Painter Stone
Staff Writer
The Mountain Women Belly Dancing Club has been dancing around Laramie promoting body acceptance and the history and the art of belly dancing.
President of the Mountain Women Belly Dancing Club Georgia Kirkpatrick at the University of Wyoming said, “We’re an [Recognized Student Organization (RSO)] that not only go through the history of belly dance, but we also teach it”.
Kirkpatrick began belly dancing when she was little, as a form of mother-daughter bonding. Kirkpatrick welcomed new members to the organization saying: “Every belly is a welcome belly. We have people who are really avid athletes, we have people where this is their only form of exercise.”
“We’re teaching techniques, and as we’re teaching techniques, we teach the history behind the move.” Kirkpatrick said. The Mountain Women Belly Dancing Club welcomes all new members to join the fun and historic world of belly dancing. From the origins of the moves, to modern takes on the art of belly dancing.
According to worldbellydance.com, the term ‘belly dancing’ originated in the Chicago World Fair in 1893. The term was first used by Sol Boom and has origin from the French “Danse du ventre” which roughly means “dance of the stomach”. But belly dancing has many other names, like the oriental dance or raqs sharqi, also known in Arabic as the “Dance for the East”. The origins of the dance date back around six-thousand years ago. The dancing was used to celebrate fertility by pagan’s who worshipped a form of goddess.
To join Belly Dancing Club you just have to show up to one of their meetings that happen every Thursday from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Animal Sciences Room 104. The Mountain West Belly Dancing group also has a Facebook page where you can contact them with any questions.
