Tips from the Hip by Melina

Acrobats of the Gods

Photo of me by Virginia Harold in Circus Flora’s 2012 Production of Tír Na NÓg.

Years ago my mom gave me the book Acrobats and the Gods: Dance and Transformation by Joan Dexter Blackmer. When I am next with her I will make sure to get the back story of how she came into knowing of this slim but extraordinary book.

Blackmer writes:

« It is the tension between a myriad of opposites which creates both the dance and the dancer, Dancing springs into life because of the interplay of many opposing forces - within the body itself, between the body and psyche of the dancer, and between the dancer, the audience and the surrounding forces of time and space.

First and foremost we encounter the opposites of the profane and the sacred. Anyone who enters the realm of danced theater enters even now, when dance seems so secular, a sacred realm. Behind the effort needed to become a dancer, as I see it, lies a deep urge to be allowed into sacred time and space, to open the earthly body and what it can communicate to an other-worldly energy. »

I experience this sacred feeling every time I dance. It starts with my intention to sacralize the moment, connect with my breath and the intent of why I am dancing: to create a portal of time out of time. To celebrate a community gathering. To bring strangers together in a sense of oneness. To honor the human form as divine creator, hollow bone & shapeshifter. To enjoy myself and surrender to the flow of breath, music, meaningful movement. To create unspoken ritual. To connect us all to mystery and inspire the pulse of blood and longings of the soul.

It is always interesting to see how the energy will manifest even when I have been in the most « mundane » of contexts (of course nothing is purely mundane, but wondrous opportunities for spirits to rise): a house party, a retirement home, a Greek restaurant in a strip mall.

My favorite compliment has been when someone in the audience later tells me « When I watched you, I felt like it was me who was dancing. » And I will never forget the joyful tears in the twinkling blue eyes of the man with advanced stage of cancer whose family had hired me for his 75th birthday party. Before he transitioned, he wrote me a letter of appreciation that I cherish. I will never forget him.

www.speakeasyreiki.com

www.moodystreetcircus.com

instagram: @melinabellydancer

Winter Solstice 2025

So happy to have been able to dance and play today with soft black feathers and creatively explore tambourine vibrations, feet meeting earth, figure 8 energy, Sacred Rebels Oracle, rest, and more.

This was today’s music playlist for our dances and meditations. (First 10 songs or so)

Winter Solstice Playlist

(Click on words above)

Wishing you all a lovely Winter Solstice night and end of year. You have all accomplished so much this year, time to celebrate the light that is you!

Embody Harmony

Movement is our first language.

It communicates with the innermost soul.

When your hips, heart and head are in harmony,

it feels good!

Belly Dance is an Inner Listening

Belly dance is an inner listening.

An inner listening and then a following through.

On the breath.

An allowing of the fullness of your expression to expand and radiate from your center

out to all directions,

to weave energies

to move with music spirit

with earth, sky, heart, world awareness

to express - and harmonize - opposites.

Thanks to Axie Breen for the beautiful image.

I had the honor of presenting my masterclass, Hips, Heart, Head: Healing Power of Belly Dance

at the first annual Reiki Class Summit weekend along with my colleagues from Awakening Airwaves - many other energy workers and healing practitioners of all kinds. Lifetime access to 9 masterclasses including my presentation on Day 3 of the Summit is linked here - hours of wonderful information and energetic support for only $44.

UPCOMING EVENTS

at Moody Street Circus and Speakeasy Reiki

Movement Mantra & Love Comes First

I have two tips for practice for today!

1) Practice with Movement Mantra. Say it as you dance it!

2) Remember - Love comes first.

It is helpful when learning & practicing new belly dance steps to name what you are doing as you do it! This can be outloud or internal speaking. I start in class by guiding the process, naming what we are doing as we do it. Then - especially when connecting with new material - I allow time for students to repeat the mantra I have proposed outloud at the same time as they practice the movement.

This narration helps students

focus
remember the movements
embody the movements more fully so they can dance with greater confidence
start to connect with the rhythm of the movement
harmonize body mind and spirit with the action

For example, for the traveling move I call "step, hip," I have people say "step" as they step and "hip" as they hip! Very simple, but not always easy!

The other day in class our movement mantra was "step, hip, sit, hip."

The first "step" is important, and I talk about my philosophy of that step in all my classes. Any dance step we take is about connecting to Mother Earth with reverence, sensitivity and intention. You are never alone when you dance. Earth is there supporting you. Sky is above. Space is all around you, ready to receive your energetic imprint, your shapes, your love, your flow. Every move you make has an impact on the space and community around you. Breath keeps you alive. We tune into ALL of this with the first step.

On a physical level, the first step is about preparing our incredible body's brilliant skeletal structure to support the hip action with ease and grace.

We step and we hip with a sense of gratitude for this dance, for the gift of our vessel. We belly dance with appreciation for our body's capacity to channel so many wonderful energies - from shimmies to waves to circles and spirals and beyond. We step with supple knees that, when slightly bent, act as shock absorbers for the skeleton -- soft, unlocked knees support and free up movement of the hips and spine.

Here is a little video about how Love comes first!'

Keep on dancing,

-Melina

www.moodystreetcircus.com

Tambourine Dream

"The tambourine begs,

Touch my skin so I can be myself"

-Rumi

Imagination & wonder is always woven through my dance.

The tambourine is an instrument of joy and a call to participate in the dance of life.

This is my Mom and me dancing together in Singapore at a show organized by Goddess Motion. A memory and a time I treasure.

The photo below was from a troupe performance I organized for a festival at Brandeis University. The atmosphere was sizzling!

Mark Curelop photography

My focus in dance class tonight is HIPS.

Little known fact that HIPS stands for:

“Happy is (the) Person (who) Shimmies.”

Ok I made that up BUT hips are made to be mobile and move us in all directions. We are going to consider a myriad of ways that we can move the hips starting with

1. Full body warm up

2. Simple hip mobility drills

3. Hip connections both above & below

Your hips don’t lie, but do you even let them speak? Now’s your chance.

#bellydance #daughtersofrhea #shimmies #twists #lifts #drops #snakes #circles