There was much shared laughter and 'Dad Dancing' in evidence at our March meeting when we hosted Mrs Wafaa Powell from Trowbridge who talked to us about Belly Dancing, an ancient form of dance, originating in the Arabic world where it was and still is, an art form performed in families to celebrate happy occasions. The session started with Wafaa taking us through the history and benefits of Belly Dancing which is a lifelong activity performed primarily by women for women. Belly dancing can improve your posture and body confidence, trim the waistline, strengthen back and abdominal muscles whilst increasing tone, suppleness and flexibility of the entire body, and improving circulation and reducing stress levels.
It was now time for us to have a go!! Wafaa supplied scarves with bells and charms attached to tie tightly around our hips, which was to aid the movements required for Belly Dancing. Wafaa chose Egyptian classical music for us to dance to and took us through the various basic moves which gave us the basis for a dance routine. We all found the new dance moves challenging which engendered much hilarity as we were put through our paces. With guidance we all managed a shimmy of the hips and shoulders and had great fun taking part in this type of dance/exercise. For those members who sat out the practical element they shared in the activity by shaking their arms and shoulders from their seats.
Wafaa finished with a Belly Dance performance – which to be honest if we had tried, we would have been falling over each other. We all headed home with aching sides and cheeks from so much laughter and hilarity and looking forward to the next meeting when we will be learning about and making Venetian Masks.
It was now time for us to have a go!! Wafaa supplied scarves with bells and charms attached to tie tightly around our hips, which was to aid the movements required for Belly Dancing. Wafaa chose Egyptian classical music for us to dance to and took us through the various basic moves which gave us the basis for a dance routine. We all found the new dance moves challenging which engendered much hilarity as we were put through our paces. With guidance we all managed a shimmy of the hips and shoulders and had great fun taking part in this type of dance/exercise. For those members who sat out the practical element they shared in the activity by shaking their arms and shoulders from their seats.
Wafaa finished with a Belly Dance performance – which to be honest if we had tried, we would have been falling over each other. We all headed home with aching sides and cheeks from so much laughter and hilarity and looking forward to the next meeting when we will be learning about and making Venetian Masks.