Dervishspon for the Gilded Serpent

The Gilded Serpent presents
Dervishspin

Dervishspin has been dancing since 1995 under the tutelage of Anne Livermore in Framingham Massachusetts. She is a member of the Bad Raqson'e Sahra Dance Troupe which specializes in storytelling through dance and borrowing dance moves from all belly dance tradtions. Most recently Dervishspin has decided to become a "Bellydance Activist" and is curious to see where this role takes her. She lives in Marlborough, MA with her husband.

http://bellybus.witwat.net
dervishspin@hotmail.com

Belly Dancers to March on Washington
On Sunday April 25th, 2004, there is going to be a massive Pro-Choice march on Washington, DC organized by a coalition of groups including the National Organization for Women, NARAL, The Black Women’s Health Imperative and Planned Parenthood. Our dance troupe, Bad Raqsan’e Sahra, has decided to form a delegation and attend the rally. We are also sending out a call for all interested dancers in the United States to join us in dancing, as our way of marching, in this protest.

One of the most wonderful things about being a belly dancer in the United States today is meeting the many different people who dance. As a group we are practically a study in diversity. We are white, black, Middle Eastern, Asian, and Indian. We are Muslim, Christian, Pagan, Jewish and Buddhist. We dance tribal, ethnic, cabaret, raks sharki, gypsy and as yet unnamed modern forms of belly dance. We are single, we are parents, we are widows, and we are married. We are straight, bi, lesbian, gay and transgendered. We bust stereotypes for breakfast. Our diversity unites us because our love for the dance unites us. The dance, and one other thing: when we dance we are in perfect control of our own bodies.

Our very diversity makes us realize that not every belly dancer in the United States is Pro-Choice, and we do not claim to represent every dancer. However, we know that there are thousands of dancers out there who are concerned about others having control over the bodies that they have worked so hard to strengthen and train. We would like to meet those dancers, share stories and dance moves, rhythms and ideas by dancing together. We feel it is time for our community to show our strength. Join us in the dance.

More information about the march can be found at www.marchforwomen.org. The name of our delegation is “Belly Bus” and our organizational website is http://bellybus.witwat.net. If you would like to contact me directly my email is dervishspin@hotmail.com .We hope to see you there.