Artist says belly dancing is a form of female empowerment

Belly dancing as a form of female empowerment?

It’s not what most people think when they see the undulating moves of a belly dancer at their favorite Middle Eastern restaurant.

Photographer Faith-Michele James found herself just as surprised when she was drawn to the art form, especially after recently finishing a project, “Inside the Glass Box,” that examined how the fashion world uses mannequins . “The mannequins look like victims – angry or depressed,” said James, “which gives young women the idea that, in order to be beautiful, you have to look like a victim.”

But, last summer, James found herself watching belly dancers at the Gypsy Fest in Madrid. “There were all sizes and shapes and ages,” said James. “They were not women our culture would consider glamorous. But as much as the women in my first series were vapid and disconnected, these women were vital and alive.”

In a serendipitous route, James met Myra Krien, founder of the Pomegranate SEEDS program (Self-Esteem, Empowerment and Education through Dance), at her photo show at Corso Gallery last month, a fundraiser for Esperanza Shelter for Battered Families. Krien’s SEEDS program serves some 25 teen girls each year with afterschool classes three times a week, including not only belly dancing (which Krien describes as American tribal style dance), but talking circles, journal writing, nutrition, body awareness and financial literacy.

“As teenagers, they are in a biological imperative to define themselves as sexualized beings — what does it mean to be a woman, a man, to be attractive,” said Krien. “We try to use belly dancing as a hook speaking to that, but in its most positive sense, to feel a deep sense of connection to their bodies. “

Girls Inc. also got involved and is now brainstorming ways to work with SEEDS, said Kelly Fowler, development and events coordinator for Girls Inc. “When I saw Faith-Michele James’ new series, I saw in it a powerful message of self-acceptance that fits in very well with what Girls Inc. is all about,” said Fowler.

“Girls Inc. empowers girls to use their own voice and to make healthy choices about their bodies,” Fowler said. “We encourage girls to express themselves in a positive manner that encourages self-awareness and positive body image ... belly dancing may be a way that girls choose to express and accept themselves in a positive way.”

At tonight’s reception, the proceeds from sales of the 13 photographs will be split evenly between SEEDS and Girls, Inc.

As James has learned more about belly dancing — and she plans to begin taking classes herself next week with Krien’s studio — she has learned more of its history. “Belly dancing started as a way for women to transfer body knowledge from one generation to another,” said James. “Moving the belly was a primitive way for women to ease menstrual cramps, to reposition the uterus for delivery. The speculation is that belly dancing started as a very primitive form of gynecology. Belly dancing used to be female only. Men weren’t even allowed to see it.”

But, in the 1900s, pop culture caught on and took a very sacred thing and turned it into a sexual thing, James said. “And now women are reclaiming it: ‘It’s not for men, it’s for us. We’re taking it back.’ It’s the antidote to the anorexia, body image problem. In fact, you have to have a bit of a belly to do it.”

Dance with photos

It’s only been two years since James, who has made her living as a screenwriter and political consultant, picked up a camera. A survivor of child abuse involving pornographic photography, James had an aversion to cameras .

But after coming to Santa Fe to work on healing, she impulsively bought a 4 megapixel Fuji camera one day and began photographing. Today, she works with a Pentax K-10 SLR. “I think of it as a woman’s camera, the curves of it, the way it fits in my hand,” she said.

“You’ll notice there are no faces,” said James of her belly dancing series. “The important part of belly dancing is dissociating yourself from your ego. It goes back to the ancient Greek temple dancers, to leave their identity behind and merge with the goddess.”

So she consciously chose not to include the women’s faces. “As soon as you show a woman’s face, the photograph becomes about her face,” James said. “In our culture, shooting a woman without her head can be used as exploitive. I like the idea of turning that on its head. These women don’t dance for spectators. It’s almost a trance dance. They do it to connect with something in themselves.”