Every Monday and Tuesday night, University students gather to be transported to another culture -- that of belly dance. Twisting and winding their bodies, one can easily picture the members of the Bellydance Club in a Middle Eastern atmosphere instead of a room in Slaughter Recreation Center.
But there is more to the moves than just hip-shaking. At its most basic level, the secret behind belly dancing is the isolation of muscles, according to club President Danielle Smith-Scott.
"It's like Pilates but in a dance form," Smith-Scott said.
Even though isolating muscles and moving muscle groups that do not usually work together may sound difficult, club members emphasized that anyone can learn to belly dance.
"You don't need any prior knowledge of dance," instructor Alexandra Snyder said. "You don't have to be in touch with your body at all. You can be any shape, any size."
While the art of belly dancing can be achieved by anyone, members pointed out that there is a learning curve for beginners.
"It's kind of hard moving two different muscle groups at one time," third-year College student Kasey Jackson said.
Once students master control over their muscles, however, Scott-Smith maintained that belly dancing becomes easier.
Snyder added that persistence is essential for success.
"It depends on how much you practice," Snyder said. "I don't think it's hard to pick up ... the beginner class breaks it down for everyone."
The Bellydance Club offers beginner classes as well as more advanced ones in two forms: cabaret and tribal. Although both are American inventions, they draw from traditions all across the world, Scott-Smith explained, noting that the cabaret style originated from dances in Turkey, Morocco and Egypt, as well as from American ballet and jazz. Cabaret is also showier, using elaborate costumes.
The tribal style, on the other hand, "draws from everything" and is "more gypsy" with music, tassels and coins, Scott-Smith said.
The Bellydance Club offers three levels of cabaret classes and two of tribal. There are beginner and advanced-beginner classes -- the latter requires instructor permission -- in both styles, as well as a cabaret performance troupe.
As a dancer moves from novice to expert, he or she can become more involved with the club. The time commitment, however, depends on the student's experience level. The beginner classes are one hour a week, but Scott-Smith said the commitment for the performance troupe is four to five hours a week, depending on the group's show schedule.
While practice and performances are important facets of belly dancing, the art form originated not as a performance, but in the Middle East as a childbirth dance. Snyder maintained that it was extremely effective during the early stages of labor of both her children's births.
Snyder also finds belly dancing attractive because of its "rich cultural history." In the Middle East, Snyder said nightclub-goers will dance in a hip-hop style to American songs, but when an Arabic song is played, both men and women will belly dance.
Snyder has incorporated dance into her life since she began dancing at age 6. Having received training in ballet, tap, jazz and modern dance, she began belly dancing in 1994.
"Belly dancing is the only form that has held my attention," Snyder said.
Many members of the Bellydance Club shared the same sentiment.
"I love the exercise it brings," Scott-Smith said. "It's definitely a workout."
The world of belly dancing, however, is not as familiar in the United States outside of groups such as the Bellydancing Club, as Snyder found out while dancing at a restaurant on the Downtown Mall. Every time she begins to dance, she said, she can see some audience members are worried they may be in for a strip tease.
Some Americans "equate belly dancing with stripping, which is unfortunate," Scott-Smith said. "The lines have been blurred ... but belly dancing is a dance form with a technique that has to be learned."
By the end of her performance, audiences often learn to appreciate the dance's difficult technique and is clapping, cheering and sometimes even dancing with her, Snyder said.
"Being a belly dancer, you get the chance to turn people's minds around all the time," she said.
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