Pink Camels dance through campus

Students across the SCSU campus may have noticed a change in the dance scene in the past few months as one of the campus’ most recent additions to the 200-some organizations has taken off.

The Pink Camel Belly Dancing Club has performed across campus and St. Cloud as of late, a feat that makes Yoko Honda feel good.

“Three years ago we performed for the first time at Africa Night,” said the international student from Japan. “Everybody liked it and asked if we’d teach how to dance. A year after that I decided to start. Since then we have had several performances on campus.”

The group’s most recent performance was during Kick-Off Week 2001 at the international picnic on Sept. 4.

Honda happened upon belly dancing while still in her native Japan.

“In Japan my body looked different than other Japanese girls,” she said. “Everyone was so skinny. Everyone has straight bodies. When I graduated from high school I met a friend in school who said she liked the shape of my body and I should belly dance.”

Honda wasn’t so sure at first, though. She said she wasn’t really interested the first time she went to see her friend dance, but once she tried it she got interested.

When Honda first came to the U.S., she lived in Washington state, where she found some schools that taught belly dancing. When she arrived in St. Cloud, though, she could only find a place to dance in Minneapolis.

“I took the Greyhound there,” Honda said. “I couldn’t go as much as I did in Washington. When I moved here I was so sad I couldn’t do it anymore.”

Now, Honda is the president of the Pink Camel Belly Dancing Club and enjoys teaching dances to others.

“We have meetings once a week on campus, but we do extra practice at my place once a week,” Honda said. “Before a performance we practice a lot. There are so many techniques to learn.”

Honda, a jack-of-all-trades for the belly dancers, also makes the skirts and tops on a sewing machine.

Senior LeeAnn Ilminen, meteorology, joined the club last spring after she saw a performance.

“I picked up the dance routines pretty well since I had some dancing history,” Ilminen said. “The techniques with the hands and eyes I am still learning, though.”

As performing gets easier for the belly dancers, more rewards come from the shows.

“I like seeing a bunch of women come up and take interest in learning how to dance, “ said Ilminen.

Honda encourages anyone who is interested to give it a try — no matter what the person’s body size.

“Some people think that if they are kind of fat they can’t do it,” she said, “but we are for everyone. It’s better, actually, to have a belly. You don’t have to show your belly to perform. Whoever likes to dance can join.”

And as for the name?

“I like pink and I like camels,” Honda said. “I think camels are cute and exotic. I always picture camels with belly dancers. It means cute but traditional.”

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Tracy Ust can be reached at: tust@universitychronicle.com