Belly dance classes at your doorstep

by Beverley Smith. professional dancer and teacher

In the west we might call it Middle Eastern Dance, Arabic dance, or Oriental dance but there are many myths and misconceptions about the womens' dances of the Middle East. The main misconception being that belly dance is a seedy dance done by girls for the entertainment of men. 

Millions of women in dozens of countries enjoy belly dance at gatherings that are predominantly or entirely female. The women talk, eat and dance the way that western women talk, eat and drink.

 The dance itself predates both Islam and the development of culture that now dominates the Arabian peninsula.

 Many women enjoy belly dance as a therapeutic form of keeping fit, and in many countries it is the favoured form of exercise for girls and women. The European dance that is best related to Belly dance is Flamenco which developed from Middle Eastern Dance when the Muslims ruled Spain.

 There are no Belly dance 'rules' that require dancers to have a certain body type. For some strange reason westerners conclude that women need to have a certain body type to learn this form of dance, not so. At community gatherings weddings or parties people of all ages and sizes dance.

 It is true that some nightclubs prefer to hire belly dancers that look like fashion models, but nightclub performers make up a tiny percentage of the women who enjoy belly dance.

The largest audience you will see for a middle eastern dance event will be at a show for dancers, by dancers. The audience will be overwhelmingly female, and in the audience you will see women and girls from 7 to 70! You will see every conceivable body type and all shapes and sizes as well as a variety of attitudes about revealing or concealing themselves. 

You will see women who learned to dance at their mothers knee and women who did not take their first class until they were 50. You will see women who began to dance professionally after 1 year of training and others who have taken the same intermediate level class for 15 years, just for fun and fitness.

 Basically women who enjoy belly dance have 4 things in common

Like any other form of exercise, it will burn calories, tighten and build muscles and increase flexibility

 Real belly dancing is family entertainment!