THE MUSES, THE FATES, & THE FOXBOROUGH UNIVERSALIST CHURCH
By Sumora
I met Mezdulene last fall during her trip to East Coast; while was doing a workshop for Za-Beth. We have kept in touch by email and when she asked me to write an article for Jareeda on the recent show I coordinated, I was immensely pleased, somewhat intimidated and said yes anyway (go figure!)!
A little background - I have always loved dance and took ballet and jazz as an adult; neither was accepting of a Goddess-sized woman. I took my first belly dance class 6 or so years ago and was immediately captivated and accepted. Now, by no means am I a technically perfect dancer, but I love it and the dance touches me deep inside my soul; it has become a way for me to connect, spiritually, with the Goddess who called to me many years ago. It was important to us that we have a spiritual community where we could go with our children and be accepted; we assumed it would be hard for a Goddess-oriented Witch and a Humanist to find a spiritual home - it was not. We found the Foxborough Universalist Church, located in Foxboro, MA. We have been very active members there for about 14 years. The church is beautiful; it is 165+ years old, the oldest building in Foxborough and is a treasure to those who attend. Unfortunately, those 165+ years are showing, but the small congregation does what it can to preserve this building with tender loving care. So the question is: can one combine a love for belly dance with a love for a spiritual home? I am proud to say, yes, you can, with an Annual Belly Dance Fundraiser?!!
This past Saturday evening, April 21, 2007, the 3rd Annual Belly Dance Karavan Fundraiser for the Foxborough Universalist Church was held. This year's theme was The Muses and The Fates, and it, like its predecessors, Sacred Women and Tales of Folklore, Fantasy & Fairy was a success!
As anyone who has ever sponsored a workshop or coordinated an event of any size can tell you - it is a tremendous undertaking with a lot of hard work. This year went more smoothly than that first year, although it was still a long haul. The planning started last fall with the choosing of the theme. The Muses was actually the idea of my friend and teacher, Zaharah (Deb Korkmaz of Dance Oasis/Anatolia Imports in Warwick, RI). I added The Fates later so that there would be more performances. There was much work to be done, but, amazingly, before I knew it, the night of the show was finally here.
The performers - Angelique, Ioke, Nehira, StarSpirits, Marystar, Belena, Ameena, Baseema, Dorothea, Sabrina, Zaharah, and Aneckha - all donated their time and talent to this worthy cause. Angelique as the Fate Clotho, Nehira as the Fate Atropos and StarSpirits Troupe as the interpretation of the Muse Terpsichore were all first time performers, who fought their stage fright and went on to have wonderful debuts. Ioke, as the Fate Lachesis, danced beautifully with her veil in her own unique tribal fusion style; Ameena was beautiful in gold and silver, soaring and spinning in her tribute to the Muse Euterpe; Baseema was a joy and brought a smile to everyone's face with her joyous dance to the Muse of Comedy, Thalia; Belena danced a moving dance of hope as she triumphed over Melpomene, the Muse of Tragedy; Marystar was celestial in her portrayal of Urania, Muse of the stars; Zaharah, as Erato, was a vision in white and gold, with her lyre, looking like the quintessential Muse; Sabrina was awhirl with her wings and jaw-dropping isolations; Dorothea reminds us of the beauty and regalness of this dance; dressed in blue and orange Aneckha gave us her sensual interpretation of the Mother of the Muses, Mnemosyne, and her 9 nights of lovemaking with Zeus. I danced, as well, as the Muse Polyhymnia. Yes, each dancer brought her own grace, style and dignity to this show, interpreting their Muse/Fate beautifully, dancing her stories of life, love and inspiration, to music traditional and non-traditional. Due to the efforts of these beautiful women, we raised $600 for the Church's Building Preservation and Handicap Accessibility Fund, which makes all the work and aggravation worthwhile.
My thanks to my friend and mentor, Za-Beth, for all of her support, her pep talks and the event coordination practice I got while sponsoring her in workshops this past year (a portion of those proceeds also donated to the church).
Okay, now, take a breath - inhale, exhale - and what's next year's theme???
Sumora is a Certified Kundalini Yoga & Meditation Instructor and has been belly dancing for several years. Her classes, Awakening the Divine Feminine through Beginner Belly Dance and Kundalini Yoga & Meditation are held weekly at the Foxborough Universalist Church *where else?* She can be contacted at SusanMorgaine@comcast.net.
© Jareeda Magazine. Article from the May/June 2007 issue of Jareeda Magazine, and used with permission from Mezdulene, Editor.
