The first thing to mention is that belly dancing is for all ages, shapes and fitness levels as it can be as gentle, or vigorous, as you choose. This means that if you want slow and seductive moves that don't put stress on your body you'll get as much out of your course as those who like the fast shimmies which are more aerobic and challenging.

(The lovely Vicky - my assistant - wearing her belly dance finery!)

There's no need to reveal your tummy to the rest of us to take our classes either - I don't as my tummy is more than visible even with clothes on! However, if you want to be brave and bold we have no objections to tummies being on display - one of our past students was very proud to show her pregnant tummy at classes and display her belly dancing skills in the delivery suite! See right one of the tummies we did see - baby soon to be announced.

You don't have to wear anything special to the class but a scarf / bell encrusted belt tied round your hips adds to the effect and gives you more feedback about your dance progress. We'd suggest bringing a pair of socks (yes, sounds strange but you'll see why) or flexible shoes to dance in. Any clothing you can move around in will be just fine as we don't expect students to get all dressed up unless the fancy takes them. Your teacher/s will be wearing small amounts of traditional belly dancing attire but it's not necessary for you to go out and buy anything for the occasion - unless this is an excuse for a bit of indulgence.

All belly dancing, slow or fast, uses muscles that might not have been used before but if you're fit enough for a brisk walk and to wiggle in front of your bathroom mirror you can take our classes! Like any form of exercise if you have a medical condition.... seek advice from your physician beforehand and let us know so we can tailor things, as far as is possible, to your needs.

The beginners classes aim to start at the very beginning and take you through to being able to dance a range of the most important belly dance elements which we'll show you how to incorporate into a sensuous dance routine that'll help you remember what you've learnt as well as be fun to show off to friends. These elements will keep you going till you take your belly dance skills further and are more than enough to raise a few eyebrows or temperatures if you intend showing what you've learnt to work colleagues... or any special person in your life!

In these enlightened days belly dancing is seen as a celebration of being female so be ready to celebrate. There are many myths and misconceptions surrounding belly dancing and its history/practise. Many of these ideas come from Hollywood and misrepresent the true nature of belly dance, or to give it it's more cultured name, Raks Sharqi. We'll be explaining some of the history and development of this fascinating dance form during the workshop, though in a non-history-lesson type way as we're there to dance not get too serious. If you become addicted to this dance - as so many of our current students have been - you may find yourself wanting to find out more about the eclectic mix of cultures that have influenced belly dancing, the female/fertility worship/celebrations that are thought to have been the beginnings of the dance and much more. If you find yourself in this space check out the 'belly dance stuff' page as it will be the home of books about belly dancing and links to interesting web sites.

The music that many of todays belly dance aficionados dance to is a broad mix of the traditional music from the whole range of belly dance traditions, their modern permutations, through to R&B, Trance, Dance/House, Bollywood and East Coast Tribal to lyrical collaborations with such diverse stars such as Sting, Beyonce and Shakira. The music has been described as having a heart beat (formed by certain percussion instruments) as it's motivating sound though these days many dancers use such a wide range of music to inspire them that this isn't always true. Whatever the music, we'll be using examples of it in our classes to give you the opportunity to hear things that may move you more and discover how wide ranging this dance form is.

Your teacher/s will be able to advise you on what to buy if you want to take your dancing further after the workshop and we've compiled a range of CD's of the best music from across the range of modern and traditional belly dance music and one of East Coast style music which we recommend students buy to start their own music to keep at home for those times when you just want to shake your booty.  

There are many different styles of Belly Dance as there are many cultures who have historically performed dances involving gyration, shimmies and undulations but most people don't know the different names for the different dances from each culture and blanket terms such as Belly Dance, Raks Sharki, Danse Du Vente are fine by us as we're belly dance snobs or anoraks. These different cultures and their people brought their different cultural norms to it their belly dance traditions. Greece, Turkey, India, Algeria and Egypt to name a few, have influenced and transformed this dance to suit and reflect their own cultures. I'd also like to mention the important role that the various Gypsy tribes have brought to it too, as these travelling tribes helped to spread the popularity of belly dancing and cross pollinated the different dance traditions. However it's also worth stressing that, as every woman brings something of herself to her dance, even within these different cultural variations there are a huge number of styles as every woman is different.

 Perhaps one of the most interesting modern developments in belly dancing are where such 'pop' stars as Shakira, Gwen Stephani, Beyonce Knowles and Britney Spears incorporate it in their dance routines, and you just can't miss it throughout the R&B videos bringing it to an even wider audience. As a personal view I think that some of the most talented and innovative belly dancers are now based in the U.S. and there is even a very strong Gothic Belly Dance craze that has hit the U.S. and which seems to be gathering momentum here in the U.K. too. It's all very exciting stuff and constantly fires me up to learn yet more and incorporate what I see in my own way within my own styles of dancing.

I think one of the most interesting sites I've seen about belly dancing tells you what you should expect from your teacher and, funnily enough, what your teacher should expect from you.... does this sound strange? Not a bit. It emphasises the importance of obtaining a properly qualified teacher and how the author thinks that teachers should approach their lessons - and we agree. Why not take a look? http://www.pedralta.com/tribal/student-guide.htm