September 15, 2005
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As I watched Farahazad woo her audience, I came to understand what it was to be a bellydancer and why it held such a draw for me. I couldn’t think of a more complete form of self-expression. She might have been hiding behind that mask of make-up but the song gave her away. She shared her story with her hands, showed us her passion with her hips. This public unfolding, such an intimate part of the soul, your sensuality; the very core of your being, was a form of intimacy I new would be my salvation. WRONG
Her music, her dance, her love permeated the room. I’d heard so much about Goddess but it wasn’t until I watched these women giving themselves up to us that I understood the word. There was a woman selling Goddess necklaces and I bought the figure of a dancer. I put it around my neck to remind myself I was a Goddess, too.
The fabric lady sent me over to the booth to buy the forms for a belt and bra. The belt fits over the top of the skirt and rides at the hipbones. There are different shapes but they generally cover the abdomen and sacrum and are decorated with beads that dangle well below the belt. I had a hard time tearing myself away from all that trim, everything you’d need to adorn a Goddess. FIX THIS
Back with the yardage, I measured and bought extra. Then the fun began. I laid out the belt and bought a length of two kinds of trim (long strands of beads) so that, with each thrust of my hips, these two layers of beads would whip around. The trim picked up the same shades as the sequins. They suggested I use a glue gun and stick a packet of glass beads on the midnight blue. What pulled it all together were the appliques, which just happened to be in the same hues. The bra would have one on each breast, and the belt would have a big one in the center front with two overlapping, smaller ones on either side and the biggest for the center back. Predominantly purple, the beaded petals splayed out towards my navel. The red costume I could see, hanging across the room, was starting to look boring.
Now it was time for the jewelry. I hit the jackpot when I found a basket of tarnished gold bracelets in varying widths. Choosing a mix, I got three for each arm, plus this adjustable one for my upper arm, in the form of a ruby-eyed snake. The tail sat just above my elbow, it’s body winding around my bicep. I went to the big mirror to try a pair of long but lightweight magenta earrings, enjoying the gold riding up my arm as I reached up to pull my hair back. I startled at the sight of me: this exotic woman in the mirror. I was glad I’d worn make-up, though it was barely enough for this Goddess in gold. I smiled, knowingly, and turned to begin the search for a suitable necklace when Iliana found me.
“Audrey, look at you”
“I look more like a dancer, huh.”
We hugged and she kept a hold of me, standing back to admire the snake. I could see she was excited for me, approving of the direction my new identity was headed.
“Did you see Farahazad?” I asked.
“Yes. What did you think of that costume?”
I came to learn that Iliana believed in the old axiom: If you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all.
“What’s with that clown make-up?” I asked.
“That’s just a mask she wears.”
“But why wouldn’t she want to be beautiful?”
“Maybe she’d rather be remembered.”
©2005 pd Brown
Comments (12)
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Oh! I so love that last line! And what a way to adorn a Goddess!
You’ve such a style, Pru. And I love this look into your world.
Not as much as I love you, though…GFW
Hmm. I’m thinking of doing something on ancient Egypt and I like the imagery, especially about the fabrics.
RYC: Those teachers are such snobs. To them literary fiction is all that counts. But Gardner was really the best of the 20th century teachers and he knew better than to dispense with plot. For if there is no story, there is no reason to read. Even poetry–even a few lines–tells a story, albeit small.
Lynn
Pru: How about mesmerizing for the word? Something in that vein.
RYC: Selzer is carbonated water with nothing else in it. Not Tonic..It won’t do. Canada Dry makes the only brand I could find here in my city. Also Rock Star: INXS will air the final show Tuesday either 9 or 10pm next week…Don’t miss Marty Casey Mesmerize YOU!! Oh CBS is the channel.
Marilyn
Hate to go off topic, but this—I made it up to the part where you say standard nigger IQ of 75 and that’s all I could take.—needs addressing.
i didn’t say nothing
WHAT you saw up there was the result of a Google search…it was number one on the page. This whole fallacious belief that “nigger” doesn’t exist simply because it’s politically incorrect to use the word is one of the biggest con games in history
GW’s *speedy* response to Katrina should erase all doubts about THAT…but as long as sheeple wanna follow the flow, then the fallacy will persist
Every post I read of yours regarding belly dancing makes me want to become one!
I love following the writing process you go through.
You tell us to fix that paragraph. It fits some kind of style, though. It just doesn’t mesh as fluidly with your regular style. It sounds kind of like the jargonical way that you hear detectives talk in parodies of old movies or cheesy books. Be comfortable with it.
The goddess necklace, the golden bracelates, the ruby eyed snake to make you beautiful. And finally ‘she would rather be remembered’, than look beautiful. That’s wonderful.
ryc: I am not writing any novel . I am not yet ready to do that. I tried once and gave up. I still don’t have the dicipline for that. I still treat writing as a hobby though I keep wishing I wouldn’t do that.
The last two lines…so lovely.
I personally like the use of “alluring” at the beginning.
“length of two kinds of trim (long strands of beads)”
it would look better just to say it all rather than seperate…”length of two kinds of trim composed of long strands of beads..” or something along those lines for flow.
“I look more like a dancer, huh.” (huh? would she actually say huh? That word/sound always appears to me to drop the IQ of the one saying it and it doesn’t fit with what I’ve seen so far of audrey.)
makes me want to get the guts to take up belly dancing!
I like the way you open and close with the make-up, and how it masks the dancer, her individuality, yet lets the artist shine… that’s a powerful image of the woman artist, actually. It does seem that one of the major themes is an emergent female creativity, what it’s doing to Audrey’s life, how it’s expressed in the sensuality and power of bellydancing. Very beautiful writing! I was right there, watching too… xo