I've always been admirative of the bellydancers, the way they can move their body has always fascinated me. Not to mention the music: oriental music just strikes a chord with me, I cannot explain it. But where I lived in Canada (smaaaaaall town), this form of dance was not teached and barely known, and listening to any 'exotic' kind of music would make you a freak I did some ballet and jazz dance when I was a child and in my early teens, that's the only dance background I have.

Fast forward to 2005, when I was looking for an activity to help tone up and get in shape. The idea of bellydance classes resurfaced and the offering is great in the Netherlands, so I thought... why not? But I was shy (the language barrier didn't help) and I didn't want to go alone, so I tried to get 2 friends to sign up as well, with no succes. I was this close to not go at all but in the end I went on my own and I'm sooooo glad I did!

I find it a very soothing activity and it has helped me get through some very difficult periods of my life in the past years, where I thought I was going to just fall apart.