They say that Middle Eastern Dance, also known as Oriental Dance and belly dance, is good for self-esteem. In my case, it's true, for a number of reasons that aren't the point here.
I have just changed dancing classes (not instructor: I wouldn't leave the wonderful
June!). Instead of dancing with Cornell students that take the class for credit, curiosity, or maybe to stay fit in a way less mind-numbing than jogging (bleh), I'm dancing with people that dance for the sheer joy of it. And you know what? no one is
ever modest. Not one of my new classmates says they're bad, clumsy, too fat, too tall, or "too"
anything. Sometimes, someone will objectively say that one particular choreography is too hard for them, or that they are nervous. We're not superheroes. But there is none of that fake-modesty that you will often find in an all-women (or nearly all-women, there is one man in one of the groups) environments. Yay. That alone is enough of a reason to enjoy the dance.
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