Back in the swing of things.

Well, teaching term is back in full swing and I'm really pleased about it! Dancebase have found another group of beginners for me to teach, the majority of whom have not bellydanced before - my favourite! - so it's my mission to make as many of them as I can fall in love with the dance! And it helps when there are so many good events to tell them about - this was a busy weekend!

Saturday night was a hafla organised by my friend Moyra Banks. Moyra is one of my favourite Edinburgh dancers, with musical interpretation I adore and a real passion for Egyptian-ness. Her hafla was wonderfully well organised - a real cut above many haflas with care and attention to details. She was hosting Washington D.C.-based teacher Artemis, who taught workshops over the weekend and performed at the hafla.

Moyra asked me to compere the hafla - a job which I enjoy [and people tell me that I do it well - blush - in a past life I did a lot of public speaking to audiences who were much less friendly than bellydancers!] It was great to get to introduce such a great line-up, not only the star guest Artemis, but 11 other performances, including Zafirah, who had come from London to close the show; the ever-gorgeous Sarasvati Tribal from Glasgow; Caroline Rose performing a spangly-gorgeous Randa Kamel choreography; and Moyra herself doing an amazingly beautiful baladi piece. It was a smashing night with a lovely, warm, friendly atmosphere, and Moyra deserves much credit for putting such a good event together.

Sunday was East Lothian Council's MultiCultural Day at Prestongrange Museum, and my Fisherrow dancers, the Helwa Hurdies, were peforming. It is an annual event, and this was the third time we have danced there. Last year the atmosphere was, well, somewhat lacking, and I had a bit of trepidation about it. The class had spent all of last term preparing a dance for the wedding of one of the Hurdies, and we'd put together a not-terribly-Middle Eastern piece for that occasion! I didn't want to dance to Akon at a Multi-Cultural event! So in the first three weeks of this term we worked on a khaleegy routine, to “Ahla Nazra” by The Miami Band.

In bellydance terms the word “khaleegy (khaliji, khallejy etc) refers to a style of dance and music from the Persian Gulf or Arabian Gulf region, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Real women dance this style in pairs or groups of for their own entertainment at celebrations like weddings.The dancers wear bright, oversized overdresses called the thobe or thobe nasha’ar, worn without a hip belt. The dress is used as a prop, as is a headful of long, glossy hair! 

While not all of us are blessed with long glossy hair, we know that when we need dresses, the woman to see is Celia Buchan, bellydance costumier to the finely attired East of Scotland bellydance community! Celia helped us with our costumes for the wedding, and was on hand to run up some thobes for the Hurdies too. Lovely!

Well, the atmosphere was much, much better this year. The tent filled up as we began our slot (and the rain helped us make sure people stayed till the end!) and we got a lovely reception. I danced the Hurdies duet to Aayshalak with Laura

and then filled some more of our 15-minute slot with an improvised baladi piece, using music from my favourite baladi album, Baladi W'Bas! by Yasmina of Cairo. I recommend the album for anyone looking to get their baladi groove on, it's great.

I haven't danced in this old beady dress for a long time. Back when I started bellydance, in 1997, the beady dress was a staple of the dancer's wardrobe. It weighs a tonne and stretches to fit just about anybody.  But I was looking for something appropriate for a multi-cultural event - less showy, more folky. And I feel great dancing baladi in this dress - it makes me feel modest, grounded and slinky!

We saved the best for last though - nine of us took to the stage for our khaleegy fabulousness. It went really well, even if the stage was a bit too wee for us all. Nobody lost any hair, nobody was injured by anyone else's hair, and nobody fell over their thobe. For three weeks practice, that's a result! I'm looking forward to seeing some footage.

It was a great event, with a nice audience and lot of other great performances. The group of Maasai tribesmen who took the stage shortly after us were amazing! How great to share a bill with them!

I'm looking forward to dancing with the Hurdies again soon.

Try before you buy at Dancebase!

If you've never taken a class at the amazing Dancebase before, there's a special offer this term. You can try your first class for free before you pay for the whole term.

Why is Dancebase, Scotland's National Centre for Dance, so amazing? Well, their studios on Edinburgh's Grassmarket are lovely, as is their studio in Leith at the Thomas Morton Halls; the people are friendly; they have a huge range of dance things going on; and they have lots of great teachers working there ;)

There are lots of brilliant dance classes available at Dancebase (including mine, natch ;) ) so take advantage of this offer. You have to register before 31 August though, so hurry up! Classes start at Dancebase on the week beginning 12 September.

New Term: September 2011

If you fancy trying bellydance, my classes are fun and friendly, and I do my best to cate for all fitness levels and all abilities.

All you need is a desire to dance! Beginners classes will teach you the technique safely, give you some understanding of a range of Middle Eastern dance styles, and get you into the groove of Middle Eastern music. Hopefully along the way you'll use new muscles, make some friends and have a laugh.

We dance in our bare feet. Bring a drink of water with you, and maybe a notebook and pen to help your memory. If you want to wear a scarf around your hips, feel free to bring one.

• The Fisherrow Centre, Musselburgh: Thursday 7.30pm from 1 September.
• Dancebase, Thomas Morton Halls, Leith: Friday 6pm from 16 September.
• Dancebase, Grassmarket: Wednesday 6.30pm from 14 September.

If you've danced before, my Improvers classes might be up your street. At Dancebase, I cover dance styles in more depth (saidi, baladi, oriental), use a wider range of music, and look at polishing your dance especially if you're thinking of performing. The class assumes you know basic bellydance moves and are comfortable with them.

At Fisherrow, the Improvers class focuses much more on performance. It's the home of the Helwa Hurdies, a dance group who perform at festivals, weddings, parties and suchlike. You don't have to perform if you don't want to, but a lot of time in class is spent getting choreographies ready to perform. It's lots of fun and lovely atmosphere, and new dancers are made welcome!

• Dancebase Improvers: Grassmarket, 7.30pm on Wednesdays from 14 September
• Fisherrow Improvers: 8.30pm on Thursdays from 1 September.

For classes at Dancebase, book your space at the Dancebase website. For Fisherrow classes, just turn up and join in.

It would be great to see you soon - please get in touch if you have any questions.