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Dance of Inner Fire
by Cath “Ibis”, 19 December 2000.
(Inner Fires Dance Studio)
What is dance? Is dance simply a sequence of choreographed steps, or is there more to it? Dance from the soul is liberating. Contrary to popular belief, everyone dances in one form or another.
Something comes alive when one dances, it is as if the soul's inner fire lights up.
"Now the dancer dances,
Meditate upon that.
The dance comes from the centre of your being
the rest is noise and movement.
Stop searching for the form and the right choreography.
Do it.
Dance until your feet hurt and until your mind is confused.
Dance until you are totally convinced
that you don't know what you are doing
and until you fall in the fall
covered only by your tears,
dance."
I do not know where the beautiful piece of writing - in the above paragraph - comes from or who wrote it, but I was so moved by it when a previous acquaintance sent this to me, that I just had to place it here for all to read and share.
I watch the candle flame dance, flicker and sway to haunting strains and
joyous rhythms of Immortal Egypt, and am filled with new inspiration,
vision and purpose, to allow divine essence to flow through me and recognize it in other dancers. To use my experience in, and exploration of Egyptian dance, to lift spirits, as well as bring about an awareness of inner divinity. Dance is an expression of this. I used to watch my teacher's personality change when she danced. People were mesmerized by her, yet offstage she appeared somewhat plain. Something comes alive when one dances, it is as if the soul's inner fire lights up.
We all dance in one form or another, whether it is the dance of our
heartbeat and breath, voice, art or unique expression through movement.
Having said that, you may ask about those who cannot walk, perhaps a friend or family member or you personally; take heart, we all dance in one form or another. For example, consider the dance of facial expression. Oriental dance tells many a story through facial expression. I once read of women in North Africa who sit and dance with their upper body, using hands, arms, eyes and head. It is creative, artistic, beautiful and stimulating. Each one of us carries within this inherent ability to dance. I call this the dance of inner fires or soul dance due to the freedom of expression that I feel when performing, as well as the reverence that I feel for God.
I do not merely refer to dance here as is generally defined, rather as
energy undergoing a continual process of expansion, contraction,
solidification and dispersion. Consider the dance of the universe; molecules continuously collide, disperse and unite, to maintain order and harmony. The creative and destructive dance of nature mirrors this continual cosmic breath of birth, death and rebirth through seasons and cycles; humankind's collective soul reflects this process through an ability to evolve, "create and become". The Oxford Concise Dictionary offers a few definitions of dance, but I found one particularly interesting, "move up and down (on water...etc)". Consider the dance of light on water. Nature dances. Consider how ocean tides dance in response to the gravitational pull of the moon. I have come to understand that even moments of stillness and nothingness are
not completely static, movement continues. Mere awareness and breath of the dancer becomes a dance of its own. 
As a dancer, trained in Egyptian dance I learnt to allow sound, whether
melody, rhythm or both to move me from the inside out; that type of dance is preferable in my opinion to movement which restricts with form rather than releasing the soul's inner fire. Restrictive movement is dance forced from the outside in, but I digress. Back to nothingness; I was taught to become a visual representation of the music. In Egypt, the most common and broadly used rhythm, maqsum, contains breaks or sudden pauses. In those moments of nothingness, continues a shimmer of movement as dancers reach further, breathing in the essence of silence before exploding back into joyous rhythm. I see this as a physical expression of the dance of inner fires and universal energy.
The dance of inner fires is an expression of the soul, and is therefore individual; there are no "left feet". It seeks to create a greater awareness of be-ing, as well as introduce movement unique to each
individual, by bringing heart and mind, body and soul into sacred balance
allowing for wholeness. Why do we feel so revived and joyful after a good dance session?
So, dance again as the ancients danced. Dance your soul passion and allow new awareness and cosmic breath to move your complete being from the inside out, ever changing, every growing, always dancing.
Dance!
www.bellydancesa.co.za
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