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Belly Dancing or Bust!

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Belly Dancing or Bust!

Back when I was still a fairly young director I had the opportunity to work with the old Montclair Operetta Club.  They were pleased with my work on “the Unsinkable Molly brown” and asked me to direct the next fall show, “The Desert Song.”  It did not have a lot of dance in it so they asked me if I would choreograph as well.  I thought with my background I could manage it.  After I agreed they said, oh by the way, there’s a belly Dance in it, you do belly dance don’t you.  Without missing a beat I said, “Of course,” as if every aspiring actor/singer/dancer did.  I had seen belly dancing but had never even thought of attempting it.  The next day in a bit of a panic,  however, I ran to a studio on eighth Avenue called FAZIL’s which with a name like that of course offered belly dancing classes.  It was belly dancing or bust.  I was game and slaved away at that art twice a week all summer and by the time September rolled around, I had learned enough that I could fake it well.  Of course it helped that I had an Azuri/Belly Dancer that had the longest snakiest arms you could imagine.  The moral of the story is to say yes, if you think you have a prayer of pulling it off. The truth is I never belly danced before and I never did again!

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