Merrymeeting Community & Adult Education

Authentic Belly Dance, or raks sharqi, is an ancient form of dance. Raks sharqi means “dance of the east” in Arabic. Belly dance celebrates every body type and every stage of life. The dance is proud and powerful and soft and sinewy with elegant and isolating movements emanating from the core. It’s the Pilates of dance. And so much fun! This is a great refresher class for experienced dancers and suitable for dancers new to belly dance. Please wear comfortable clothing, similar to what you might wear to a yoga class that will allow for free movement and the ability to see your movement. Hip scarves make it even more fun. You can dance barefoot or in a pair of comfortable dance shoes in the studio. Zills (finger cymbals) will be used in class. Check in with the instructor before you purchase any. As an added bonus, you will also have access to a video library with instruction, drills, and ongoing choreography during the length of the session. This five-week insert of classes will be for those who’ve taken at least one session of belly dance. The emphasis will be to create a group choreography. There will be an opportunity to perform the piece in the 13th Annual It Takes a Village Studio show in mid-May. However, the performance is optional. This class is 5 sessions: 3/12, 3/26, 4/9, 4/23, 5/14.