|
I began my journey into the captivating world of belly dance when I visited Agadir, Morocco on holiday with my family in 2002. They held a weekly belly dance lesson by the pool, the first week I watched from a distance and was mesmerised by the moves and the beautiful music. When the time came for the lesson in the second week I plucked up the courage to join the class, much to my husband's amusement. The teacher was fabulous, very caring, great fun and making everyone feel involved. We were taught hip drops, taqs, figure 8's and shoulder shimmies accompanied by the captivating voice of Amr Diab - I was hooked! By the end of the lesson she asked for volunteers to dance by themselves for a minute on the stage - there were several volunteers, and yes, of course I had to have a go.
Back in the UK I bought a hipscarf even before I managed to enrol into a local class and within 3 months of starting lessons I was taking 3 classes a week. Four months after taking my first lesson I went on a trip to Cairo with my husband Mervyn and managed to organise some private tuition with Raqia Hassan, a daunting prospect for a novice, but I was determined to learn from the best. This was the beginning of my journey into the world of middle eastern dance.
I continued my weekly training and also took regular classes with Leicester based Maria D'Silva. I have visited the Cairo based Ahlan wa Sahlan festival on three occasions taking workshops with Randa Kamel, Yousry Sharif, Dina, Mona Said, Dandesh, Morocco, Nagwa Foud, Liza Laziza and Suhaila Salimpour as well as having private tuition with Yasmina of Cairo, Soroya, Raqia Hassan and Leila of Egypt.
I completed Keti Sharif's Original A-Z teacher training course in the UK and also the Advanced A-Z teacher training course taking place over 10 days in Cairo. |
Zaza Hassan
My first private lesson with Raqia Hassan
Jillina - Bellydance Superstars |
