Rachel Boyd wears a satin bra with sleeves and a split skirt that reveals the entire length of her leg as she lunges on the ground. Her eyes are swept in dark makeup and on her lips sits a seductive smile. The Rachel during the day is decidedly non-exotic wearing glasses a sweatshirt and two layers of workout pants. She scowls when a young man accidentally walks in to the just ending belly dance class. "I don't like to have men in here at all- she says. This statement spoken from a woman who spends her evenings shaking her hips at restaurant patrons.
Although she doesn't like men ogling her classes Rachel does not shy away from the sensual aspects of her dance. In fact that's what attracted her to belly dancing as a teenager. "I really liked the sensuality of the dance and even the blatant sexuality- she says. She had been taking traditional dance classes in Los Angeles in hopes of becoming a performer but thought belly dance seemed more interesting than the styles she was learning. She finally switched to belly dance after injuring herself in a ballet class. The accident convinced her that ballet is unnatural: "It distorts the body and torments it. That is still my feeling on ballet-it's horrible."" She started belly dancing right after the injury delighted to find a dance she could perform without hurting herself.
Now thirty-three Rachel still finds belly dance an "earthy natural dance- that celebrates and nurtures the female body. "It fits into any lifestyle and any body shape-fat skinny whatever."" Describing some performers she saw at a showcase she says "These women were really large. But they could still dance. They were beautiful."" Many women belly dance even while pregnant with the help of special classes and videos. Overweight or pregnant dancers may seem incompatible with such a seductive sensual dance. But while the dance is closely linked to sexuality it is not necessarily seductive.