Back to Belly Dancing

The second term of belly dancing started last night. Unfortunately only a handful of last terms students turned up this term, and the rest were all new. Which meant that we had to go right back to basics. It was a bit of a downer. After a term of learning all the basic moves and putting dances together we were taken right back to the start. It was really boring (although hard work and great exercise). The deal is that we have to complete the full year as a beginner before being allowed to join the advanced class.
Anyway, seen as there were only a few of us keen belly dancers the tutor made a deal with us. If we agreed to dance as group at the end of year concert (to be held in a posh Belfast hotel - tickets £25 per adult!) then she would let us go to the advanced class as well as our own beginners class at no extra cost. So we all agreed, because we like to think we are good enough to call ourselves advanced, and because the beginners class was proving quite dull. So, we will be performing an Egyptian fan dance. God help the audience. So for the next term we will be going to our 'paid for' beginners class, and then staying for our 'free' advanced class. Which is a total of 2 1/2 hours belly dancing. I tell you, last night I was ready to sleep by the end of it. The advanced class are learning to dance with finger cymbals, so we have to purchase a set of them.

Egyptian belly dance is quite different from the famous Turkish belly dance. Turkish dance is quite tarty and 'in-your-face'. Egyptian is far more polite, delicate, and feminine, much classier than Turkish, more like Indian dance I guess.