Dance is the element in my life that makes my mind, body, and soul alive. Dance is my passion, my therapy. It is the language I use to express myself when words can’t.

I am a trained belly dancer; it is the oldest dance form that dates 6,000 years back. It is believed that belly dancing was a fertility ritual. It’s also believed that belly dance relieves menstrual pain and aids in easy childbirth. Hence it was passed on from mother to daughter. Listening to stories of great dancers motivates me to do something magnificent. The Reda Troupe, which was founded by Mahmoud Reda and Farida Fahmy, started with only 12 dancers and 12 musicians and gradually grew, and made history, encouraging me to do something exceptional.

Dance inspires me to go against the grain. Looking up to Mahmoud Reda, whose choreography was inspired by a combination of Traditional Egyptian folk dances and Western-style dances like ballet, urges me to think out of the box and experiment with my choreography. Once I combined cultural Nepali and belly dance steps, draped a sari (Traditional Nepali Outfit) as a skirt, wore a hip scarf, and danced to a Nepali folk song. Dance helps me to be creative. I feel every beat of the music and decide which steps go with which part of the music. When I hear the music, I know what theme to choose and what prop to use. I know what costume and accessories will elevate the beauty of my dance.

Dance is my refreshment, exercise, and meditation. I feel alive when I dance. When I mix Maya, Taqsim, Wahda-wa-nus, Chest pop, Egyptian shimmy, Chest shimmy, Hip rolls, Hip glides, and Grapevine in Traditional Egyptian music, my soul nourishes. Dancing makes exercising fun for me. I don’t even have to push myself to dance since I start grooving as soon as I hear the music.

I don’t limit myself to just moving the body while dancing. I explore the history, cultural, and health significance of my favorite dance form (belly dance), and research inspirational stories like that of the Reda Troupe. I polish skills like creativity, critical thinking, observational skills, analytical thinking, etc. with the help of dancing, and most importantly I nurture my soul while dancing because dancers know, “The soul dances and the body just copies”.

Sarwagya Bhattarai