Ecstasy of the Dance

In general, women love to feel beautiful and desirable.  Raqs Sharki's inherent qualities give both sexes of all sizes and ages access to their bodies.  In those transient seconds during practice or performance a dancer surrenders to the movement and music- I think they experience what my dancer and friend Jessica Martinez calls the ecstasy of the dance. For as long as I can remember I have loved to draw and paint the human form and  have admired all types of movement, but the movement of dancers and the act of dancing hold a special place in my heart.  Mastery of movement for a dancer or  an athlete becomes spontaneous, like drawing after years of practice and observation becomes spontaneous for the artist.

I do much the same as an artist when painting. I have practiced my art for so long that my strokes on the canvas (when given over to the transient moments of deep observation and concentration), are fresh, clean, and direct. The viewer is touched in these moments...just like I, when a dancer is in tune with her body, the music and the moment.  It is this gesture that I seek to record; those few seconds that are a direct glimpse into the dancer's soul.  It happens quickly and instinctively, and cannot be accessed through "thinking" only through feeling. When successful the drawing or painting "ring" true for both the dancer, the viewer.

I have created a calendar of my belly dance art called Ecstasy of Dance