Hips Don’t Lie

If you could never summon up the courage to burn up the dance floor because you simply didn’t know how, check out Fayruz Nur...

A belly-dance workshop gives you tips and tricks to master the seductive moves

If you could never summon up the courage to burn up the dance floor because you simply didn’t know how, check out Fayruz Nur, a two-day workshop on Egyptian Oriental Dance that begins this afternoon at the Salsa India Dance Company’s main studio at Greater Kailash II. And you can even breathe a sigh of relief if you’re not a size zero. The original belly dancers flaunt a luscious shape while moving seductively to a mix of Turkish and Egyptian beats.

“The idea of the workshop is to promote that anybody can belly dance. We want to highlight the liberation associated with the form,” says Meher Malik, 20, who has organised the workshop with her Israeli friends, dancers Merav Mizrahi, 34, and Michal Godfrey, 33. The trio rue the status of belly dance in India, thanks to its sleazy misrepresentations in Bollywood. “It’s not about seduction. Originally, in Arab countries, where women have been so suppressed, belly dance emerged as a way to express their sexuality and revel in the beauty and the rhythm of their bodies,” says Godfrey, who is a personal stylist when she’s not putting you through the moves. It’s true, in tribal regions in the Middle East, belly dance was the equivalent of Lamaze classes. But what the weekend workshop aims to do is much simpler.

The workshop is divided into different categories to teach eager beavers the art of relaxation and control. “We will experiment with the figure eight, circular movements and movement in flow, focusing on the core area, pelvis and chest. Also, we want to emphasise that one can belly dance to any kind of music,” says Malik who is also conducting a workshop on “Belly-popping”, a crossover world of belly dance and hip hop with moves inspired from reggaeton, dancehall, American tribal belly dance and hip hop. Mizrahi advises one to wear a skirt and a top and carry a thick and shiny veil, yes, they’re teaching you how to reveal only what is essential. But the most interesting part of the workshop is the hafla. “A hafla is the belly dance’s equivalent of social dancing. Towards the end of the workshop, students will be invited to do their own thing and share moves with each other,” says Malik. Yes belle.

The workshop is at E5 Basement, GK II Enclave, from noon to 8 pm, on November 8 and 9. Rates vary from Rs 600 to Rs 3,300.

For registration, contact 9891257210