BellaDancer: Universe Wrapped in Skin
The first piece I did in Memphis 2019. My maiden voyage in publicly taking the shackles off, and dancing any darn way I feel like it. It's not belly dance. It's the BellaDancer doing her thang.
Music:
Omiya by Michael Danna from Kama Sutra: Tale of Love
Morning Dew Siren by Shiva In Exile
Woman (Oh Mama) by Joy Williams
A NOTE ABOUT THE MUSIC
When I wrote to Shiva In Exile to ask for a translation of the lyrics to this amazing song, I was informed that it was composed in a fantastical language, and was encouraged to translate it any way I was inspired. So I did.
That meant I had to analyze the song, phonetically interpret the lyrics, find all the common elements in the sounds and create a standardized "vocabulary". Finally, I was able to weave words together from that vocabulary, the way they were voiced, the mood of the music, and the tale I wanted to tell.
Here is what it said to me:
ODE TO THE ELEMENTS
Glory unto Your wonders
You calm my warring heart
Your brilliance is the heart of the sun
Let me be the moon
Aglow with this reflected light
I AM the moon
My breath is the sea's rhythm
A heart of gold frees me
Rivers, grasses, raindrops
Rippling in time
I am danced by the currents of this Earth
A heart of gold frees us all
Ah, hearken, hearken...hearken, Mother
Please, (Earth) Mother...hearken please, please
Sorrow, Mother
Yes Mother, yes Mother, yes!
Hearts hearken
Mother, yes, move me now
Oh, hearken now, Mother
Now, Mother
Oh, now
Oh, now!
Glory unto Your wonders
You calm my warring heart
Your brilliance is the heart of the sun
Let me be the moon
*deep bow*
And of course, Joy Williams' amazing, inspiring words, which gave the piece its title:
WOMAN (OH MAMA)
Oh mama, oh mama, oh mama, oh...
Woman make
Woman take
Woman see
Woman breathe
Woman carry the burden of knowledge
Woman always the one to be blamed
Woman shoulder the men of the nation
Woman free you from sorrow and shame
(Chorus)
(Oh mama, oh mama, oh mama, oh oh)
Come let me show where life begins
(Oh mama, oh mama, oh mama)
(Oh mama, oh mama, oh mama, oh oh)
I am the universe wrapped in skin
(Oh mama, oh mama, oh mama, oh oh)
Woman dream
Woman hate
Woman cry
Woman break
Woman hold you in the palm of her hand
Woman changing the mask on her face
Woman stand with her feet in the fire
Woman only one thrown in the flames
CHORUS
(Woman!)
I am the moon in the midnight sky
(Woman!)
I am the secret you try to hide
Come let me show you,
Oh
I'm the moon, I'm the moon,
Yeah
Ohhh…oh you
I am the moon, I am the moon, I am the moon
Woman monster
Woman child
Woman hero
Woman wild
Woman whisper
Woman scream
Woman listen
Woman free
Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh
Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh
Woman Mary
Jezebel
Woman heaven
Woman hell
Woman teacher
Woman kind
Woman nature
Women rise!
Oh, mama!
(Oh mama, oh mama, oh mama, oh oh)
Oh mama, oh mama, oh mama, oh mama
(Oh mama, oh mama, oh mama)
I am the universe
Oh mama, oh mama, oh mama, oh mama
(Oh mama, oh mama, oh mama, oh oh)
Woman!
(Oh mama, oh mama, oh mama, oh oh)
Woman!
(Oh mama, oh mama, oh mama, oh oh)
(Oh mama, oh mama, oh mama, oh oh)
Oh mama, ma, mama
Woman!