,so it's really favouritepreparationfor Ma'isah's troupe a matter of doing the rlovement with is a moving meditationconnectingwith intentior-r and consciousenergybuilding the earth. Deva feels that Europe lost and releasir-rg. That rnakesit ritual.' She manywisepeopleto the witch hunts.She also usestalisrnans.'In Tlrc Morrigaru I usesgothic belly danceto revivethe lost dancedwith a skull on a staff.This prop magickof her ancestors. Thesebeliefsare was my familiar, a symbolic theatrical not usually found arnong mainstream tool for communicating the presence belly dancers. of the Morrigan and a weapon for Blending the Craft with belly dar.rce banishment.'Devausesmudras to both begins with consecrating space and give and deny power to her audience. blessingitems such as swordsar-rdzills She is carefulnot to harm anyonein the (small finger cyn.rbals). Ma'isah blesses crossfireof energy.SaahirahRaryn uses her scimitar and her dancespace.If the the opportur-rityin her performanceto latter is neglectedshe can feel it in her intoxicateher audiencewith scentwhilst performance.Aepril sometimesopens brushing past them. The more magical her pieceswith a call of the quarters.A pictureemergesthat a gothicbellydance elements used, the more potent the spell. is not simply entertainmentbut a mirror The dramatic result of all of this of witchcraftritual. n.ragickis glamour - the projection of Gothic belly dancers invoke gods, allure and charisma.Gothic belly dance goddesses, spiritsand archetypesduling their performance.Ma'isah has called up goddessessuch as Astarte, Lilith, Isis,Hecateand somewithout common names. Saahirah Rar,yn raises the fae spirit and sonetimes anin-ral spirits. Aepril has been working extensively r'vitl-rthe goddess,the Morrigan, as 'the trickster/warrior/queen of death,sex,and victoryl She also createda piece called Tlrc Passionof the Marys invoking 'the goddessMary as r-naiden,mother and crone/rr,idon',fusing the split between Marr' \'irgin and Mary of Magdala.' Zariel rvorks rvith Ereshkigal,Erzulie Dantor, IVlelusine, Anath and Atargatis and quite often blir-rgsthem into her performance,eitl-ret'through rnusic or specificmovements.When a gothicbelly

is a powerful synergy of both gothic and witch glamour. Gothic glamour is a rich emotive and visual tapestrythat evokesthe voluptuous, the vampiric, the primevaland the perverse. Ma'isahdescribes it: 'Glamour,in goth terms,isthedarkmysteryof theunknown using the dramatic eyesthat invite aswell asprovokecuriosityand a littie Ihealthy] fearof the unknown.Drama,mystique and allure- to me, all women feel these thir-rgs as naturallyasthey feelthe moon t u l n . T h a t c a p t i v a t i o nt,h a t i n t e r a c t i o n and cor-rnection with tl-reaudienceis a deeplyspiritualand fleetingmoment all at once.Castingthe spell of suspended reality and one that allows freedom of the imagination for the audience, is the most important and successful part of my dance art.' Zariel,adds: 'ln a magical sense,we consider it to be using the energiesof the darker side of the universe,of the dark goddesses, and projectingthemwith our dance,covering ourselvesin that energy and radiating it to the audience.I personallyfeel it is more evocativeof desiresand mysteries than mainstream belly dance. Gothic belly dancerstend to developpersonas, becomingancientpriestesses - conduits between the darker side of energies and the audienceand even themselves. A gothic glamour can exposethe side of magick that is secret,lessspokenof, lesswidely accepted.' By the end of the dance,the audienceis hypnotisedunder the doublehelix spellof gothicar.rdwitch glamour. Gothic belly dance is a dangerous lullaby. It is woven from elusive and sometimesopposingforcesthat surgeup through the dancer'sfeet.The audience are an accompliceof darkness.They are touchedbv a museof the shadows.

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