The Me鈥檌ra Belly Dance Troupe showcased their talents on June 4 with an evening of dancing at the Souris Valley Theatre鈥檚 Frehlick Hall.
Members of the troupe were joined by their counterparts from Oxbow, Weyburn and Regina for a variety of choreographed routines that provided a celebration of the art form. 聽
The show opened with a group performance by the six members of the Me鈥檌ra troupe: Lindsay Dyer, Shelley Carroll, Brittney Fleck, Carol Tessier, Brandy McCaskill and Jody Wallster.
Then Dyer鈥檚 daughter Mikayla and McCaskill鈥檚 daughter, Cecilia entertained the audience with their dance to Pink Elephants on Parade from the movie Dumbo.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e grown up watching us dance, and we were pregnant with them while we were dancing,鈥� said Lindsay Dyer. 鈥淪o they鈥檝e always been a part of it, but they learned their dance in the last three weeks.
Fleck and Tessier had a duet and Carroll performed a solo dance in the first half. The other performers in the first half were Paula Spearing of Oxbow, who is a former member of the Me鈥檌ra club, Lalita Maya of Weyburn, the Zarifah Dance Troupe of Regina and Wild Spirit Fusionista of Regina.
The second half opened with another group performance from the Me鈥檌ra Dance Troupe, followed by a two appearances by Lalita Maya, a performance by Regina鈥檚 Cherry Bomb Burlesque, a duet by McCaskill and Dyer, a dance by Regina鈥檚 Zarifah and a final performance by the Me鈥檌ra troupe.
鈥淚 thought the show went very well, and all the dancers did very well with a nice variety,鈥� said Dyer.
The dancers from other communities also added a lot to the program, because Dyer believes the dance troupe couldn鈥檛 do the show without them.
鈥淭hey are a great support system,鈥� said Dyer. 鈥淏elly dancing is a very small community, although it is a worldwide community. You do gain some friendships from around the world. It is nice to know that we have the support of our dance community to come out and help and be a part of the live arts and be able to put on a show.鈥澛�
Dyer believes belly dancing gives members a chance to make time for themselves, which can be difficult since most of them have families and full-time jobs.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a sisterhood, and we get to work on having good friends and good circles in our support group,鈥� said Dyer. 鈥淎nd we鈥檙e exercising, even though it often doesn鈥檛 feel like exercise.鈥�
All six dancers who were part of Me鈥檌ra this year have experience with the club, although one of the members had been on hiatus for a few years while going to school in Regina.
It was another busy year for the Me鈥檌ra troupe. In addition to their weekly Monday meetings, they performed at the Estevan Relay for Life last June, the United Way Estevan telethon in October, and danced at a Renaissance fair in Yorkton.聽
