Jason and I are of very mixed national descent but, as far I know, the only place in the British Isles that we don’t have ancestors from is Ireland. However, that fact doesn’t stop us from celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.

This year, in honor of the green holiday, I decided to prepare an Irish meal for Jason. I made Shepherd’s Pie for the main course, courtesy of Rachael Ray, and for dessert I made an apple crisp recipe that incorporated Irish oats and Irish whiskey. It all turned out quite scrumptious and Jason and I enjoyed our candlelight dinner with the sweet sounds of U2 playing in the background.

And, of course, you can’t truly celebrate St. Patrick’s Day without turning something green that was never meant to be that hue. So, I added food coloring to our bottle of Martinelli’s until it was a shocking emerald shade.

So, considering our lack of Irish lineage, Jas and I may not have any apparent reason to observe St. Patrick’s Day but, since we love to party and get down, we think that is reason enough.

Jas and I went to see Thriving Ivory back in October of last year and the show was fabulous, so when I heard they were coming to town again I had to get tickets.

We didn’t make it to the concert in time to see the first group perform, but we saw the last two bands that played before Thriving Ivory. Generally, concert goers have low expectations regarding the opening bands at smaller events such as this one. So last night I didn’t expect much from the opening acts. However, to my surprise, I was very impressed by both the opening bands that we heard, Company of Thieves and State of Shock. I was so impressed, in fact, that I bought both of their CD’s.

Company of Thieves played with plenty of energy. It was great to see their lead singer, a chick, tearing it up on stage. The audience members responded to that energy by being much more enthusiastic than you would expect, considering that most of them probably had never heard of this band before.

State of Shock, a band from Vancouver just beginning to play in the U.S., also performed with a lot of passion. You could tell they truly loved what they were doing. I got a chance to chat with them after the concert. They were the nicest rockers I’ve ever met, very friendly and accommodating. They were more than happy to oblige my request to have a picture taken with them. I’ve been listening to their CD and am happy to report that I’m digging it. Their music is catchy and fun, good toe-tapping tunes.

And as for the main attraction, Thriving Ivory, as anticipated, did not disappoint. Like last time, they put on a great show and the audience definitely enjoyed themselves. It’s easy to see why Salt Lake City is Thriving Ivory’s favorite place to perform. With girls screaming “I love you” whenever there was a quieter moment, you’d think you’d just stepped into a Jonas Brothers concert. But I guess I can commiserate with the screaming masses, I too love Thriving Ivory. I love their music and watching them perform, and I love that they’ve found such a captive audience here in Salt Lake City; I kind of feel like they’re my homeboys. Next time they come to town I can guarantee that I will be in the crowd cheering them on.

My sole complaint is that I wasn’t able to get a picture with the band this time. Unlike at their previous show, last night I remembered to bring my camera with me, but also unlike last time, people weren’t allowed to take pictures with the band afterwards. I’m sure the band members were exhausted; they looked like they were worn out from touring. And they were very sweet to hang around, following the concert, to sign swag. But man, I just wanted a good picture after the dismal state of the iPhone ones I took last time. So I waited in line, only to hear when I was close to the front of the line that they weren’t permitting any pictures to be taken. How sad! Oh well, my pixilated picts will have to do for now. Maybe next time…

Still, it was a tremendous show. I enjoyed all of the bands, which is a rarity. And I loved seeing my Thriving Ivory boys again. I hope they will return soon.

Okay children, it’s time for us to use our imaginations. What comes to mind when you think of belly dancing?

The timeless art of seduction? A scantily clad woman tempting a sultan? Exotic dancers employed for some dude’s bachelor party? My guess is that these misconceptions, or ones like them, are what you associate with this form of dance.

Shortly after Jason and I got married, nearly 8 years ago, I decided to take a belly dancing class through UVU’s continuing education program. I loved the class so much that I signed up for others and through the years I’ve had a blast performing this graceful folk dance. That’s why I feel compelled to straighten out all those crazy ideas everyone seems to have about this art.

Belly dancing, more correctly termed Oriental dancing, has been a part of Middle Eastern society for centuries. With the rise of Islam, households were segregated into women’s and men’s quarters. Women would hold their own festivities on special occasions, apart from the men. They would celebrate by dancing together and for each other. They didn’t dance to seduce or tantalize, obviously there weren’t even men present. And they didn’t dance wearing skimpy outfits either. Belly dancing was a dance of celebration and sisterhood, done by women for women.

So where did we get this idea of hussies, sporting coin braziers and leading men to sin? One word: Hollywood. We westerners skewed belly dancing, turned it into something sensational and sinful, something it never was.

It’s time to dispel those Hollywood fantasies. Since I’ve been belly dancing for years now, I can assure all of you that belly dancing is nothing like you think. It truly is an art and an expression of sisterhood and femininity. It is surprisingly difficult and requires an enormous amount of practice to perfect. You have to train your body to move in ways that seem completely alien at first. But the dancers are all extremely supportive of one another and the environment is relaxed, no one laughs at you when you mess up and creativity is encouraged. So it’s easy to see why, despite the complexity of the dance, ladies like me keep coming back for more. Incidentally, belly dancing is also a fantastic abs, butt, and thigh workout. It’s much harder than crunches and so much more enjoyable!

And, in case you are wondering, we don’t perform to swarms of men stuffing dollar bills down our skirts. In fact, we prefer to forget about you men altogether. While Jason does very much like watching me dance, I don’t dance for him, I dance for me. I dance because I love music and rhythm, I dance because I love expressing myself, I dance to forget about everything else for a while and just chill with my chicks, I dance to get a workout-I dance for me.

If you have grasped nothing else from this entry, please remember that belly dancing does not equal seduction. Instead, the words I would use to describe it are: graceful, feminine, art, traditional, creative, folk, and expression.

So next time someone tells you that they belly dance, don’t ask if they are an exotic dancer or offer them a wad of ones; you’ll just make yourself look like an idiot and are more likely to get a slap in the face than a free performance.