belly dancing

Belly Dancing always conjures up the mystery of the Middle East for me and so I was quite surprised to find there was a club in Billericay that taught this style of dancing. I was also intrigued by the subject and visited the place of international learning, the Web, to find out more about its origins.  

It would appear that the history of the belly dance can be  traced back to Mesopotamia, over 6000 years ago, with the Turks, Egyptians and Phoenicians all claiming the dance as their own. The dance originated as fertility dances, temple dances, birthing and celebratory dances; most festive occasions were not complete without dancing. From Mesopotamia the dances spread to North Africa, where tribal women danced in the market place to earn coins for their dowries, then to Rome, Spain and India where each region developed its own style. 

In many villages women would dance strictly for other women during family and social gatherings and young girls were brought up with these dances as part of their culture. The women would gather in a circle, taking turns dancing solo showing off their skill, grace and beauty to the encouragement of others. When a girl danced for the first time it was a rite of passage in to womanhood. The belly dance found its way into America in 1983 where it was performed at the Chicago World’s Fair; the people were enthralled and the American belly dance tradition was born. Now it is known the world over with all the major cities and towns boasting classes for belly dancing. 

Yvonne Nevett-Moore (Faye) has been teaching Middle Eastern dancing in Billericay for about 14 years. Faye began the classes armed with a just a video and an instruction book and taught a group of ladies from the University of the Third Age (U3A) the art of belly dancing. Now classes are held on Wednesday nights at Emmanuel Church and Thursday nights at the W.I.Hall, in St. Edith’s Lane.  

The classes have a flexible membership, ladies come and go, but there are a number of loyal dancers that have been together for some time, their age ranges from teenagers to ninety year olds. The main aim of the classes is to have fun whilst learning belly dancing and escaping, for a while, from the real world. Also dancers gain confidence and self esteem and those who care for young people enjoy sharing the dancing with them. 

The class raises money by dancing performances for local charities and holding friends and family dance evenings. Its own charity is Brighter Opportunities through Supportive Play, BOSP, a charity for young children and adults, organised by one of the dancers, Sarah Pallier.    

New members are always welcome at both classes. No experience is required.