More About Me

Since I've already revealed my "past life" as a competitive equestrian, I might as well fill you in on what I'm doing now (although I'll keep the stories about all those years in between for down the road). Today, I am . . . geez, here's one phrase I never thought I'd say . . . a bellydancer. Yes really.

About two years ago, I went to watch a friend who had been taking classes for a while perform at a show. I went to be supportive of her, not because I had any interest in bellydance . . . or so I thought. To my surprise, I took one look at the women on stage and decided "I want to do that." And, of course, "I want to wear that." You know the thrill I get from a nice pair of heels, so I'm sure you can imagine my reaction to bellydance costumes . . . sequins and rhinestones and shimmer - oh my!

The very next day, I called to inquire about classes and a few short weeks later I was dancing. Or should I say, a few short weeks later I was taking classes. It would be many months before it felt like any actual dancing occured. Even today, I can't remember exactly when I made the transition from feeling ridiculous (and uncoordinated) to feeling like I had half a clue what I was doing.

Fast forward one year, and to my disbelief, I was up there on that stage! I've since performed in three of our bi-annual shows, two informal haflas and at several community events. I've learned to dance with props such as veil, sword, candles and wings (in the picture above) and have even dabbled in other dance forms like burlesque, Bollywood and samba. Last December, I was cast in the peforming troupe Gypsy Sa'har, and dancing as part of a group has been amazing!

So what's my point here? I'm not really sure I have one; I just got some pictures back from a recent photo shoot so it was fresh in my mind and I thought I'd share. Perhaps it's that the group of women that I've come to know through dance is so fantastic, they're kind of the next phase past "mommy group" for me. After being known as "Noah and Ava's Mom" for so long, it's nice to have a place where I can just be Jessica . . . or technically Mahryn (my stage name).

So, as Jim is off wrestling the kids into bed (for the third time tonight), I am stepping away from the laptop to put the final touches on a new choreography for my audition on Sunday. My, how life changes!