PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.

Feel the power,
Feel the beat!
Faster rhythm,
Rising heat!

Music pulsing,
Rhythms meet,
Dancer shimmies
On her feet!

Feel the dance begin to build
From the dancer, music-filled.

See the dancer step and twirl,
See her power now unfurl!

Feel the power,
Feel the beat!
Faster rhythm,
Rising heat!

Music pulsing,
Rhythms meet,
Dancer shimmies
On her feet!

Shyness and reserve no more--
She commands the dancing floor!

No more inhibitions hide,
All the veils are cast aside.

Feel the power,
Feel the beat!
Faster rhythm,
Rising heat!

Music pulsing,
Rhythms meet,
Dancer shimmies
On her feet!

Energy begins to rise,
And the dancing fills your eyes.

Music strong and music fast
As the dancer's spell is cast.

Feel the power,
Feel the beat!
Faster rhythm,
Rising heat!

Music pulsing,
Rhythms meet,
Dancer shimmies
On her feet!

PHOTO CREDIT: Photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.

This poem was inspired by the beautiful art of Oriental dance (often called belly dance), particularly the style that has grown up in the United States that fuses Egyptian, Lebanese, Turkish, and other Middle Eastern styles of Oriental dance into a distinct art form of its own.

This poem, "Feel The Power, Feel The Beat!" reflects the third segment of a dancer's multi-part routine. A performance in the Vintage American style begins with an entrance "dance of greeting", which is followed by removing and dancing with the veil. The dancer then transitions into a dance to fast or medium-speed music with complex rhythms. Having cast the veil aside, the dancer can now move more freely, is now fully warmed up, and is fully engaged in the dance. She brings up the energy level in the room with exciting music, and often accompanies herself on finger cymbals in this segment.*

If you would like to read the other six poems in the series celebrating the Vintage American style of Oriental dance, they include:

1. Dance of Greeting
2. The Unveiling
3. Feel The Power, Feel The Beat!
4. The Descent
5. The Awakening
6. A Drummer and a Dancer
7. The Finale

The inspiration to write these seven poems came from attending a belly dance retreat organized by Delilah that was structured around the theme of the 7-part dance routine. Delilah encouraged all retreat participants to do journaling as part of the experience, and the journaling process brought these poems into the world.

*NOTE: The seven parts listed are in the order that typically dancers in my community in California did them, though sometimes individual dancers might mix up the order to suit what they wanted to do for a given show. Also, dancers rarely performed all 7 parts in a single show. Most people would perform just 3 or 5 of the parts, depending on the length of show the client wanted. Also, dancers in other communities have reported that they arranged these components in a different order from that shown above. The order of the poems reflects my personal experience, but there are certainly other equally valid ways to arrange the contents of a dance set.

PHOTO CREDIT: Photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.

Shira has been writing poetry ever since she was about 12 years old. Her poems have been published in several "small press" poetry journals. At age 21, she wrote her first French-language poem, "Le Voile De La Nuit".

Shira first started learning Middle Eastern dance in 1981. Dance has been her inspiration, her creative outlet, her avenue to making friends in a new community after relocating, and her escape from her "day job" of being a professional Silicon Valley computer nerd.

Shira is your hostess, the webmistress of this award-winning web site, "All About Belly Dancing".

PHOTO CREDIT: Photo by Michael Baxter, Santa Clara, California.