DATE: Tuesday, June 10, 1997                TAG: 9706100028

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAM STARR, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   89 lines

WHEN TROUPE OF BELLY DANCERS SHAKE AND SHIMMY THEIR WAY THROUGH FREE PERFORMANCES AT AREA RETIREMENT HOMES, THEY AWAKEN RESIDENTS TO THE PLEASURE AND EXCITEMENT OF THEIR SENSUAL ART.

A CURVACIOUS blonde in a hot pink harem outfit shimmied and gyrated to the throbbing strains of Middle Eastern music.

Her bejeweled body swayed like a serpent as she brought the mournful song to life for about three dozen enamored viewers.

Which was harder than it sounds, because several members of the elderly audience were snoozing quietly in their high-backed chairs.

Draping a white veil over Leon Dail's astonished and delighted face, Rita Kennedy ended her belly dance with a flourish. By this time, every person in the recreation room of Sentara Village, an assisted-living facility in Chesapeake, was wide awake.

Belly dancing isn't a normal activity for assisted-living and nursing home residents used to being entertained sporadically by bands that play the oldies, church groups, students, or puppies and kittens from the SPCA.

But members of Beyond the Veil belly dancing troupe were sure that residents would benefit from several hours of this ancient art form. Since November, they have danced at area nursing homes about once a month as a community service.

Laura Giles, one of the members, said that belly dancing for the elderly is challenging but satisfying.

``They're a very hard crowd because some are not able to express themselves,'' Giles said. With long black hair, sultry brown eyes and heavy strands of gold jewels wrapped around her trim waist, Giles looks like she had popped right out of Aladdin's lamp. You'd never know she drives a Federal Express truck during the day. ``This is more touching. You feel like you really touched someone.''

Members of the troupe are wives and mothers; one is a 14-year-old. Donna Roberts, 32, is also a full-time travel agent. Sonia Monson, 36, taught elementary school until she quit last year to devote herself to the troupe and the publication of her belly dancing magazine, Zaghareet! Rita Kennedy teaches belly dancing to children and adults at various recreation centers and in her home.

Roberts said that they really enjoy dancing in nursing homes.

``It's important for them to have fun,'' she said, ``and it's good practice for us. It keeps us going.''

The Chesapeakeaudience might have been more subdued than the troupe is used to, but no less appreciative. The afternoon began with a surprise as seven little girls and one boy, all clad in vividly colored harem pants and matching tops, entered the room.

The audience smiled like doting grandparents as they watched the tiny bodies sway and rock in unison. The children are members of The Arabian Nights, a belly dancing troupe begun and taught by Kennedy expressly for children.

The audience clapped politely for the children when they finished. Some still slept in their chairs. But after Kennedy's dance, the fire was lit. They were ready for more.

Giles captivated the residents with her expert shimmies and swivels.

Tall and stunning redhead Monson, a.k.a. Avanha, then took the floor. Halfway through her dance, Monson slowly laid on the carpeted floor and picked up a shiny sword. She balanced the sword on her head and continued the dance, never once letting it drop.

After Roberts performed a rollicking rendition to a Middle Eastern rock song using finger cymbals, the whole troupe ended the afternoon by dancing through the audience. They pulled residents out of their chairs and encouraged them to dance right along.

In the end, the residents didn't want the dancers to leave. Doris Knowles wishes the dancers would come more often.

``I love exotic dancers - I used to try it at home,'' she said. ``I think it's wonderful.''

Another woman got up and smiled. ``If we had a program like this twice a week, it would stir things up around here,'' she said.

Duncan Griffith, a 91-year-old native of British Guyana, said that if the dancers come back, it can't be soon enough for him.

``They're scintillating, fabulous,'' Griffith said in a deep British accent. ``This is the first time I've seen something that had such nuances. It's enthralling. Their husbands are lucky men.'' MEMO: If you would like more information on Beyond the Veil or on belly

dancing classes, contact Rita Kennedy at 430-4000. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

L. TODD SPENCER / The Virginian-Pilot

Belly dancer Rita Kennedy entertains residents of Sentara Village in

Chesapeake.

Color photos by L. Todd Spencer

Belly dancer Rita Kennedy... KEYWORDS: BELLY DANCER

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