We’re all told that physical activity is beneficial for our health and well-being, and we all can understand that, right? Just the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other, and shifting our weight from hip to hip over the course of a morning run or afternoon stroll, can add years to our lives and life to our years… years filled with the chore of running in the morning or walking every afternoon.
Yawn.

There’s another option, and it has nothing to do with spandex or drill-sergeant-like instructors shouting at you to work through the burn. It’s something you want to do anyway, whenever you hear your favorite song (whatever style that fave is, you probably have some way of boogie-ing down to it).

Yes, it’s dance, but there are as many kinds of dance as there are types of music. Take a look at ballet sometime… is that something you, your knees and hips can actually do right now? But, hey, ballroom dancing is loads of fun! Especially if you have someone to practice with… which I don’t, considering my fiancee lives about 800 miles away. Hmmm. Irish jigging? Nope: knees and hips again. Well, I guess it’s back to the couch for us broken old hags.

And then, like a beacon of light in my dark age of treadmills, morning runs, and joyless stretching, came the answer: bellydancing. Oh sure, it felt corny at first. But then, I feel pretty corny anyway. But bellydancing was fun from the get-go: it starts simple, then builds to more complex layers of movements; you make a lot of great new friends; you get to learn about history, silent films, Art Nouveau…

What? Well, it’s just that in order to really embrace the sensual nature of belly dance, one has to develop a certain persona. And that persona is not exactly a shy, retiring, reporter type – heavens no! That persona is a confident, mysterious, intriguing performer who can invite your attention while simultaneously rejecting easy stereotypes. A vixen whose sinuous curves are available for you appreciation… but never your reach. An unattainable Goddess, in fact. (Or so I had hoped, but I can’t stop giggling.)

Luckily for those of us who don’t just burst into life being mysterious, sinuous, and Goddess-like, there’s real help for all of that: Tempest. Tempest is about 5’4”, but looks 10’4” while dancing. Tempest has intricate tattoos, makes pale skin look like a choice (not a terminal illness), and designs jewelry, costumes, and specializes in “Gothic” bellydance (even more dramatic than then regular kind). Tempest moves easily from ethnic style to cabaret fusion, and makes everything she does look not only effortless but like rollicking fun. (Rollicking, slightly wicked, fun.)

Within minutes of meeting Tempest, I felt like throwing myself at her mercy and begging for lessons in coolness. Please help me be less of a dork, Tempest!

We started with simple hip movements. For the Wednesday night class at North Beach Gym, which has run the gamut from 30 strong in jingling hip belts to the six of us both brave and foolish enough to volunteer to dance this Saturday, it has been a wild few months. I bought one of Tempest’s videos to practice to at home, and noticed my posture improved even as my waist shrunk.

By then, the workout seemed like just one of many great benefits, as my life and hobbies began to include great Middle Eastern music, a newfound appreciation of art I had been neglecting for a few years, and even a willingness to show “the moves” to others so they could practice with me.

I have to say, I love people’s reactions when I mention I take bellydancing classes. (My cohorts at this paper were extremely surprised, I think, and comedy ensued when I had both Lauren Suit and Susan Avedissian learning to shimmy… just another day at the Herald offices!) Needless to say, this slimming and enjoyable workout has perks: it is the perfect ice-breaker.

Much of Tempest’s personality and history come out in her classes, which again is part of what keeps us coming back - intelligent sarcasm being a dying art. North Beach has become a place for women (and the occasional man, if he’s clever) to share one hour a week that’s physically gratifying and artistically challenging, and I notice even the most different among us tend to support and encourage each other through class. It’s a great feeling, and a great atmosphere to learn in. All of which comes from us literally following Tempest’s lead.

“I began teaching Visual Arts and Metaphysics,” Tempest told me in her home in North Cape May, which is decorated with all sorts of souvenirs from her travels and interests. Her husband Keith played with their cat, Mischief, while Tempest showed me some of her more fantastic (and handmade) costumes.

Wait a second… metaphysics? “I taught at the Psychic Eye – it’s like the Wiccan Walmart! Divination, rituals – anything to help people get in touch with their metaphysical side,” says the artist and designer who just happens to have helped publish a magazine in her spare time, and still writes for dance publications all over the country. “I started bellydancing in 2000 in Rhode Island. Then we moved to California. There is a lot of bellydanceing there, so I took more classes, studied more styles… Around 2005, people noticed I had a distinct style, and asked me to teach. So I taught at Convergence and Tribal Fest, and had sold-out classes. More people heard about that, and I was invited to teach all over the place – Philadelphia, New York, Chicago – which has a great bellydance community by the way – in Hong Kong recently, and now I’ve been all over. We did a nationwide tour last year, 25 states in 40 days, and I taught and performed to crowds in each city. It was mostly word of mouth and the Internet – it’s a pretty big community.”

Why exactly the bellydance community is on the rise is not a mystery to Tempest. “Pop stars like Shakira; not that she’s authentic, but seeing her gets people interested.” Gets women interested in having abs like Shakira’s, too. But there are other draws. “This war – in 2001, when the attacks came, bellydance people were like ‘Oh, no, this is the end.’ But it’s actually exposed more people to the area, and they became curious about this culture that has been so closed off. The Middle East is not just Islamic,” says Tempest firmly. “There are Bedouin tribes, the Rajistani, the Gypsies, and other distinct cultures moving throughout. It’s beautiful. And,” she finishes, “it’s actually a great low-impact form of exercise. And at this point in women’s history, we’ve gone to such extremes. There’s both this exploiting of the body and a denial of it at the same time. But bellydance is a balance. You listen to the music, and as you move you feel graceful and centered. And it helps you lose weight or maintain your body in a gentle way. It’s not so extreme.”

It can be incredibly beautiful, as you’ll see if you go check out her performances (in some of the costumes she created) at her site www.darklydramatic.com. You can also find a schedule of events, performances, and classes; plus more info on Saturday’s Hipnotique event.

But there’s nothing quite like seeing it in person – and trying to dance along! – so come to Hipnotique this Saturday, March 22 at Cabanas from 6-8 p.m.