Raven loves bellies. Of every shape, and every size. That’s a good thing, given that she’s a therapeutic belly dance instructor. But for her, the ancient art is more than just another way to keep fit (although she does point out that belly dancing makes childbirth easier, increases focus and concentration, and improves muscle control and toning, flexibility, self-confidence and coordination). Raven credits belly dancing with saving her life.

The long love affair with bellies began thirty years ago, when Raven—inspired by the 60s’ television hit, I Dream of Jeannie—signed up for belly dancing at her high school in a little town in northern Ontario.

Belly Dancing Through Life’s Changes

“I was mesmerized by the control, movements, and isolation,” she says of the ancient art that changed her life. The instructor Maria, who had escaped a Moroccan harem with her son, was Raven’s first instructor. She was, says Raven, the first person who believed in her. Raven had fallen for belly dancing, in part because it allowed her to connect with her own body, difficult given that she had experienced mental and physical abuse at an early age, and had turned to drugs and alcohol as a way to erase ugly memories.

But the blossoming affair with dance didn’t immediately help Raven connect to the world. Over the next six months, she spoke rarely and interacted with the other women even less. On the rare occasion she did speak, she covered her mouth when speaking to the teacher. “But I danced like a maniac letting out hate and anger,” she says.

One-day, Maria asked Raven if she would like to teach the class. Raven just laughed. The teacher took the gesture to mean “Yes” and put Raven’s name in the calendar for the next session. Raven panicked, but fear propelled her to stand in front of the class and dance for two hours.

Sometimes Things Have To Get Really Bad Before They Can Get Better
Sadly, Raven continued to abuse drugs and alcohol. At 18, she tried to commit suicide. “But I really didn’t want to die,” she says, adding that she called a boyfriend, who took her to the family doctor.

By 19, Raven was unmarried and pregnant. Belly dancing sustained her right up to giving birth. Motherhood petrified her, but her son turned out to be a great gift, born just one day after her birthday. Four weeks later, she bounced back teaching for eight years and making $18 an hour. Raven credits her partner with keeping her clean and dry for a time, but he was also, she says, a “control freak”. So she walked leaving everything behind, with no support.

After that, Raven resumed her habits of heavy drinking, drugs and strip teasing to pay for it, a pattern that continued for ten years. At times breakfast would consist of large quantities of alcohol plus over and under-the-counter drugs. “I went to Hell and back,” she says. Without teaching she had reached rock bottom. She became Killian Foster, a stage name adapted because “kill” fit her intense hatred and anger. After hearing about a Vocational Rehabilitation Program for Adults in Oakville, Raven summoned up the courage to go. Raven appeared in her classroom the following morning, armed with a serious attitude. But it was the beginning of a new phase in Raven’s life.

Since then, Raven has connected with her aboriginal roots and finds comfort in a creation-based spirituality. She has reunited with her children, learned to read at age 40 and, in 1997, she received a Women’s Entrepreneur for the Year 1997 from Rexdale Micro Skills. She recently graduated from Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment and Training in Toronto, and has made several television appearances. Currently, she is producing an instructional DVD and other media related products.

A Different Kind of Dancing Takes Over These days, Raven, (The Traveling Belly) spreads joy and heals bodies and souls throughout Greater Toronto with her therapeutic movement classes. “Today I feel like a newborn child,” she says. “For the first time I love my life, I’ve learned to trust that my Creator will guide me. I would not change one second of my life-it created who I am today!” For private or group lessons call Raven at 1-877-969-0109 toll free or in the Toronto area, call 416-207-0350. Email Raven www.idreamstudios.com

Heather Resnick Email Heather Heather is committed to writing words that provoke positive change. Her first novel, Ms. Humpty Dumpty, a “powerhouse of emotions” about a woman who keeps falling off the wall and tries to put back the pieces (www.mshumptydumpty.com).

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