bellydancing

[masslibrulgirl.livejournal.com]

Is there still a bellydancing class in Union Square? If not, are there bellydancing classes somewhere else in Camberville?

Comments

[rufinia.livejournal.com]

The Dance Complex in Central has some bellydance classes.

[masslibrulgirl.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I'll check it out!

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

The fabulous Amira Jamal (http://www.amirajamal.com) has classes at Harvard (http://www.amirajamal.com/Cambridge.htm) on Thursday nights. Right now it's mid-session so you'd have to drop in, or you could wait until the next session starts to sign up. Yeah, I'm pimping my teacher. She's been performing longer than I've been alive, she's very nice while still being able to give very constructive criticism, and she really knows her stuff. I've been with her for several years now, and adore her.

She also teaches classes in other areas, as you can see from her website. I go to the ones at BU, because they're the only intermediate to advanced ones she offers.

What particular style of belly dance are you looking for? Amira does cabaret, but there are also teachers who do tribal style out there, as well as Egyptian.

[masslibrulgirl.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that sounds awesome! Are her classes always Thursdays, or might the next session be on a different day? I go contra dancing, which is my #1 addiction, on Thursdays...

I'm actually not sure what style I'm looking for--at this point, I just want to learn any kind of bellydancing.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I haven't heard her say she's planning on changing the Harvard night next session, unfortunately, and her other beginner-friendly classes are in Framingham and Wellesley. Where do you contra dance? I did that once at a friend's wedding and liked it, and my boyfriend thought it was a blast, so we've been hoping to get out there sometime and give it a shot. We're both basically beginners.

[masslibrulgirl.livejournal.com]

Ooh, you should come contra dancing sometime! Most of the contra dancing in this area is at the Concord Scout House (http://www.concordscouthouse.org/). They have dances on Thursdays, Mondays, and Saturdays, as well as challenging dances on first Fridays. DanceDB (http://dancedb.com/DanceDB/DisplayVenue.com?key=US_MA_BOS_SH) has a calendar for all upcoming dances (it doesn't seem to list the Friday dances, but you can find that calendar here (http://www.tiac.net/~mabaker/challenging-contras.html)).

There's also an MIT contra dance (http://mit.edu/fdc/contra.html) on Tuesdays. That one is really beginner-friendly, so it might be a good place to start.

Thursdays in Concord are my favorite--they're really high-energy, and they get the biggest crowds. Mondays and Saturdays are more low-key, which might be easier for beginners, but all the dances are a lot of fun.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Thanks! The MIT one would be ultra-convenient for me were it not for the fact that I have belly dance classes on Tuesday nights! Ironic, eh? :)

[masslibrulgirl.livejournal.com]

Haha, that's too bad that bellydancing and contra dancing always seem to conflict!

But I hope you can make it to Concord sometime. Also, NEFFA (http://neffa.org/What_is_Festival.html) is coming up next month. It's a folk festival in Mansfield with a ton of contra dancing, as well as some other kinds of dancing. I've been going to NEFFA since I was little kid, and it's a lot of fun!

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I have morris dancer friends who keep trying to recruit me to join their ranks. They usually go to NEFFA. I might join them sometime.

[tisana.livejournal.com]

She does have more classes (http://www.amirajamal.com/Cambridge.htm), but her Thursdays in Cambridge are pretty full, from what I understand.
There are classes in the Green St Studios and elsewhere in Central Sq. Najmat (http://www.najmat.com/), according to several belly dancing friends, is amazing. My favorite teachers (Sabrina and Melina) are sadly not in the Camberville area, or I'd recommend them highly. There's a lot of teachers around, you just have to look and find one that's right for you.

[tisana.livejournal.com]

I meant Dance Complex, not Green St, but they both have classes.

[masslibrulgirl.livejournal.com]

Cool, thanks!

[ron_newman]

I tagged this "classes". Here's a post from last year on the subject.