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How To Find A Belly Dancing Class In Your Community - Page 3

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Check whether the gyms in your community offer belly dancing classes as part of their normal services. Even if they don't, many health clubs have bulletin boards where personal trainers, aerobics instructors, masseuses, and other fitness professionals advertise their work. Check these bulletin boards for belly dancing teachers. Don't forget to investigate your local YWCA if you have one. Obviously, belly dance classes won't be nearly as common as aerobics classes, but you may get lucky and find a great class this way.

Call the local dance studios in your community, and ask whether they offer belly dance instruction. There are two kinds of dance studios: the type that teach theatrical dance (tap dance, ballet, modern dance, etc.) and the type that teach ballroom dance. Check both types. Often, belly dance teachers will rent classroom space from such studios, so even if the studio owner doesn't offer belly dance classes, she might rent space to someone who does.

If your community has a restaurant or nightclub centered on a Middle Eastern theme, contact the business and ask whether they can give you information on how to contact any local belly dancers. Even if the restaurant or club does not offer belly dancing as entertainment, they may have a stack of business cards from belly dancers who have called on them hoping to get a dance job. Try to get the restaurant to give you information on how to contact one of these dancers.

Hobby Organizations

Check whether the Society For Creative Anachronism has a local chapter in your community. This is an organization whose purpose is to re-create the Middle Ages through role-playing. The SCA originally focused on re-creating the society of Medieval Europe. However, over the years in some communities the idea of portraying people from the Middle East has become popular. See if you can locate a local SCA chapter in your community, and if you can, try to find out whether there is anyone with a Middle Eastern persona who knows how to belly dance and teaches it.

If you yourself find the past fascinating, you may want to join the SCA yourself. But even if you don't feel any urge to spend the occasional weekend living in a tent wearing garb representative of 400 years ago, the SCA may be able to lead you to someone who can teach you belly dancing.

Many Renaissance Faires around the country feature belly dancers as part of the entertainment. Attend your local Faire, and scrutinize the program in search of belly dancing performers. If you manage to find some, ask them after their show whether they can steer you to someone who teaches classes in your community.

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