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Cary Class Teaches Ancient Art Of Belly Dancing

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CARY — Singers like Britney Spears, Madonna and Jennifer Lopez have made midriff-baring gyrations all the rage, but the root of that kind of dancing has been around for thousands of years in belly dancing. After all these years, it has never gone out of style, and in a Cary class, local women are learning the art.

Like any other class, belly dancing starts with a warm up. The class is for beginners, with some advanced dancers to help out. All kinds of women attend, for different reasons.

"I'm from Lebanon, and I've always wanted to learn how to dance, and I've never known how. And my husband gave me the outfit when I turned 30, and here I am many years later, and I thought well, why not. It'll be fun and good exercise," said Norma Hill.

It may not look like much of a workout, but the dancers say it really is.

"You start doing arm circles, you do your arm movements and you get very sore and you get sore in your waist because you're tightening all those muscles up," said Rebecca Doty.

"This just doesn't look beautiful; it's actually good for their bodies," said instructor Aziza Fadwa.

What stands out about this type of dance are the graceful, flowing movements.

"It's not hard, you're just not use to moving your body that way. I've always been active but I've never moved those parts of my body. But it will be fun," said Hill.

Belly dancing is a form of art. Once the basic moves are learned, the dancer can put them together any way she wants.

"It's so feminine. And it's not weak feminine, it's strong feminine. And it does give women pride in themselves," said Fadwa.

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