I've been a dancer since I was born- I was known as the Family Ham, the resident Butt Wiggler, Singer Extrordinaire, Jukebox Choreographer, Creator of Skits and Pageants such as the likes of Olney had never seen.

My formative years saw me enrolled in the Triumverate of Girls Dance Rituals- Jazz, Tap and Ballet. I never got very far in tap, besides annoying relatives, however Ballet and Jazz soon lent itself to modern dance, which culminated in my choreographing of Very Important Pieces done to Bjork, Tori Amos and The Smashing Pumpkins... all of which, sadly, have been lost in time and ephemera.

Then I got into High School and was swept up in a world that strikes fear in many hearts- Musical Theatre.  Yep, I was all-singing, all-dancing and, by the end of my reign, all-choreographing.  Thank god I don't have any videos to commemorate this dark period in my life.  My contributions included The Musican Man, My Fair Lady and The Pajama Game.  Yeah, so don't dare try to challenge me to a jazz diamond face-off while singing, because I'll jazz-hand you into next Tuesday.  This coincided with my other axis-of-evil: English/Scottish/Irish folk dancing at the Renaissance Festival...oh yes, oh yes... I delved.

Then college came and, though I tried to shun my dancing roots, I soon found myself taking both ballet and modern dance class.  Now, I didn't really perform or anything, just put myself through hours of arabesques, floor rolls and pilates-inspired ventures into negative-space.  It was really fun and at the very least it helped to expend my all too abundent energy flow.  I played around with the idea of being a professional dancer but, much like my brief journey into being a pro-gymnast, my height was a hinderance.  I was told by more than a few teachers in the realms of acting, dancing and gymnasting *is this a word?  i think not* that I was too tall to really make any drastic impact on my chosen ventures.  

Don't fear though- I love being an amazon... it's the best.  I can reach everything.

Then, one fine day a few years back, I stumbled onto bellydance.  Really this started when I was fifteen and attended my first Solstice Ritual in Olney, Maryland.  Amid all of the chanting, the assuming of different goddess forms (I drew Amaterasu from the selection of Goddess Cards), there was a lady in her mid-thirties doing Egyptian style bellydance who scooped up my friend Julia and I and decided to teach us the art... well, I didn't retain much of "the art" past my brief foray into Wiccanism, however I did find that the intial spark still existed about 10 years later when I got into a bellydacing class.  

I'll admit it- I was mostly there for the laughs.  My friend Katie was taking a class from Lisa Zahiya at the Avalon Studio in Catonsville and told me I should come along.  I was convinced that, though I knew my friend Michele was friends/co-workers with Lisa, that this would be some sappy and stupid Woman Power Womb Hour type deal.  

Boy do I have to eat my words.  Almost two years later, here I am- spending all of my free time *that isn't eaten up by my awesome husband and/or knitting* practicing my mayas, undulations, hip drops *which I am HORRIBLE AT*, taxims and any ATS stuff I can shove in.  I have also found myself being a member of an awesome Improv Tribal Bellydance troupe of 8 (and sometimes 9) women and currently cultivating ideas to be both a solo performer and teacher in the somewhat near future.  

But why do I really do it?  For the costumes of course.

It's odd to think that Bellydance, something that I really did mock for being one of those cheesy dance forms for women with body-issues and/or exhibitionists who are just looking for sexual affirmation has become my salvation, my favorite sport.  And oh, don't you forget it- it IS a sport, my dearies.  

So, where does your inspiration lie?