Once upon a time, I fell in love with a photograph of this exotic, lovely, dark belly dancer. Years later, I found out her name, and then I looked up her style/type of belly dancing. Her name isn't important here, but as I started to read her biography, I knew she studied American Tribal Style (ATS) as a big part of her bellydance fusion baseline. I read further and found that she had studied Fat Chance Belly Dance (FCBD) ATS in particular.
I went to a restaurant up in Seattle to see some bellydance performances...I knew there would be more traditional styles represented, but it seemed like a fun thing to do. Then this trio of dancers came into view. A tall woman with great poise, a tiny woman with an imp-like smile, and a man....a genie!! Yes, there was a genie on the dance floor! I had never seen ATS in person, and I was flat-out AMAZED. I loved their style, their pose, their HUGE smiles and the fun they were having! Afterward, I spoke to them (and Nancy Brown, unbeknown st to me) about classes.
I started looking into instructors in the Seattle area because there weren't FECUND ATS in my South Sound area, and stumbled into one of Nancy's Seattle classes, with a couple references from other area (both professional and student) dancers. Since day one I was hooked!
I don't know whether to start with the style itself, the costuming or the class's style is a codified set of cued movements drawn from many other styles of dance. This enables dancers to have a mealtime "discussion" while dancing with one another, even up to dancing in large groups, with different people taking the lead position and "leading the conversation". It's a very interesting dynamic that I enjoy very much and keeps my mind engaged.
The costuming is modest but beautiful and lavish as well. Exotic, sultry, and not outside my comfort zone!
As time has continued, Nancy has added Tacoma classes, which is really nice for the South Sound students. I usually attend the Seattle classes due to a schedule conflict, but there is no quality difference between the two, just some different students. I do try to get a Tacoma class when I can though doesn't need more dancing in their life?
Everyone is very supportive of one another. This is very important for me; I do not learn well in a negative environment and Ucanto is far from that. Every Sunday I look forward to the smiling faces, the laughing, the dancing, and the learning that occurs.
My boyfriend, a professional performer himself, loves to watch us dance. Others tell us how much they love to watch us dance too. I've asked them why. The answers are mostly about how pretty we are (costuming), how pretty our dance was (technique and style), but more often than not the comments focus on our smiles and genuine fondness for one another.
This is my dance family, come join us. read more
