Have you ever asked ChatGPT  a question you know the answer to and then got your knickers in a knot over how unrefined and flaky AI’s answer turned out to be?  Yeah, me neither, why would I do such a thing?  But then I get left unsupervised and things happen.. Today I asked the AI chatbot a burning question I hear often from people who are either uninformed on the subject or genuinely looking for reassurance:    Do I have to expose my belly to belly dance?   Here is the answe

“Your  navel  is a rounded goblet     that never lacks blended wine.”   Song of Songs 7:2 Whatever translation of the Old Testament you prefer (I am using New International Version® here), you have to agree that Solomon's Song of Songs is splendid in every word. It is a titillating celebration of the female body, among other things. So, how did we go from cheekily calling out the navel as something extraordinarily beautiful to navel jewels meant to cover up - specifically - f

Happy International Day of Myths and Legends, everyone! In case you didn't know - and I didn’t either until the idea of Myth of the Month rubric as part of The Feral Dancer blog was proposed - it is celebrated annually on October 11th. This inaugural post was inspired by ongoing debate and attempt at “damage control” that a lot of us in the belly dance sphere engage in.   Lo and behold, the heavy weight of the belly dance world:  “There is no sexual undertone in indigenous Eg