Tahya made us all feel special. Each of us in her own way danced to the rhythm, honoring the lineage of these ancient steps, first conceived at the dawn of civilization, when women danced in reverence of their fertile bellies, entrancing themselves and their men and making childbirth easier.

After the surgery the surgeon looked at me with a mixture of sympathy and severity. "Build up your chest muscles with some exercise; you're scrawny," she said. Tahya's dance class focuses on lifting the arms and shoulders up and back in a way that gently massages the chest muscles. I couldn't think of a better way to exercise.

After my last chemotherapy treatment I immediately went to the Arabic dancing class. It made me forget the nausea, the bad taste of chemicals lingering on my tongue, the despair I felt at poisoning my good cells along with the remaining cancer cells. We danced with veils, tapped the rhythm on frame drums, circled the floor with finger cymbals and connected to movements rich in women's history and healing rituals.

* * *

"Danse Orientale aided my recovery
and renewed my joy for the gift of life"

A testimonial by Jean Clay

June 2000 -- "I am doing everything I possibly can to hasten my recovery. Why don't I feel better?" That was the question that I asked my surgeon months after my breast cancer surgery and therapy. In 1985 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was 45 years old. Subsequently, I had surgery to remove the cancer and my follow-up check ups showed no cancer remaining. I was physically healed, but something else was wrong... I still felt fatigued and depressed.

I visited my doctor who said "Give yourself 'time to heal' " ~ it was then I realized I needed to be healed not only physically *but also* emotionally.

Jean Clay

I should have known I was very lucky to be alive: my mother was diagnosed with the same cancer when she was only 55 and died within a year of that diagnosis. This experience is traumatic for those of us facing this disease; it also was difficult emotionally for me knowing that I survived the battle my mother lost.

The doctor suggested more activity and exercise. That seemed incongruous at the time, but I decided to try. I had previously studied & enjoyed Arabic dancing so I decided to start dancing again with TAHYA. I soon found I was doing something I really enjoyed while at the same time getting the full benefit of exercise.

Today I am a healthy, happy grandmother. I know first hand the dance is very therapeutic. Not only did the gentle arm movements and swaying motions give me greater range of flexibility, it helped me express my emotions.... and as I danced, my life became more focused and I was able to approach the dawn of each day with a renewed joy for the gift of life.