Yin and Yang, or the Flip Side of Being a Bellydance Grrrl!

by Mayada

Reprinted from Zaghareet Magazine, 2001

Most people are familiar with Yin and Yang - the two basic, complementary principles to which Chinese philosophy assigns all things. The Yin principle corresponds to the feminine, passivity, darkness, and the earth, while the Yang speaks of the masculine, action, brightness, and the sky. They are represented by the Tai Chi, a circular symbol composed of a dark half (Yin), and a light half (Yang) - with the centre of each containing a point of the opposite colour. This shows the perfect equilibrium of Yin and Yang, and signifies the interdependence of the two opposites. Now, without a doubt, bellydance comes in on the Yin side of things - very much so, with its essence-of-femaleness base and origins as a fertility ritual and Goddess dance. And I've begun to see that the further I delve into bellydance, the more of my time and myself I devote to this art, the more I seem to crave ways of balancing this feminine, or Yin, orientation.

This impulse to seek out the masculine is especially strong as it relates to the physical sphere - exercise and/or body stuff. So what is my work-out of choice? Aquafit or jazzercize classes? Think again! For a while I was very into kick-boxing, but lately I've gone sort of crazy for weights. The girly 5 lb. dumbells my mom uses didn't satisfy me for long. I progressed rather quickly from 15 to 20 to 25… and now 30 lbs. in each hand. That goes along with working out on a whole range of equipment including Pec Deck and the 4-in-1 Grizzly Gym. And not for me to train at some chi-chi, upscale fitness operation - I prefer Alfie's Gym, a down-and-dirty hole in the wall where the appearance of the place counts for zilch, where big guys go to sweat and grunt and get strong. But that's not the end of it. I've also become very interested in wrestling! Not only as a spectator (though I feel competent discussing the style and idiosyncrasies of The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Trish Stratus, among others), but as a potential participant. The appealing combination of muscle and bluster has led me to investigate the professional wrestling school here in Toronto, and I can often be found poring over videos and books with titles like "Massive At Last" and "IronMan Magazine". All this much to the consternation of family and friends, I might add. Who knows where it will lead, but for right now it seems like the perfect counter-balance to the essential 'femaleness' of my bellydance involvement.

And I'm not alone! Many of my bellydance colleagues have found themselves being drawn to what are traditionally viewed as 'masculine' pursuits and activities. Co-incidence? I think not.

Several of my bellydance friends were devoted a while back to training in the strenuous martial art of capoeira, for example. This deadly form of combat and self defence, born in the "senzalas" of Brazil where African slaves were kept, was disguised as a form of folk dance so its true purpose as a way of honing the natural warrior and forming a resistance against their captors would not be apparent. The fast, tricky, acrobatic movements of capoeira became the key element of the jungle war that was fought; it became the weapon and symbol of freedom for thousands of enslaved Africans. Due to its fierce and political origins, historically of course, the capoeristas were men. Today a small number of women have taken up this art … again, what an ideal balance to the yin of bellydance.

Then there's the dancer who scarfs down red meat first thing in the morning - big slabs of beef, steaks and burgers, delivering a walloping protein and iron blast. This "ogre's breakfast" might seem more suited to someone who's preparing to haul cement blocks all day than to someone who's about to don chiffon and beads for a spate of ballet shimmies. Or what about another colleague who worked briefly as a dominatrix in a dungeon? Consider the strength-and-submission reversal here - it's the ultimate assertiveness role-playing. Emotional, yes, but also physical when you think about the wielding of power implicit in the whips-and-chains scene.

What about you … have you recognized some mysterious attraction to an essentially 'masculine' or male activity or area of endeavour? Then take a closer look at dance friends and troupe members - you may learn something intriguing! Yin and yang: it's all about the balance that fuels the world's spiritual energy. Night and day. Work and play. Sweet and savoury. Male and female. Bellydance and ???