My Urban Genie Look, or What Did Belly Dance Change in My Closet

My Urban Genie Look, or What Did Belly Dance Change in My Closet

I’m often asked why I belly dance. Ukrainian by nationality, living in Canada… For some people (actually, for a surprising number of people) it is strange that I would do belly dance, let alone choose this art as my profession. The answer is extremely simple: because I love it.

We don’t choose our beloved ones. Our heart does. We only decide if we follow it or not. I chose to follow. I can’t tell why I love belly dance and everything inspired by the Orient, but I can tell a few things that I love about belly dance, and what it changed in my lifestyle… and my closet. ☺

Belly dance gave countless possibilities to create my own world… to be my own crazy genie in everyday life. I have a perfect excuse to buy Oriental inspired jewelry that I can also wear beyond the stage. I can go crazy with my make-up experiments. Even if I show up with Arabic smoky eyes to a regular meeting with friends, they treat it as something normal due to my profession. I discovered a number of dance shops that sell amazing goodies never found in big shopping malls. Whenever I travel to the Middle East of my business (i.e. dance study and performances), I like to combine those trips with shopping.

Moreover, I like mixing cultures, and belly dance like no other dance form is open for such experiments. You can dance with an Egyptian Saidi cane, which would be traditional, or you can dance with Chinese inspired fan-veils, or you can do fusion with flamenco, Brazilian dance! Or even go completely crazy and create a total fantasy piece based on belly dance. The same in everyday life: Tibetan pants with Egyptian jewelry and French-inspired design shoes?.. Love it!

It’s true that I do enjoy creating looks for stage and beyond it: playful or serious, romantic or femme fatale. There is so much space for creativity in the dance world that it becomes a way of living. I feel absolutely blessed that I can be my own crazy genie both on stage and in everyday life. Of course, belly dance, as well as life itself, is much more than just how you look. But when you have an opportunity to look the way you want, doesn’t it feel great?

What did belly dance change in your closet? Share below in comments! ☺