I was trying to write an intelligent post about eating disorders – but while there was an overarching point, part of it was personal and I am still not doing very well at integrating impersonal points with personal anecdotes. So, oh well. Let’s talk about belly dance today.

In a week and a half I am going to Calgary for a dance workshop with Mohamed El Hosseny.

I do want to go to more workshops – but I was prepared to let this one pass until one of my friends said she was desperate to go and would anyone share gas/hotel with her. The opportunity to go to a workshop with ridiculously cheap travel costs and with awesome road trip buddies was too much to pass up.

However, this workshop makes a big deal out of Mohamed El Hosseny’s proficiency with the Port Said style of dance. My friend who is going loves pretty much anything folkloric and I’m totally with her on that. Hopping around in giant tribal dresses beats trying to be a dignified navel-bearing diva any day. Thooooough, the divas do get to wear more rhinestones. Still, I didn’t have a clue what the Port Said style was like. And when the topic came up with our troupe, our director explained it like, “cute little sailor outfits and a lot of hopping and skipping and putting your hands up near your shoulders as if they’re hooked in suspenders and I think arising as it did in a port-area, it must have maybe derived a lot from traveling eastern europeans because sometimes it really reminds me of the hopping and peel-back steps in Ukrainian dancing.”

All of which didn’t really inspire me with, “oh yeah! I want to learn THAT.” Sailor outfits? For serious?

But today I finally went looking for examples of Port Said style dance on youtube and now, ohmigod I totally want to learn that.