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Tried + Tested:

Embracing her inner mermaid and braving awhole host of fears, Ella Walker tries out thehypnotic dance form at the Cambridge YMCA

Tribal FusionBelly Dance

W ill you have to get yourbelly out?” was thequestion I kept facing in

the run up to my first everattempt at belly dancing.That and people bandying aroundthe words “video” and “YouTubesensation”. So, as I got to thefitness studio at the CambridgeYMCA, stripped off my socks andfirmly kept my top on over mytummy, I was pretty terrified.A couple of avid Egyptian bellydancers taking the class alsolooked a bit worried and warnedme that the warm up routine,which our youthful instructor,Demelza “Demi” Hillier waspractising at the front, looked verydifferent to your average spanglybelted belly dancing … but it wastoo late to make my escape.Gathering us all up and attemptingto set us at ease, Demelza had usintroduce ourselves and asked ifwe’d ever tried tribal fusion bellydance (I’d never even heard of it),

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ports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sportsand I wasn’t that sure a few balletand tap sessions aged 5-10 – theextent of my dance classexperience – was going topull me through. Luckily westarted with a simple enoughwarm up. Bounding from one sideof the room to the other andstretching out our arms and legs,and pointing those toes (“Like apony!” Demelzashouted) we then hadto grasp the coremoves of tribal fusion.My favourites includedmaking “angry spiderhands” for swirlyoriental wristmovements, using ouroblique muscles toshimmy our hips upand down, andseductive armtechniques whichDemelza, while whirlingtheatrically around theroom, kept reminding usshould make us feel likemermaids under the sea. The ideawas to raise our arms to thesurface (ceiling) lightly and fluidly,and then bring them back downstrongly, fighting against thecurrent with our elbows, all thewhile maintaining the basic bellydance stance: softly bent knees,bum tucked in, chest held high,shoulders pulled back and down.I quickly learned that in bellydancing your belly isn’t expectedto wobble, it’s expected to workout. The key is to isolateindividual muscles and make veryprecise but also very gracefulmovements that still pack a

punch. Which explains why itsbenefits include improved postureand core body strength, increasedstamina and reduced stress.Halfway through the hour-longsession my thighs were aching andmy unsuspecting abs weredefinitely being bullied into shape.There’s also a lot of dramainvolved in belly dance; tribalfusion especially, and there’s a realart to getting it right. It draws ona different kind of femininity to

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A new Egyptian-style bellydancing term has also

kicked off at the BuchanStreet Community Centre

in Cambridge.

Run by Sue Baker, AKA ElisaGameela, the club is

celebrating its eighth year ofshimmying and shaking. All

ages, shapes and backgroundsare welcome (including men!)

✤ Sessions are held onTuesdays: Beginners,6pm-7pm (£3.75 per

class/£18.75 five week term)General ability 7.10pm –

8.25pm (£4/£24) at 6 BuchanStreet, Cambridge, CB4 2XF.

The group often shows off its‘hip-notic’ moves at

Arbury Carnival.

✤ Sue also runs sessions inIckleton, Linton and

Saffron Walden.

✤ To sign up to a class, emailsusi-bee@hotmail.co.uk or

call 07943743300.

For more information visithttp://buckletonbellydancers.webs.com.

TheBuckleton

Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sportthe flowery femininity of orientalstyle belly dance, Demelza told us.It needs attitude, strength andimagination.Annoyingly, I could manage thearm movements but it was slottingthem into a routine which alsoinvolved hip rolling and footswooping that left me in a bit of atangle at times.Laughing at my own feebleattempts to look at least a littleintimidating (evil but oh-so-dangerously-attractive was thelook we were meant to be goingfor) also knocked my balance a bittoo. But once I’d relaxed and gotmy bearings – plus stoppedlooking at myself in the studiomirror – the moves seemed mucheasier. You really have to go withthe flow with belly dancing.It’s the kind of dance form that,once you’ve mastered the muscleisolation and striking facialexpressions, must be incrediblyempowering to perform,particularly if you’re a not-so-secret exhibitionist and fancygetting dressed up in fantasticalcostumes and exotic makeup.

All I need to do is unleash myinner drama queen – that mighttake another couple of classesthough.

✤ Demelza runs intermediatesessions on Mondays, 7pm –8.30pm (£70 per term) andbeginner classes on Wednesdays,7pm-8pm (£50) at the CambridgeYMCA. For more information visitwww.fusionbellydance.co.uk oremail demelzahillier@gmail.com.

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