Wiggles of the West Belly Dance Competition
LAS VEGAS, NV * Produced by The Two Old Bags
Section 4:
Competitive Side of Middle Eastern Dance
By Masala
Kellie Marie
Winner: 2009 Headliner of the Year
Competition, what does it take and just who are we competing
against? Other dancers? Ourselves? And why should we want to put ourselves through anything
that would require so much work and nerve? I have heard many different views on the subject, “it's
fixed”, “only the well-know dancers, students of judges, etc. will win”... Nonetheless it continued to intrigue me
so when Wiggles of the West came to Las Vegas I did too.
I couldn't convince any of my local dance friends to attend
so I came on this journey alone, but not for long. I knew that Zaina and Oberon would be there as well as my
Las Vegas friends. Most of them
would be teaching and judging and their time was limited. I have always found that our art form,
Middle Eastern Dance, connects us not only as dancers but as women. In my 20+ years of dancing I have made
more friends, and kept them, then in any other area of my life. Wiggles of the West 2009 confirmed my
belief.
During my first Thursday class I met some wonderful, talented
women. Susan and Megan were best friends who traveled from New Mexico to cheer
each other on during competition, one in the Headliner and one in the
Entertainer category. I later met
Megan's husband Matt, the ever-impressive fan/cheerleader for both. This man sat in the audience with stars
in his eyes as he watched his wife take the stage. It was evident that he couldn't be prouder if she had won
the entire competition. Another
woman I met was Kelli Marie, a striking 5'3” redhead from Missoula, Montana. Kelli Marie would be competing for
Alternative Wiggles and Headliner of the Year. This was her first competition and I could tell she was a
little nervous. She admitted that
her worst fear was the fear of the unknown. Since my primary objective was to learn about
competing, I asked Kelli Marie if she would share her thoughts and experiences
with me as the weekend progressed.
She graciously agreed and we became fast friends.
Kelli Marie has been dancing for ten years. Elizabeth
Dennis, an interpretive dancer from Seattle, inspires her. After her first class she fell in love
with Middle Eastern Dance. It was
“part of what I was”. It is a
sensual dance. “If we don't embrace the sensual side of who we are, we do a
disservice to women. Belly dance
helps us touch that side.” The
dance also has a spiritual side to her.
“I find belly dance to be spiritually uplifting, when I teach I always
end my classes with an energy circle to maintain that spiritual connection with
my students. I need that in my
life and I feel it helps them as well.
I believe in a spiritual path and this dance helps me stay connected to
that journey.” Kellie Marie went
on to receive the National Association for Teachers Certification for Middle
Eastern Dancing in Texas and is a dance instructor for the University of
Montana.
Kellie Marie
Floating - Ethereal
When she signed up to compete in July, she practiced 1 hour
per day, 5-6 days a week for several months. She found music that inspired her and came up with her own
choreography. A veil number began
her dance, followed by a medium tempo for fluidity and a drum solo “for
fun”.
She considered her hardest task finding a bright, glitzy
costume in silk. What many
don't realize is that Kelli Marie faced the greatest challenge two days before
she arrived in Las Vegas. Her
mother Doris, 76, was in a cycling accident during an outing with her sister
Cheryl. The hospital discovered
three broken ribs and a nicked lung.
Kelli Marie considered staying home from the competition when her mother
was unable to get up the stairs to her third story apartment. Neighborhood boys helped Doris get up
to her apartment and get settled in.
Doris urged Kellie Marie to go and off she went to Vegas.
The evening I saw Kelli Marie compete for Headliner I had no
idea what had transpired in her personal life. She took the stage with grace and beauty. Her dance was indeed, fluid and
sensual. She had the audiences and
judge’s complete attention. When
they placed the crown on her head, composure finally eluded her. Through tears she claimed the crown for
her mother, explaining to the unknowing crowd why. I did this interview with Kellie Marie Saturday night while
waiting for the Ensemble competition to begin. She was still on an emotional high. She had spoken with her mother and
shared the good news. Her final
thoughts about this entire experience were that she had a “wonderful time” and
met “many wonderful people”. To
her Middle Eastern Dance is a “sisterhood”. I, for one, am blessed to call those beautiful women I have
met “sister” too.
So, what did I learn from Wiggles? You get what you put into your performance. Hard work does pay off. Not all have the talent to win but all
have the right to compete. I
believe that the judges I saw were fair and just. I was making my own predictions in my program as the
competition progressed and in the end my choices matched theirs very
closely. I saw some of the most
talented, brave people compete, saw winners cry, saw women who didn't place hug
and congratulate those who did. The only losers were those who felt that they should have won
and couldn't accept the decisions made.
I believe that if you really want a reason to compete, it should be to
make a better dancer out of you.
Don't go into it competing against your sister dancers....compete
against yourself. Look at the
judge’s scoresheets with open eyes and an open heart and fix what's wrong. See you next year.
Photos: Connie Pallen
