if you would like your details to be listed, please contact London Belly Dance

 

Many professional belly dance performers also teach regular classes, private lessons, workshops & courses (such as Serena pictured below left and Asmahan pictured below right); some teach but do not perform.

Teachers cover many styles, including elegant Egyptian cabaret, energetic Turkish, Lebanese, American Tribal Style (ATS), tribal fusion, Shakira-style belly dance moves & belly dance for fitness.

Regular classes are taught in dance schools (such as the Urdang Academy in Finsbury) & dance studios (including Dance Attic in Fulham & Pineapple Dance Studios in Covent Garden), in community facilities & private member gyms (such as Fitness First).

Whatever your level of experience - from a complete beginner who's never taken any form of movement class to a professional dancer looking to add another skill to her repertoire - there will be a class for you ... or there are always private lessons!

Come to learn the dance, to rediscover your femininity, to release the inner performer, to tone your waist & hips ... or simply for an enjoyable hour of movement to wonderful music in lovely company.

Men are very welcome to learn belly dance but please check with the teacher beforehand since some classes are for women only. 


Course or drop in class ...?

Why choose a course or workshop rather than a drop in class?  Teachers put a lot of work into preparing courses & workshops, which are devised with set outcomes to achieve during a timescale - such as learning a choreography, or a new skill.  So if there is a particular aspect of the dance you wish to focus on, or if you want an intensive introduction to belly dance, or to move your dance forwards in a structured way, a course or workshop may be for you. 

Taking a workshop with a different teacher - whether another London teacher or a big name visiting from overseas - is recommended to help you to discover & express your own dance style.

Usually you must book & pay in advance for courses & workshops.  The price may include a practice CD, use of other facilities at the venue or the opportunity to perform in a student showcase.  There may be additional educational elements such as rhythms, culture & the context of the dance.  

With drop in classes, you pay as you go, which is good for those on a budget.  Drop in classes held in private member gyms may focus on fitness rather than learning the dance.

There are usually newcomers at drop in classes, so some of the basic grounding is likely to be repeated each time - this may be frustrating, or may help to consolidate foundation learning.  Drop in classes may suite those who do not wish to commit themselves to regular class attendance, or who want an enjoyable evening out rather than structured instruction, or who want extra practice on top of a course.

Drop in classes tend to be more free flowing, enabling the teacher to adapt to the students present, providing opportunities for experimentation & free expression.  Learning tends to be more organic.