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Hi! My name is Shira, and you may have already heard of me if you've visited either Suite101's Middle Eastern Dance area or my primary web site, Art Of Middle Eastern Dance at www.shira.net.
I receive frequent e-mails from queen-sized dancers with questions. They're looking for costume suggestions, advice on whether it's okay for ample women to belly dance, and ideas on what to wear to class. Clearly, this group of people is hoping to receive encouragement and useful recommendations on joining the belly dance community.
That's why I've written several articles myself on the subject of belly dancing for full-figured women, and I've sought other articles on the web that also address this topic.
Here are some questions I suspect some of you may be having about this web site:
Q: If you already run two other web sites, why a third?
A: Because both of my other web sites explore a large variety of topics related to Middle Eastern dance. The articles on this site do also appear on one or both of those other sites, but they're not so easy to find on the others because they're buried in among everything else. My Art Of Middle Eastern Dance web site at www.shira.net has more than 300 articles to read! For someone who wants to read about belly dance for plus-sized dancers, it can be daunting to dig through the site searching for these articles. By putting up this new, separate site, I'm trying to make it easy for plus-sized dancers to find the resources I know about (the articles I've written plus the ones that other people have written) all in one simple, easy-to-explore place. As I write new articles on this subject for either Suite101 or my own site, I'll link to them from here so you can find them easily.
Q: What can I do to help make this site more successful?
A: There are lots of things you can do! You can contribute articles or artwork, link to it, join the e-mail list, post messages on the bulletin board, tell your friends about it, etc. Click here for more information.
Q: Is it okay if I link to your site?
A: Yes, you are welcome to link to this site! I hope you will, because I want this site to be easy to find by the people who need it. The address you should link to is http://www.angelfire.com/art/bbwdance/ . If you do decide to link, let me know and I'll link to you too! That way we can help each other attract more visitors! My e-mail address appears near the bottom of this page.
Q: Are you plus-sized yourself?
A: I used to be, but I'm not any more. I'm 5 feet 9 inches tall. I currently wear a U.S. size 12 or 14, depending on the garment, and my weight varies in the 150-160 pounds range. But not so long ago, I used to wear size U.S. 18 or 20 and my peak weight was 210 pounds. I have a slender bone structure, so I was definitely obese by the medical definition. What's more, I was putting myself at health risk - my body proved to have the apple shape that medical researchers have discovered is particularly at risk of heart disease, stroke, and other weight-related health problems. In 1999 and early 2000, I lost 55 pounds, and I have maintained my current size since about March of 2000. I wish I could lose about 15-20 additional pounds, but I can't seem to discipline myself to do what it would take. Still, I'm pretty happy with my current size and shape.
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Q: Why aren't there more pictures of you on this site? A: I want this site to be a place that encourages full-figured women to try belly dancing. And therefore I want this site to showcase photos of full-figured dancers who look great in their costumes. By featuring such role models, I hope to help ample women pull together the courage to try belly dancing for themselves. Back when I was 50+ pounds overweight, I hesitated to purchase any additional belly dance costumes to fit my bigger size because I wasn't ready to accept that weight gain as permanent. So I altered some of the costumes from when I was thinner. I don't think those costumes looked particularly flattering on me, so I'm not very happy with the pictures that were taken of me wearing them. (The photo to the right was taken in 1997, when I was near my peak weight.) |
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Q: I'd like to send you e-mail. What is your address?
A: 
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July 29, 2001