Thanks for all the kind advice.
@Fatima: Thank you, I'll try the tray
though I think (but I don't know for sure) trays are harder to balance. And yeah you might be right about the audience: maybe just one or two will think weapons are sexy. But I admit I'm still trying to change the world and if I am "convincing" one or two it's already too many for me. Some might say that this isn't my thing to do and the world is getting worse, no matter if I'm handling weapons. But I think it's important to care in every way you can. Save the earth it's the only planet with belly dancing costumes!
Nah, just kidding.
@Shamsa: I think it's cool too, dangerous and hot. But it's still a weapon...
@Reen.Bloom: Nice Idea (I'm serious!)
@Salome: *Lol* I would like to see the dancer who believes she's a "bad-ass-sword-fighting-machine"
You' re right partly it's about dexterity. But the sword is like a symbol for danger. It's supposed to be sharp (well at least the audience thinks so) and if a dancer is good you can almost hear the front row whispering: OMG, she's putting that sharp thing on her waist! It has a certain thrill, with an umbrella it would never work. And guys think that women handling weapons are sexy (The brother of a friend of mine says so quite often and I have seen a place to play paintball where girls are paid to play this in bikinis). I have no idea why this is. Maybe it's the thrill as well. So why aren't we using something different like canes? It would show our skill. But we (this is me included) do want to make the maximum impression we can have on the audience. I don't know what is stronger - my will to persuade everyone I'm a good dancer or to be truely one and serious about changing the world.
@nicknack: I admire you for learning this art(For I don't expect you to kill anyone with it) Do you do shows with swords? I think you're one of the few people in the audience who could tell it's a "fake" sword. Well some are made in a way that even the audience can tell it must be fake (adornments!). But to me it's not about if it's fake or real...it's about it symbolizing a weapon. I also can't appreciate kids with faked guns running around and screaming "Bang bang", I just can't. Maybe I need a psychologist