Stephanie's Studio

  As Mother Day approaches, I reminisce about the ways my mother led me to belly dance. I still have a photograph of her in the 1950's decked out in an Egyptian costume with her sister friends.   Her belly is bare, the belly that was to become my home for nine months.   She is wearing a veil; she and her multi-hued friends look happy, peaceful, sensual and satisfied.   It is so telling, the ways our mothers can shape us—teaching things about accepting our self, in relation to others. Unlike my mother’s Egyptian influenced form, I was inspired to learn American Tribal Style (ATS) inspired by Carolena of Fat Chance Belly Dance . ATS is about feminine ascension, spirituality, strengthening from the core.  ATS has taken me back to the beginning, to a personal epoch of inner genesis. This genesis enabled the reestablishment of what I love best about the dance—spiritual engagement with music, nature, the self and most importantly, others.  I feel my wo...