Two years ago, I was diagnosed with axial and peripheral spondyloarthritis, an autoimmune disease that attacks the spine and large joints. After 9 months in physical therapy, I needed to find something physical that would keep me mobile. The physical therapist suggested pilates, but I didn’t like it enough to push through when I wasn't feeling well or didn’t want to exercise; my health coach, Caitlin Ball suggested I check out ZeoT instead. I scheduled a free trial lesson in April 2019 and I’ve been completely hooked ever since.
Throughout this year of belly dancing I’ve learned a lot, much of which you’d expect—specific styles of dancing, the region each style is from, the rhythm associated with it, and the props required for each dance. The teachers at ZeoT are all excellent and really supportive, and each course period has been a great way to learn about and try out different styles of dance. I’ve also learned to read belly dance rhythms, perform basic dance moves, and use props (veils are my favorite).
(Melissa is on the far right in both photos)
What I was not expecting is that I would also end up learning things that are not about belly dancing: how to be a beginner, take on feedback, push myself out of my comfort zone while improving my body image, be more fluent in German, and prioritize myself. At nearly 40 I don’t have a large number of chances to be a complete beginner, but belly dancing gave me that chance. At the beginning, I was completely out of my comfort zone. The basic belly dance moves required a lot of movement in areas where I was only barely regaining mobility (hips and ribs). We also have no full-length mirrors in our house, so I didn’t feel comfortable looking at myself in the studio mirror and was often looking at my feet. I remember my teacher Lhamo asking me one day why I was looking at the floor and telling me that “there was no pot of gold at my feet”. Slowly I became more comfortable watching myself in the mirror and using the feedback from both the mirror and my teachers to improve my form. At some point in the fall, I looked at myself in the mirror and had the realization that I was now a dancer.
I’ve continued to progress using feedback from the teachers and the mirror, and now I’m taking a mix of intermediate and beginner classes. I had planned to push myself further and perform as part of the beginner class in ZeoT’s PARFUM show; when the show was cancelled (due to Covid-19), I decided to share my belly-dancing experience with a different audience instead: just this June, at a virtual gathering organized by the company I work for, I gave a 5-minute presentation to 100+ of my colleagues titled “What I’ve Learned from Belly Dancing”.
Dance classes ended up being a major catalyst for me to treat myself better and to prioritize myself. Now if there is a conflict between class and my husband’s work (we have a 5-year-old) we get a sitter instead of me skipping class, and I take workshops on some weekends to improve my technique. The additional exercise and movement has improved my mobility and helped to keep my disease under better control.
Melissa is an American who’s been living in Zürich for 5 years. With a Dad in the Air Force, she grew up moving around and has lived in 7 states and 4 countries with the longest stint as an adult being Switzerland. She speaks English, some Swedish and some German (though it's improving thanks to ZeoT). She is the Finance Manager for Hotjar where she gave this presentation to her colleagues.