In 2004 a friend asked me to go to a bellydance class with her so she had company (Thanks Jen!). I agreed as I thought it would be good stress relief while I was writing my PhD thesis. By 10 weeks later she had stopped going to classes and 10 years later I go twice a week. I find that attending set classes is a good way to maintain work/life balance, especially in a job (medical research) where the work is never really done, dancing allows me to stop and focus on something completely different.

I did ballet, jazz and tap classes as a child but my first bellydance classes were with Lorelle at St Lucia. I truly appreciated that Lorelle had no qualms about telling me (or anyone) if a move wasn’t quite right and that she was hyper-organised with choreographies (I think we could have performed some in our sleep!). When Lorelle stopped teaching I moved on to classes with Nerissa and Ambyr. In these teachers I have also found the same passion for beautiful music and dancing and for encouraging individual creativity in each of their students. All my teachers have recommended attending workshops in addition to regular classes and I have been fortunate to learn from Denise Enan, Dr Mo Geddawi, Michelle Joyce and Aida Noir (who scolded me for forgetting my dance shoes but also encouraged me to continue dancing). I have also been lucky that my husband is supportive of my dancing often attending concerts or other performances and not complaining about the cost of shiny sparkly costumes or that sequins, beads and glitter frequently cover our apartment. I have throughout this time enjoyed the challenge of learning troupe choreographies as well as developing my own and freedom of expression that comes with dancing.

I will be sad to have to leave Nerissa and Ambyr’s classes when I move to Sydney later this year (though I am hoping to sneak in some casual classes when I am up here for work or holidays). So all suggestions and feedback on teachers in Sydney are welcome!