The Me’ira Belly Dance Troupe showcased their talents on June 4 with an evening of dancing at the Souris Valley Theatre’s 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.
The show opened with a group performance by the six members of the Me’ira troupe: Lindsay Dyer, Shelley Carroll, Brittney Fleck, Carol Tessier, Brandy McCaskill and Jody Wallster.
Then Dyer’s daughter Mikayla and McCaskill’s daughter, Cecilia entertained the audience with their dance to Pink Elephants on Parade from the movie Dumbo.
“They’ve grown up watching us dance, and we were pregnant with them while we were dancing,” said Lindsay Dyer. “So they’ve 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’ira 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’ira Dance Troupe, followed by a two appearances by Lalita Maya, a performance by Regina’s Cherry Bomb Burlesque, a duet by McCaskill and Dyer, a dance by Regina’s Zarifah and a final performance by the Me’ira troupe.
“I thought the show went very well, and all the dancers did very well with a nice variety,” said Dyer.
The dancers from other communities also added a lot to the program, because Dyer believes the dance troupe couldn’t do the show without them.
“They are a great support system,” said Dyer. “Belly 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.”
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.
“We’re a sisterhood, and we get to work on having good friends and good circles in our support group,” said Dyer. “And we’re exercising, even though it often doesn’t feel like exercise.”
All six dancers who were part of Me’ira 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’ira 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.
