FAT CHANCE BELLY DANCE
During National Dance Week one April, Lisa
and I attended a showcase performance of modern dance companies. One of the
featured troupes was curiously named Fat Chance Belly Dance. As the tribal
drumming began, more than 40 women emerged from behind a curtain, moving their
bodies in rhythm to the music. The women smiled broadly as they clanged hand
cymbals and gyrated their bellies in unison to the beat. We were startled by
their joy and exuberance and the variety of body shapes and skin colors—
black bellies, brown bellies, tattooed bellies, taunt tan bellies, stark white
bellies, bellies from fit and skinny to plus size pudgy. All of the women danced
with such strength and confidence. Four dancers sashayed to the center of the
stage for their solo performance while the other women continued to sway behind
them. “These must be the best dancers,” I thought “and the
other women are just here for background.” But I was wrong. Eventually
every dancer had a chance to perform in the center of the stage. The older and
heavier women danced with moxy equal to the young and fit. The women hooted and
cheered for each other as each new set of soloists made their debut in the
center of the stage. Their dancing was an unfettered celebration of life, with
every woman having a place in the pageantry.
Tears came to my eyes and I was
surprised by how deeply their performance moved me. Their choreography struck me
as a fitting metaphor for the dance of the kingdom of God.
When he spoke, the teacher
proclaimed, “The kingdom of God is at hand.” The first people who
heard these words most likely interpreted them nationalistically—a new
political order was about to be established by God for the sake of Israel. They
soon learned that Jesus was announcing the reality of something more universal
and more personal—the potential for each of us to live in rhythm again
with the genesis vision of our creator. Jesus was announcing the power and
potential for us to dance in harmony with the divine aria of love.
Posted: Fri - May 19, 2006 at 09:29 AM