Age Doesn't Matter

Dancer: Rivkah Sultana
at Lidia Dalida's Hafla
Plano, TX

Some people have been wondering why I've been photographing belly dancers. Simply, its because I enjoy witnessing and archiving the choreography which transcends all ages, sizes, and races. It's not a fetish. For me it's the same fascination that Toulouse-Lautrec had with the theatrical life of Paris. There's more to life than simply watching people live it on television. Why not experience it.

Belly dance and its participants not only enjoy its movement and costumes but they also enjoy the embodiment of a pass time which practices inclusion. You can feel good about yourself without stigma or harassment about your body type. If you can feel the music and can allow yourself to be in the moment, chances are the music will move you to dance and lift your spirit and the hips will follow.

While at the Hafla, I noticed the diversity not only in the audience but on the dance floor as well. The spectrum was broad. It made viewing the event even more fun as I looked to see how each participant regardless of age would interpret their dance.

Miranda Mejia

Each participant finds a way that they can channel the self expression. In the movements and in the melodies, they are afforded a different voice, another way that they can be heard. Their bodies become art by virtue of the choreography they select. It's mobile form of art defined by human flesh and bones. The dancer becomes art.

My fascination with the dance has to do with the sensory overload of capturing all the details, shapes and composition during the dance. The canvas initially starts cluttered with audience and perhaps reflections. Within a scope of time, I try to crop within my viewfinder the art of the belly dance. The surrounding are not studio perfect. There's clutter that under ideal situations would not exist. My focus becomes even more imperative to capture the details that comprise the art.

For those of you involved with the passion of belly dance and reside in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I am available for professional portrait sessions and other events. Please visit my wesbsite at www.photographybyalhernandez.com .  Feel fee to contact me.