I once went to a restaurant. You ate the food with your hands and they had “live Belly Dancers” …opposed to dead Belly Dancers lol. They wore an outfit like Barbara Eden in. I Dream of Jeannie. They wore little hats covered with sequins and a veil around their mouth and chin. Their eye makeup was very exotic. They wore sheer pants and a scarf wrapped around their waist.
This one dancer danced very close to me. And her belly moved like a gelatin mold…strawberry. It was just me and the belly button. I took some money out of my pocket and gave her a tip. Looking back now I think her belly button winked at me.
Russia had two famous dances. The Barynya and the famous dance… called the Prisiadki this is when they fold their arms in front and squatted down and danced while yelling. They wore red coats back pants and fancy footwear.
Once while I was in Paris, I went to the Moulin Rouge. There were 20 woman doing the cancan in unison. They wore costumes with ruffles everywhere. I can’t imagine how their legs hurt after doing over one hundred lifts.
Did you ever see the show Riverdance? It was created by Michael Flatley. It was sort of an Irish jig. With his hands cemented to the sides of his body he began to do the steps. Then from nowhere a couple of other dancers joined him. There must have been 30 people on stage doing this.
Two of my favorite Shows …one was American Bandstand. Created by the legendary Dick Clark. He once asked me on the show. And I did some movements and everyone followed me. I first met Mr Clark at a restaurant when I was a waiter. What a gentleman.
The other show I watched was Soul Train with Don Cornelius. The showcase dancers were unbelievable.
Did you ever do the Jitterbug? Not the phone but the dance. These couples could really fly. The men lifted up the women, then catch them in mid air and spun them around.
I was always intrigued by Modern Dance. I went to a concert at UCLA choreographed by Alvin Ailey. Mr A was inspired by African American experience by dance. The number he is most famous for is Revelation. The women wore massive hats and danced with a fan in their hands.
I did go backstage and I met Judith Jamison. I remember kissing her hand and telling her that I never saw anyone dance like that before.
Sometimes on the Cruise Lose we would stop at the Mexican city Mazatlan. All of us would go to the restaurant Senor Frogs. This place was really hoppin…
There I learned the Macarena. You know that dance…you wrap your hands around your waist. Then around your head… then do a little dance then start all over again. Many of my cruisers would have few jello shots. Then when they tried to do the dance they nearly passed out.
Did you ever do the hustle…the jerk….the monkey…the electric slide….the rumba…the tango or the samba? All fun dances to do. I loved to watch ballroom dancing. The male dancers had open shirts ….. the women were so elegant. Their dresses were so tight I was surprised they could dance. How can they move so beautifully in five inch high heels?
I was asked so many times to do Dancing with the Stars. I never went on but I was a fan. When they let Tom Bergeron go I never watched the show again.
One more thing, I want to thank you for being my dance partner for all these years. You don’t know how much that meant to me.
