Members of the Ponoka-based Read My Hips Dance Troupe are excited to be hosting the Ponoka Dance Gala fundraiser, coming up on Oct. 5.
The event will be held at the Moose Hall, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m.
Dinner starts at 6:15 p.m. with the show to follow. Tickets are available at www.eventbrite.ca, and there will be a silent auction as well.
Read My Hips is a women's dance group specializing in belly dancing. The group was launched back in 2012, said Andrea Ramage, the troupe's founder and director.
"In 2013, we held our first fundraiser gala. We thought it was a way to feature women's dance as an art form, and also do something beneficial for the community at the same time. It's a way for us to put on this great show - it's a really fun night and we get to give back!"
That first year, the beneficiary was the Lois Hole Hospital for Women. Over the years, funds have also gone to supporting the construction of the Ponoka Elementary School playground, and the installation of a kitchen in the former Parent Link Centre.
"We also created and funded the Ponoka Arts and Cultural Bursary program, which provides funds for children and youth to take part in programs that focus on leadership skills, or are artistic, or cultural in nature," she said, adding the fund is available through Ponoka Family and Community Support Services.
For this year, the gala will be supporting parent and child programming in Ponoka provided through the Neighbourhood Place program.
For Ramage, a passion for dance, and belly dancing in particular, was sparked rather unexpectedly.
"I was not a dancer as a kid - I took a couple of dance lessons as a youngster, but I didn't grow up dancing," she explained.
"I then attended a belly dance class around my 30th birthday. To be perfectly honest, I didn't think my friend was taking me to a belly dance class - I thought it was a surprise party for my birthday," she said with a laugh.
At first, she just wasn't feeling it. But after just watching the dancing for a bit, something truly clicked.
"I thought, I'm here - I'm going to try it! And I just took to it."
A few months later, Ramage was encouraged to attend an advanced class.
"Six months later, I was teaching with her. A couple of years later, she moved away, and I started up my own class. I've also had lessons from all sorts of amazing belly dance teachers. Belly dancing is very interesting because it combines movement styles from all over the world," she said.
"My class now is a fusion-style," she said, adding besides the belly dance style, there is a bit of lyrical and salsa blended into the mix, too.
"It's open to women of all ages, and all sizes. It's so inclusive. It's a kind of dance that is really for 'every body'. You have a body, then you can dance," she said.
"It's about the movement of your body for no other reason than feeling good about your own body," she said. "It's an expressive art form."
Belly dancing has a very rich, and very long history.
Where it originated depends on who you ask, added Ramage.
"Nobody really knows how old it is. And if you ask someone from Egypt about its origins, it started in Egypt. If you ask someone from Lebanon, it originated there. If you ask someone from Turkey, it originated there. It's older than history."
For Ramage, belly dancing is a means of creating a circle of women that is non-judgmental and welcoming. "There is no competition - that just doesn't exist (in belly dancing)."
It's also an excellent form of exercise. "I am half the size of what I was when I started belly dancing. It's very physical, but it's not impactful because everything is smooth.
"People also sometimes think they have no rhythm. But they don't realize rhythm keeps them alive. We are 'embodied' rhythm. Once we realize our rhythm, everything is possible."
She noted that when folks come to the show, they will see every size, every age, and every style of dance.
"The dancers are all beautiful, they are all living their best lives, and they are communicating this expressive art form to the audience."
For more about the Ponoka Dance Gala, or the Read My Hips Dance Trip, find Read my Hips Ponoka on Facebook.
