Tales Told by a Closet Belly Dancer

MAKING MY PRACTICE SKIRT

While Glenna Batson, one of Adriana’s advance students was teaching our class during her absence, saw me put on my expensive red chiffon skirt, she was aghast. “Jeanne! It’s a crime to wear that expensive thing for class. You need a practice skirt!” I certainly didn’t want to commit a crime, so I stopped at my favorite yard good store on my way home. A stylized floral polyester fabric in shades of royal blue, turquoise, and lime green on a ground of black seemed to be calling my name. With just ten yards left on the bolt, it had been reduced to fifty cents a yard! For less than seven bucks I drove home with skirt material, matching thread and grosgrain ribbon for the hip band.

I folded the fabric as I had done making my red skirt, hanging it up overnight to allow the material, cut on the diagonal, to stretch. The next morning I excitedly trimmed off the places that had become uneven, and made a narrow rolled hem. It was then I learned that this new creature, ‘Skirt’ was developing a life of its own for when I tried ‘Her’ on ‘She’ was too long! Now that I had finally mastered the required bent knee position I would have to shorten ‘Her.’

At class the following day Glenna sold me the black bare belly leotard and tights that would match ‘Skirt.’ I was downcast that I was going to have the shorten ‘Her’ but on the way home I found some lime and silver sequin trim. It took a lot of yardage to go around the bottom, so it was not cheap, but ‘Skirt’ really needed it to soothe our wounded spirits. After trimming a bit more from ‘Her’ length, hemming again, and embellishing ‘Her’ with the sequin trim, I gave my new friend a test drive, as I did a few turns. ‘She’ flared out so gracefully that we were both delighted.

But then ‘Skirt’s’ eye fell upon a dancer depicted on the cover of my latest belly dance record wearing a bra and belt that ‘She’ fell in love with. I had to agree that the three rows of the lime and silver sequin trim that I had sewn along her bottom edges, applied in a V pattern would exactly suit ‘Skirts’ charms. However, there was no living with ‘Her’ unless I rushed out to acquire more of the same glitz before someone else snapped it up. ‘Skirt’ had no idea of the time and patience it would take to hand stitch bathing suit molded cups on the outside of a regular bra to give it enough body to support the weight of all the embellishments. ‘She’ pouted while I covered the entire garment, including straps with a silver knit fabric left over from my twenty-fifth anniversary gown. After applying the three rows of trim, I ordered a packet of dime sized silver coins from Cost Plus, a supply house in San Francisco. I attached these at the bottom of each row using dental floss, the only thread strong enough to survive the stresses a dancer would place upon it. I fastened a length of silver chain at the bottom each side of ‘Bra,’ looping it over my midriff, and fastening it at the center with silver jump rings coins were attached at regular intervals. By now I had quite an investment of cash and time, and I was only half done because ‘Bra’ couldn’t possibly dance alone. ‘She’ had to have a belt.

During the weeks I pricked my fingers laboring over ‘Her’ belt, ‘Belt’ began to complain that ‘She’ needed the lime green crystalline fabric I had seen on sale on my way home from Adriana’s Mecca. It was true that the floral material with bits of lime green certainly enhanced her charms but the lime green would simply be heavenly. Before I knew what hit me, I had Red and Gold Costume, Practice Skirt, and Lime Green Crystalline.

The following week I bought some black, blue, and white striped double knit to make practice harem pants. ‘Striped Harem Pants’ weren’t satisfied until I created a matching full gathered bodice with three quarter length sleeves. It seems that ‘Striped Harem Pants’ were far more modest than my other ‘Costume Creatures.’ ‘She’ had designs on a ribbon overskirt that consisted of lengths of one inch satin ribbons fastened at four inch intervals to a grosgrain band. As soon ‘Ribbon Belt’ was finished, ‘She’ insisted that I sew bells at ‘Her’ ends. I had to admit ‘Ribbon Belt’ was quite right because when I whirled around while dancing in ‘Striped Harem Pants,’ ‘Her’ ribbons flew gaily about making cheerful jingling sounds. Ah, but that was just the beginning of the demands my creations demanded of me.