Why learn to Belly Dance? 

Have you always wanted to have a go at belly dancing but are a bit nervous about joining a class?  

Here Mahirimah gives a very honest account of how she felt when she first started attending classes and why she loves Middle Eastern dance.

Ten years ago a very shy girl in her late teens was asked to go to a belly dancing class in her local leisure centre. Her initial response was something along the line of "No.... No way.... nope i'd be way too embarrassed...". After an awful lot of persuading she went along and quite enjoyed it, so she went the next week and the next.............

Fast forward to the present and that shy young woman now teaches her own classes and runs her own group and I'm not so shy anymore!

Belly dancing has given me confidence that I never knew I had and has made me happier about myself both inside and out.  Believe me, I'm as self-conscious as the next woman but when I dance I don't feel self-conscious at all.  I've heard women say that they would never in a million years perform in front of other people and then see them at a Hafla (a belly dance party) a few months later, on stage and loving every minute of it.

I'll admit that it took a few weeks from the initial class for me to realize that I had fallen in  love with this sensuous and exotic dance.  I still do not know if it was the hypnotic rhythms, the beautiful movements or the fact that the dance ranged from fast paced to slow and gentle but I knew that I belonged to this dance.

Sometimes it took a few lessons to master some of the moves (sometimes shorter or longer periods of time) but the sense of pride I felt when I first did a proper shimmy or realized I could camel correctly was immense.  I see that pride today in class when my ladies master a move and it always makes me smile. 

I continue to study to belly dancing, I don't think I will ever stop and I have been so fortunate to have learnt from some of the top teachers. You will always find that there is always something new to learn.  As my partner put it the other day;

 "The wise man knows he knows nothing" (not that I'd claim to be wise!).

I also did not realize at the time how big the belly dancing world is and boy is it huge!  It is a wonderful network of women of all different cultures, nationalities and personalities.  It encompasses different styles, names, props and beautiful costumes. We mainly use fantastic Arabic music but you'll sometimes find that western pop music is used (I once saw a lady do a fabulous dance to 'Rock the Casbah').  Anything with a good beat usually gets me dancing.

I have been fortunate to have met many wonderful people within the belly dance world and have made some good friends through it.  It has a wonderful sense of community.  You also get to become a entirely different person.  For example; Mahirimah is my belly dance name, it means Moon & Sun and describes the two very different sides of my personailty but you can become anyone... Ishara, Isis, Fatima.... the choice is endless! 

Many believe that the dance started over a thousand years ago in the Middle East and that it was originally used to help with womens' fertility and to ease the pain of childbirth.  Over the years it has changed and evolved with many different countries having their own version of it.  It continues to change and evolve to this day.

So why belly dance?  Belly dancing is low impact and uses all muscle groups.   It doesn't matter about age or size - it is suitable for all.   Personally I believe that it Is good for the body and for the mind.  However, if you do have any health worries it is best to get checked over by your doctor before starting to learn to dance.

It is an amazing and wondrous world and I really hope that you would like to become part of it.

Sara (Mahirimah) x