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'It's about life'

November 30, 2003 1:09 am

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THE BEAM of a spotlight bounces off the jewels that drip from the dancers' bodies. "Ting-ting" go the tiny cymbals attached to their fingertips.

Five members of Anthea Poole's Pearls of Rhythm dance troupe wave their bodies like water to the exotic Middle Eastern music. And a drafty Moroccan restaurant in the heart of Old Town Alexandria heats up like the Sahara desert.

This is the third annual "East Meets West Tribal Hafla," a showcase of belly dancers from the Washington area.

Patrons perch on benches lined with pillows or lounge inside cubbyholes carved into terra-cotta-like walls.

The women eye the dancers, wishing they could move their own bodies that way. The men try not to stare too hard or too long.

Bare midriffs, gyrating movements and Middle Eastern mystique give belly dance its sensual side. But local dancers, who seek fitness, camaraderie and spiritual growth, want to shake the sexy image.

"I agree that it lends itself very easily to [being erotic]," said Poole, who organized the event, held early this month. "But it's not about that. It's about emotions and images. It's about life."

The thick scent of incense winds its way to the top of a spiral staircase. Dancers slip off their street shoes there, at the edge of Anthea Poole's living room in rural Spotsylvania County.

The women must also shed their ties with today's world, in a way, before circling down the narrow passage to the private studio.

Pots of incense smolder here and there. Dim light sifts through the fabric that falls over scattered lamps. Tiny bulbs hang from the ceiling, reflecting their glow in a mirrored wall.

Students tote folders fat with notes on the basics of belly dance, and plop on pillows that dot the floor.

They are mothers and daughters. They are teachers and business women. They have come to learn the secrets of Middle Eastern dance.

Poole, who focuses on Oriental and American tribal styles, teaches them to isolate and control their muscles, to think in terms of shapes and patterns when they move.

She shows the women how to sway their hips as if they floated free from their bodies, to swirl their arms and wrists like snakes, and to make it all look effortless.

"It's not easy," said Jennifer Blecha, who started belly dancing four years ago. "You really have to push your body."

The Pearls of Rhythm dance troupe performs at local venues, like Fredericksburg's First Night, and at out-of-town gigs like the one this month in Alexandria.

Only certain students are invited to join, and getting physical is not enough.

Dancers learn to play the dumbek, the djembe, the tar and other Middle Eastern instruments. They learn to make the tribal call of the "zaghareet," a high-pitched sound that signifies celebration.

And among other qualities, the women Poole picks for the troupe must have flexible personalities and an ability to absorb the aura of the dance.

"The energy is overwhelming," said Tiffany Click, who began learning belly dance from a video, before taking Poole's class and joining the troupe. "It's just a very enlightening dance experience. We never stop learning."

Disco was the rage in the late 1970s, when Poole discovered belly dance. But shagging beneath a spinning silver ball wasn't exactly her style.

She found a workout to fit her personality when she spotted the glamorous cover of "The Belly Dancer in You." The author, Turkish dancer Özel Turkbas, was featured there, dressed in a jazzy cabaret-style costume.

"She was so far removed from anything I'd ever seen before," Poole said of Turkbas. "It was just so amazing."

She was desperate to learn more, but there was no Internet back then. Books about belly dance were scarce. And local interest was limited.

So when Poole learned of a six-week course in Washington, she signed up. And despite the hour-plus drive from her home in Rappahannock County, she was hooked.

"I think I found that I was good at it," said Poole, who describes herself as having once been shy. "It just came naturally."

Eventually she sought private lessons, began performing with a Fairfax-based troupe and adopted the Arabic dance name "Kawakib."

In 1988 she formed her own class in Charlottesville, where she taught for 10 years. And when she moved to Spotsylvania in the late 1990s she took her talent to Fredericksburg Parks & Recreation and opened her home studio for private lessons.

In addition to teaching class, choreographing routines and preparing for live performances, Poole writes a column for a belly-dance magazine, attends workshops and offers a bellygram service.

"I have to work at not working," said Poole, who draws henna designs on her hands and feet to de-stress. "Belly dance is a passion. It's just something I have to do."

A sparkling sea of scarves, veils, and tassels floats through a makeshift dressing room inside the Casablanca restaurant.

Dancers swirl in flowing skirts, practicing last-minute moves before they take the stage. The swish of the silver medallions and decorative shakers that trim their costumes will add a layer of sound to their dance.

The women paint their lips the color of blood, sweep eyeliner into curls at the corners of their eyes, and paste teardrop-shaped "bindis" to their foreheads.

They blanket themselves in baubles--dangling earrings and layers of bangles and beads.

Through its glamorous garb and down to its roots, belly dance is a festival of femininity, a celebration of womanhood.

Also known as Oriental dance, and by its Arabic name of "raks sharki," it's a kaleidoscope of cultures and eras that fan as far back as 4,000 B.C. And its styles are many--from Egyptian to Turkish, from glitzy cabaret to funky fusion.

Belly dance is said originally to have been taught to women in the ancient Middle East as a way to ease the pain of labor during childbirth. Eventually, it evolved into a form of entertainment, done strictly by women for women.

Perhaps, that's why the dance feels second nature to Poole and others.

"You feel like you're doing something that women have done for generations," said Dawn McCaslin, who has danced with Poole for one year. "Something about it just feels natural."

For some, belly dance is a form of self-expression, a way of sharing their inner selves through movement. And because it is easier on the body than ballet and other types of dance, it embraces women of every age.

The challenge for many is dealing with those who don't understand what they do. Meeting the raised eyebrows of folks who hear "belly dancer" and think "stripper." Cutting through the fog of sexual connotations the Western world has placed upon the Eastern art.

But the curiosity also gives dancers, like troupe member Melanie Ireland, a chance to share what they can about the rich history and culture that surround the belly dance.

"It's kind of out-of-the-box, so to speak," Ireland said. "It's one of those things you don't really understand or appreciate until you do it."

For more information about Anthea Poole's Pearls of Rhythm belly-dance troupe or belly dancing in general, visit Poole's Web site at kawakib.com.

For more photographs and a multimedia presentation go to Fredericksburg.com.

To reach LISA CHINN: 540/374-5424 lchinn@freelancestar.com