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How To Find A Belly Dancing Class In Your Community - Page 4


© Shira
Page 4

Jan 18, 2000


Community Events

Most communities have at least one annual festival, and some have several. Look for events sponsored by the Chamber Of Commerce, colleges, churches, malls, and other groups. Even your county fair is worth a look. Attend these festivals, and pay careful attention to the entertainment rosters. If there are belly dancers in your community, they are sure to seek performance spots at these events. You can watch them dance, then ask about local class schedules afterward.

Think Creatively

Those dance classes you're hunting for may be hiding under a different name. Many professional dance artists dislike the name "belly dance" because it was coined by an American show-biz promoter in the 1890's who was trying to shock people into coming to see his show. So many modern-day dancers try to distance themselves from that early hoochy-koochy image of the dance by using a different name for it. Here are some of the other names that dance classes and shows may be hiding behind:

  • Oriental Dance. This is actually the correct name. It's what the Arabic and Turkish names for this dance mean when translated into English.
  • Arabic Dance.
  • Turkish Dance.
  • Egyptian Dance.
  • Raqs Sharqi. Pronounced "rocks sharky", this is the Arabic name for the dance. Translated into English, it means "Dance of the East" or "Oriental dance."
  • Middle Eastern Dance.

    What If You Couldn't Find Anything Local?

    If you don't find something in your initial search, try again after 3-4 months. People are mobile, including belly dancing teachers. It's possible that someone may move to your area and start teaching after your initial search. Don't give up.

    If your local community doesn't have anything, look a little further afield. Investigate the options in the communities within an hour's drive of you, if you're willing to go that far once in a while. If you live near a state border, don't forget to check the cities on the other side of the state line.

    If all else fails, you can start learning what you can from instructional videos, belly dance web sites, belly dance magazines, and other sources. See my article Learning to Belly Dance from Videos for suggestions on how to do this. Perhaps once every 3-4 months you can travel to a city that's 3-4 hours away for a private lesson or special seminar. But don't forget to continue your search for local classes--sooner or later, something may well turn up!

    This article is part of the Suite101 "Middle Eastern Dance" topic area. For the other Suite101 articles, discussion forums, and opinion polls related to Middle Eastern dance, music, and culture, see the Welcome page on Suite101. For other articles written by Shira about these topics, please see Shira's own popular web site at www.shira.net.



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