Diana
Shimmy! I’m Diana Leadbeater aka Maysi. Since your reading this I guess you’re interested in knowing more about me, well I won’t let you down.
I’m a CFA (come from away) and I hail from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Three years ago I moved here to complete my Masters Degree at Memorial University and decided to stay upon completion. What originally got me interested in bellydance was an advertisement I saw in a mail brochure. I was curious about it but I could not afford the classes on a student budget and so I wrote it off. A few months later I saw a poster at MUN about classes with the Neighbourhood Strays and was glad to see that I could afford it.
I was hooked my first class and have been here ever since. From my first public performance at Summer Dance 2008 to watching the Strays dance at various events, I knew I wanted to be one of them. And now I’m here 2 years later!
I have taken many classes and workshops over my two years; Beginners all the way of to advanced improvisationand workshops with Monique Ryan. In all, I strive to continue to learn, to improve myself and my skills, and to hopefully one day gain enough experience to become a semi-professional bellydancer.
Dancing has changed me not just physically but mentally as well. I always had negative body issues and would never even fathom the idea of showing off my stomach. Now I am dancing without my stomach covered. I have become proud of the way I am and accept the way I look. As well, having no family in Newfoundland, dancing helped me meet people and make many new friends here.
If I could say only one thing about bellydance, it would be that it is freeing. You are freed of all social expectations about body image, free of your daily stress, free to express your emotions through your movements, and free to awaken your inner goddess.
"Locked in this dance is a secret language that tells the story of womens' lives... their passions and their spirituality, their sacrifices, their joys, their intuitions, their emotional life drama." ---Delilah
