MAY 2019 I BOROMAG.COM 17
Photo_ ymmijiz Photos courtesy of Sol Dance Center
Photo_ Lisa K. Smith for D. Webb
We learned that the movement of rolling
your belly is called an undulation, and
dancers do them a few ways: down to up,
up to down or side to side. This involves
contracting and releasing your abs in a
concentrated, intentional way. We practiced
these first sitting down, then standing
up, moving back and forth across the
room.
There is also attention to the way the
hands move, shimmying and arm posture.
We were supposed to keep our arms
out to our sides like “eyes,” Cartsos said
as she demonstrated with a stage-ready
smile — not too stiff but not too bent. As
she taught, she made sure students didn’t
forget the performance element; Cartsos
reminded us of the audience as she
moved around the room.
By the end, after practicing a
few founding techniques, Cartsos
demonstrated a dazzling sequence
that involved undulations, shimmying,
graceful arm sequences and turns set
to a sensual beat that finished with an
unexpected yet dramatic turn of the
head and a flirtatious glance back at the
audience. We practiced a few moves
at a time, then put them together to a
dynamic dance. After the class was over,
I found myself taking some of the moves
home to my living room.
While many, like me, do this for fun,
others have formed a belly dancing team
that Cartsos trains. The team of five will
perform in the school’s annual show
Dancesanity Stars on June 22 at Frank
Sinatra School of the Arts. This year’s
theme is chakras.
“We will be dancing to a folkloric fusion
choreography with finger cymbals and a
fusion number with props,” Cartsos said.
And in the spirit of this style of dance she
added, “It’s a surprise.”
Sol Dance Center offers belly dancing
class Monday nights at 7 p.m. The studio
also offers a variety of classes from hiphop
to salsa to ballet. The first class at the
studio is free. For more information, visit
soldancecenter.com.
SOL DANCE CENTER
SOLDANCECENTER.COM
30-16 STEINWAY ST.,
ASTORIA
347-935-3955
/BOROMAG.COM
/soldancecenter.com
/SOLDANCECENTER.COM
