I'm planning to write an article on belly dancers who have a (chronic) illness. I have once started a topic on this before on Bhuz and I was surpriced to see how many dancers have a (chronic) illness. Since I am one of those dancers and I know I'm not the only one out there I thought it would be a good idea to share stories.

(btw I won't be using other peoples stories without permission)

I'd like to know:

1.) If you have a (chronic) illness, did you have it already before you started dancing? Or did you get it after you were already dancing?
2.) If you already were ill, was it hard to take up classes?
3.) question for pro dancers: I you were already ill before starting your belly dance career, how did you decide to go pro? How does it affect your career? Or if you got ill after you were already teaching or perforing, how did it change things for you?
4.) question for everybody: how does being ill affect your ability to dance?
5.) Does belly dance do any good for your illness?
6.) If you have anything else to mention please do so :-)


I shall start but without giving away too much, otherwise the article will be boring.
I was already ill when I started taking up classes. I thought it would be good for my health to do some light exercise (but I can't call belly dance light exersize!). It was not my intention to go pro, but due to circumsances it just went that way. It was very hard, because I tried to keep up with teaching classes in different towns. In the end I had to quit because I got a burnout. After that I planned it all more carefully. Performing appeared to be the beter way to go for me; less exhausting and beter payment. Still I always kept some classes going, but workshops was the way to go. However that's also very exhausting.
I think if it wasn't for belly dance I would be much more ill by now, it keeps me from becoming a zombi. But then again, there are times when I cannot dance, like now. I don't know if I want to go back teaching again, I have been asked and it is tempting, but all the hassles around it (marketing etc.) are too much. I'll see, it's something I can always pick up again. As for performing, that's a bit easier to get back to, it's more likely I go that direction again.

Btw, I haven't been on Tribe for ages because of being ill

The latest weird thing left me quite disappointed. This time it was too personal.
My primary school friend was getting married last week, half a year ago when she was planning her wedding I offered her a belly dance performance as present for her wedding. This is a thing I do for all my friends. About 3 weeks before the wedding I called her to talk about when to dance, how long etc. And since I couldn't bring a costume while traveling to Holland, I had to borrow a costume from a friend, so I needed some time to arrange that as well. Suddenly the bride to be told me that it might be better I don't perform, because her boyfriend 'is afraid of belly dancers'!!!!!!!!

Then on her hens-day (she didn't have a hens night) her sister confided that the future family in law had said that they didn't want the belly dance performance.
And she told me how disappointed she was about that because she had been looking forward to my dancing :-).

On the wedding itself, the bride's mom confirmed this, she said the family in law had forbidden it because 'it was not proper'. Imagine, these are Dutch people, and they seem modern. Yes, SEEM, because they are not, obviously....

My friend, her mom told, was under a lot of pressure by this family in law. They paid for the wedding and they decided everything for her.

But still, now I feel insulted, belly dance is a part of me (so it's an insult to me as a person tin my feeling), and this family in law seems to think I'm some kind of 'dirty' person. I could have shown them I'm not! And my friend could have stood up for me....


What are your stories? I'm surely not alone in this kind of stuff...