Must Watch: The Beat of Her Own Drum

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Ladies, here’s a short yet truly inspirational film you must watch today: The Beat of Her Own Drum. It’s by Davinia Hamilton, a writer, actress and student, who created this short film to showcase the effects bellydancing has had on a small group of women in Dublin, Ireland.

Davinia was kind enough to take some time off her busy schedule to answer some questions for us, so we can get to know a little bit more about her, and why she created this short film. Read on…

Tell us a little bit about yourself…

My name is Davinia. I am originally from Malta, but moved to Dublin, Ireland, five months ago to do my Masters degree in Applied Digital Media. I am also a blogger (you can read my blog at http://www.daviniahamilton.com), freelance writer, editor and graphic designer.

What’s your passion in life?

There are many! My philosophy of life is that you have to try and experience and learn as much as you can while you’re here, so in my pursuits I end up loving a lot of things I do, but if I had to pick three, they would be music, the written word and film and photography.

What inspired you to create this short film?

I was a teenage girl once. I remember very clearly what it is like to look in the mirror and not feel good enough; to open magazines, turn on the TV and be bombarded with images of women I would never look like. I think that you have to choose to have a positive self-image. You can’t just expect it to happen because the odds are against it, unfortunately. It is a decision you make when you realise that you cannot go through life constantly feeling inadequate. When we were assigned the task of creating a short film in college, I decided I had to put this message across. I am friends with a group of bellydancers here and I realised this would be the perfect subject to focus on. Bellydance is all about owning your body and unlike some other forms of dance does not place importance on the way you look. Anybody can do it and look amazing as long as they feel comfortable in their own skin.

Do you bellydance yourself? If so, how has bellydancing affected you?

I did bellydance for about three years. I’ve had to stop since moving because of time and financial constraints but bellydance helped me understand my body and connect with muscles that other forms of dance and exercise did not. Bellydance is a fantastic workout both physically and emotionally because when you see what your body is actually capable of doing, then you realise you are far from inadequate. Furthermore, bellydance helps you meet other women and be creative together in a space without men, where you are not in danger of feeling sexualised or objectified.

What message would you like to convey with all women reading this?

You are enough. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like: you are exactly who you are supposed to be. Instead of picking an idol or role model and trying to be more like them, you should try to be more like yourself.

Thank you so much Davinia for creating this film! We truly hope it will help inspire every woman who watches it to start loving her body the way it is, and perhaps why not, encourage some women to take up bellydancing too!

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