FAQs

Do I have to be a certain age, weight, body-type or gender to participate?

No, in fact one of the wonderful things about Oriental Dance is that it’s body friendly, low impact exercise as well as a beautiful art form appropriate for all different kinds of people. I have personally witnessed all genders, body types and ages excel in Oriental Dance as well as gain great enjoyment and other health benefits from it’s practice.

What do I wear to class?

Wear something which will allow me to see your body to check your alignment and will allow you to move freely. I recommend stretchy, fitted exercise or dance clothing. In addition to this I ask that everyone wear some sort of shawl or scarf around their hips to accentuate hip movement. Soft soled dance shoes are optional. You may also dance barefoot.

What will I be learning? What style do you teach?

I teach a combination of Egyptian, a little Lebanese, a little Turkish and Vintage Oriental approaches to Oriental Dance (aka belly dance). I will specify where the steps are coming from and discuss their musical and cultural context. Appropriate folkloric and ethnic dance forms and their contributions to Oriental Dance will be covered. Over time, props, performance skills, improvisation, musical understanding, and more will be taught. If it is your desire, I’ll be happy take you all the way from understanding basic movements to dancing like a professional.

What class(es) should I take?

Wondering where the familiar beginner, intermediate & advanced labels are?

• If you are entirely new to belly dance, take Belly Dance Basics
• If you’ve trained in belly dance before, but not with me, I recommend taking Belly Dance Basics at least once so you can get a good review of what I consider my basics, you may also decide to enroll in Belly Dance Essentials, which is accessible to a range of levels but is more challenging than basics.
• If you’ve trained to an advanced level with another instructor and want even more of a challenge than Essentials offers alone, I recommend taking Essentials in conjunction with the Technique and Musicality or just Technique and Musicality. You will need to get my permission to take Technique and Musicality as it is a very challenging class and a strong grasp of the basics is really important.

What does it cost?

Each 6 week session will be $60 for MAC members and $75 for non members. Drop in rate $15 for members, $20 for non-members. Currently, registration is handled the first day of classes, please come early and ready to dance. I will notify you when pre registration becomes available.

How do I pay?

Registration will be done at the start of each new class session. Just come a little early the first week of the new session, ready to dance. You can register as you arrive at the front desk. The MAC accepts cash, check or credit card.