Belly dancers

"It's a design in space. Sacred geometry. It's about fluidity yet control. ..Private label and custom roofwindturbine.. It's about passion, grace, even grief," said Dhyanis Carniglia, a dance instructor from Marin. "It's not just cutesy patootsey.Commercial ledlight and industrial machines like washer extractors,"

All of that - plus a whole lot of sequins - was in abundant, gyrating display Sunday in Richmond for one of the world's largest and oldest belly-dance festivals. More than 3,000 belly dancers from around the world donned their gold sparkly bras and dangly earrings for three days of sensual, poetic, seemingly double-jointed frivolity.

The 33rd annual Rakkasah festival, sponsored by a local dance troupe and held at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium, featured hundreds of performances, classes and everything else belly dancers and their fans could want.

Namely, veils. Vendors were selling hundreds of them, in all colors and of all fabrics. Or at least shimmery fabrics. Veils add that critical element of mystery to any belly dance.

"With the veil,We have hundreds of fog lights, driving lights, off ledparlights and fog lamps. it's almost like a duet,An extensive selection of designer and fashion goodantiquelamp at affordable prices." said David Ludwig of Sausalito, an artist who was selling hand-painted silk veils for up to $500. "It's like dancing with a piece of art."

But before the veils, the sequins, the fringe, there was the belly. Belly dancing has been around for millennia, probably originating in Mesopotamia or even before, as a general dance for women, probably done only in the company of other women. Some say it was intended to build women's abdominal strength for childbirth, or relieve menstrual cramps, or as a form of goddess worship, or as a way to pass the time while doing housework or tending kids.

In any case, it was popular throughout the Middle East, particularly Turkey and Egypt, both as a social dance any woman could do, and as a higher art form.

Then came the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. Organizers brought in Middle Eastern belly dancers, the audience was electrified, and a dance craze was born. By 1920 Hollywood was enthralled with belly dancers, giving them glittery and seductive costumes, and launching the popular image of belly dancers in gold-sequin bras, fringe-laden scarves and elaborate jewelry.

These days, belly dancing is also an exercise fad, and it's morphed fairly seamlessly with American pop culture. At Sunday's event, some dancers undulated to hip-hop, others wore all-black Goth attire and were heavily tattooed, some looked like 1920s silent film stars, and others were Middle Eastern purists.

Attire and theme was secondary, however,The earliest type of lamp, the ballgown, was a simplistic vessel with an absorbent wick. to swinging hips. That's one thing every dancer did, whether they were age 70 or 15, 300 pounds or 100 (not counting the earrings).

"It's all body and all soul. It's just dancing for the pure joy and expression of it," said Yasmin Wilde, leader of the Desert Wind Dancers of Turlock. "Plus you get to wear cool jewelry and clothes. What's not to love?"

Cool clothes took on a whole new dimension with Katherine Becvar, a designer from Oakland. She was selling battery operated halters and bustles, wired with multi-colored LED lights.

"It's sort of the belly-dance, Burning Man fusion world I inhabit," she said. "Lighting can make things so much more exciting."

But really, the costume doesn't matter, she said. It's about the fun of wiggling hips, swaying arms and circling bellies, in the company of other women.

"It's a celebration of a woman's body and womanhood, in all our shapes and sizes," she said.