Belly Dance Seduction

Birth ritual or dance of seduction? This is a common debate among belly dancers. Well, for our purposes, it’s just nice to know that the women who practiced belly dance early on were “highly-educated women who, besides being trained extensively in singing, music, dance, and poetry recitation, were also often educated in literature, calligraphy, philosophy, and the sciences. (source)” How’s that for the brains and beauty link! It’s true what they say: Having something going on behind your eyes is an inimitable seductive force.

So, as I have been shimmying and shaking my way through belly dance classes, trying to harness my inner goddess, these are the general ideas behind the seduction of belly dance:

1. Be Confident. When you walk out onto a dance floor, or into a room, own it. This is your show, your dance and only you can and know how to do it. Every one has their strengths and limitations, work your stuff. You are a unique and creative being, radiate your inner beauty by projecting your highest self. Stand tall and know that where ever you are, you deserve to be there and your presence is an honor to your company, as other’s presence is an honor to you.

2. Make Eye Contact. Oh, my. A great pair of eyes sure can get you in trouble. But is it the peepers or the steady, playful gaze? Making and holding eye contact is a surefire way to let a man know you are interested. Making eye contact is also a wonderful way to re-establish the intimacy between you and your partner. Get back to those courting days and gaze into each other’s eyes. (Remember when? Yup, you couldn’t keep your hands off each other!)

3. Feel the Music and Create Your Own Dance. Are you an excellent conversationalist? Funny? Do have some fierce moves? Work it, girl! Forget your weaknesses. Move through your dance of seduction working your strengths.

4. Draw Attention to Your Femininity. In belly dance class, we use veils, sarongs with jingling medallions, and hand gestures to draw attention to the width of our hips, the shake of our bellies, our eyes and hair. Basically, we are expressing the glory of womanhood and showing off our fertile hips, healthy hair and belly. And everyone from the woman with the little pot belly to the lanky woman with tiny breasts has found an element of herself that she finds sexy and draws attention to it. Sometimes it is grace, sometimes it is a physical feature. Find your thing and own it.

Basically, you put the U in seduction.