BELLYDANCE CLASSES AT VMAC
Monthly Tuesday 2025 Series Start Dates:
January 7th - 4 Week Series
February 4th - 4 Week Series
March 4th - 4 Week Series
April 1st - 5 Week Series
May 6th - 4 Week Series
June 3rd - 4 Week Series
July 1st - 5 Week Series
August 5th - 4 Week Series
September 2nd - 5 Week Series
October 7th - 4 Week Series
November/December - 4 - 6 Week Series - TBD
Monthly Thursday Series 2025 Start Dates:
January 9th - 4 Week Series
February 6th - 4 Week Series
March 6th - 4 Week Series
April 3rd - 4 Week Series
May 1st - 5 Week Series
June 5th - 4 Week Series
July 3rd - 5 Week Series
August 7th - 4 Week Series
September 4th - 4 Week Series
October 2nd - 5 Week Series
November/December - 4-6 Week Series - TBD
We highly encourage all students new to VMAC to take these classes from level 1 Beginners, even if they have done belly dance before or taken classes at other studios; to become familiar with our studios, teaching style, vocabulary, and our VMAC culture and community.
January 7th - 4 Week Series
February 4th - 4 Week Series
March 4th - 4 Week Series
April 1st - 5 Week Series
May 6th - 4 Week Series
June 3rd - 4 Week Series
July 1st - 5 Week Series
August 5th - 4 Week Series
September 2nd - 5 Week Series
October 7th - 4 Week Series
November/December - 4 - 6 Week Series - TBD
Monthly Thursday Series 2025 Start Dates:
January 9th - 4 Week Series
February 6th - 4 Week Series
March 6th - 4 Week Series
April 3rd - 4 Week Series
May 1st - 5 Week Series
June 5th - 4 Week Series
July 3rd - 5 Week Series
August 7th - 4 Week Series
September 4th - 4 Week Series
October 2nd - 5 Week Series
November/December - 4-6 Week Series - TBD
We highly encourage all students new to VMAC to take these classes from level 1 Beginners, even if they have done belly dance before or taken classes at other studios; to become familiar with our studios, teaching style, vocabulary, and our VMAC culture and community.
Bellydance
Belly dance is an ancient and enchanting dance form that originated in the Middle East and North Africa. Known for its fluid and graceful movements, belly dance emphasizes intricate hip and torso articulations, shimmies, and undulations. This expressive dance style often incorporates the use of veils, finger cymbals, and other props, adding to its captivating performance. Belly dance celebrates the beauty and strength of the human body, promoting flexibility, coordination, and self-confidence. Whether performed as a solo act or in a group, belly dance offers a mesmerizing way to connect with the music and express individuality through dance
New series start the first week of every calendar month.
Once a monthly series has started, we don't accept late registrations.
$75 for months with 4 calendar weeks.
$93 for months with 5 calendar weeks.
NO DROP IN PASSES for Belly Dance 1 and 2!
Each student must pay for the entire month-long series.
All sales final, no refunds. No extensions.
Learn to bellydance with Elinore!
Please wear comfortable clothes to dance and stretch in, bring water, and a hip scarf if you like (no coin belts, please.) You might also like to bring a yoga mat for the warmup. No shoes are necessary, though jazz shoes, ballet slippers, or foot undies might be preferable to bare feet, depending on your needs.
Belly Dance 1
Description:
Belly Dance 1 Beginners
Consists of 3 one-month series: 1 Teal, 1 Orange, and 1 Navy. Can be taken in any order, but all 3 series need to be completed before taking Bellydance 2 units.
Learn to belly dance! Belly dance isolations, movements, traveling steps, and musicality will be learned from the ground up; and provide you with a strong dance language and movement foundation.
Tuesdays 6:30-7:30PM
Requirements:
Bellydance 2
Description:
Belly Dance 2 Beyond Beginners
Consists of 3 one-month series: 1 Teal, 1 Orange, and 1 Navy. Can be taken in any order, but all 3 series need to be completed before attending Belly Dance 3.
Let's dance! Building on what was learned in Belly Dance 1, you will expand your belly dance vocabulary with more complex movements, finger cymbals, and improvisational techniques.
Thursdays 6:30-7:30PM
Requirements:
Bellydance 3
Description:
Belly Dance 3 Intermediate
Drop in
Take your dance to the next level! Now that you have the fundamentals of Belly Dance from Belly Dance 1 and 2, it’s time to put it all together. You will build speed and precision with isolations, layering, finger cymbals, traveling steps, and vocabulary. New vocabulary steps will be introduced and incorporated with drills, combinations, and improvisation. We will explore belly dance rhythms, as well as belly dance through cultural and historical context. Build community, have fun, and be the dancer you want to be!
Attending Belly Dance 3 may also give you access to choreography workshops and performance opportunities.
Thursdays 7:30-8:30PM
Pass depends on month:
Belly Dance 3 classes are drop in.
Drop in passes or punch cards are ok.
Requirements:
All 3 units of Belly Dance 2 (at least 1 Teal, 1 Orange, and 1 Navy). Not needed to be taken in any order, but all 3 units need to be completed before attending Belly Dance 3.
Salimpour Fundamentals 2 certification or instructor approval will also fulfill this prerequisite.
Bring finger cymbals. See “Looking for Finger Cymbals?” for more information.
Wear comfortable clothes.
Optional: You may want a hip scarf, ballet slippers or foot undies, water bottle, and a yoga mat for the warm up.
Please no coin belts.
All sales final, no refunds. No extensions.
Once a monthly series has started, we don't accept late registrations.
$75 for months with 4 calendar weeks.
$93 for months with 5 calendar weeks.
NO DROP IN PASSES for Belly Dance 1 and 2!
Each student must pay for the entire month-long series.
All sales final, no refunds. No extensions.
Learn to bellydance with Elinore!
Please wear comfortable clothes to dance and stretch in, bring water, and a hip scarf if you like (no coin belts, please.) You might also like to bring a yoga mat for the warmup. No shoes are necessary, though jazz shoes, ballet slippers, or foot undies might be preferable to bare feet, depending on your needs.
Belly Dance 1
Description:
Belly Dance 1 Beginners
Consists of 3 one-month series: 1 Teal, 1 Orange, and 1 Navy. Can be taken in any order, but all 3 series need to be completed before taking Bellydance 2 units.
Learn to belly dance! Belly dance isolations, movements, traveling steps, and musicality will be learned from the ground up; and provide you with a strong dance language and movement foundation.
Tuesdays 6:30-7:30PM
Requirements:
- No prerequisites. Beginner level. All are welcome!
- Wear comfortable clothes to move in.
- Optional: You may want a hip scarf, ballet slippers or foot undies, water bottle, and a yoga mat for the warm up.
- Please no coin belts.
Bellydance 2
Description:
Belly Dance 2 Beyond Beginners
Consists of 3 one-month series: 1 Teal, 1 Orange, and 1 Navy. Can be taken in any order, but all 3 series need to be completed before attending Belly Dance 3.
Let's dance! Building on what was learned in Belly Dance 1, you will expand your belly dance vocabulary with more complex movements, finger cymbals, and improvisational techniques.
Thursdays 6:30-7:30PM
Requirements:
- All 3 units of Belly Dance 1 (at least 1 Teal, 1 Orange, and 1 Navy.) Can be taken in any order, but all 3 units need to be completed before attending Belly Dance 2.
Salimpour Fundamentals 2 certification or instructor approval will also fulfill this prerequisite. - Bring finger cymbals. See “Looking for Finger Cymbals?” for more information.
- Wear comfortable clothes to move in.
- Optional: You may want a hip scarf, ballet slippers or foot undies, water bottle, and a yoga mat for the warm up.
Bellydance 3
Description:
Belly Dance 3 Intermediate
Drop in
Take your dance to the next level! Now that you have the fundamentals of Belly Dance from Belly Dance 1 and 2, it’s time to put it all together. You will build speed and precision with isolations, layering, finger cymbals, traveling steps, and vocabulary. New vocabulary steps will be introduced and incorporated with drills, combinations, and improvisation. We will explore belly dance rhythms, as well as belly dance through cultural and historical context. Build community, have fun, and be the dancer you want to be!
Attending Belly Dance 3 may also give you access to choreography workshops and performance opportunities.
Thursdays 7:30-8:30PM
Pass depends on month:
Belly Dance 3 classes are drop in.
Drop in passes or punch cards are ok.
Requirements:
All 3 units of Belly Dance 2 (at least 1 Teal, 1 Orange, and 1 Navy). Not needed to be taken in any order, but all 3 units need to be completed before attending Belly Dance 3.
Salimpour Fundamentals 2 certification or instructor approval will also fulfill this prerequisite.
Bring finger cymbals. See “Looking for Finger Cymbals?” for more information.
Wear comfortable clothes.
Optional: You may want a hip scarf, ballet slippers or foot undies, water bottle, and a yoga mat for the warm up.
Please no coin belts.
All sales final, no refunds. No extensions.
Looking for finger cymbals?Finger cymbals, also sometimes called zills or sagat, are an integral part of bellydance, and are required as a part of Bellydance 2 and beyond. The important thing is to look for cymbals between 2.5 and 3 inches in diameter, and that there are two holes in each cymbal for the elastic, rather than one.
Here are some types of finger cymbals I recommend, and some places to buy them:
https://turquoiseintl.com/collections/cymbals
Turquoise International has some great cymbals. They carry my most recommended cymbals:
Suhailas are great for outdoor and standard wear.
Isabellas are great for indoor and small venues.
https://www.saroyancymbals.com/
Saroyan cymbals are also a great merchant for finger cymbals. Their selection is HUGE, but keep in mind to look for cymbals that are between a 2.5" and 3" diameter.
If you are worried about making too much noise when you practice, you can find a wide variety of crocheted finger cymbal mufflers on Etsy, or if you are crafty yourself, there are patterns to make them yourselves. Just search online for “finger cymbal” or “zill” mufflers. You can also use lemon wraps!
Looking forward to playing cymbals with you!
Here are some types of finger cymbals I recommend, and some places to buy them:
https://turquoiseintl.com/collections/cymbals
Turquoise International has some great cymbals. They carry my most recommended cymbals:
Suhailas are great for outdoor and standard wear.
Isabellas are great for indoor and small venues.
https://www.saroyancymbals.com/
Saroyan cymbals are also a great merchant for finger cymbals. Their selection is HUGE, but keep in mind to look for cymbals that are between a 2.5" and 3" diameter.
If you are worried about making too much noise when you practice, you can find a wide variety of crocheted finger cymbal mufflers on Etsy, or if you are crafty yourself, there are patterns to make them yourselves. Just search online for “finger cymbal” or “zill” mufflers. You can also use lemon wraps!
Looking forward to playing cymbals with you!
