For our current students, so you can reserve your spot before we open to the public! This term’s upper level ZOOM bellydance options are below.
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Awalim Technique, Aesthetic and Choreo
ZOOM (Tuesdays 7.45pm with Johara)
Step back in time to discover the Awalim — professional urban dancers of 19th-century Cairo and the Nile Delta — whose style helped shape modern Egyptian Raqs Sharqi.
This course explores their raw, earthy, and energetic dance style with a grounded feel and low centre of gravity. You’ll learn key Awalim movements, explore their musicality, and discover how the dance connects to the music and social setting of the time. While Awalim dance is traditionally improvisational, we’ll use short, accessible combinations to help you embody the style and apply it confidently to era-specific music. The course will build towards a group routine, making it perfect for dancers who enjoy learning through context and performance.
LEVEL: At least 1 year of bellydance training, confidence in all the foundation moves
Extend your technique and movement repertoire. You’ll learn more advanced moves and concepts, as well as bringing refinement and nuance to the foundations that you already know and love. Then once you have a solid movement vocabulary, we’ll explore musicality. Movement choices and dynamics are driven by rhythms, ornamentation, accents, phrasing and changes in the music. Rachel will guide you to develop your own combos and mini-choreos, building your understanding of how we apply movements to music.
(Plus we will be rehearsing our Saidi routine from 2025, applying your stagecraft skills in preparation to perform at Newcastle Bellydance Festival in March.)
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Bellydance Intermediate Level: Dabke and Lebanese Oriental
ZOOM (Mondays 8pm with Rachel)
Learn the basics of traditional Levantine Dabke - the iconic ‘stomping’ folk dance from Lebanon, Syria and Palestine - then adapt it to a bellydance context. When should a bellydancer incorporate a stick, or Lebanese Oriental Bellydance style moves, or even wear heels when performing dabke? The course will culminate in a high-energy choreography to be performed as a group.
LEVEL: This more advanced class is open by invitation only, for dancers who have consistently attended class and practised for at least 2 years. Confidence with all Fundamentals and BBs techniques, ability to learn and retain combinations, developing understanding of Middle Eastern music, readiness to dive deeper. In general you should always get in touch before registering for this class if you’re not already a regular. Note that Dabke is a high-intensity, high-impact style. This course might not be suitable for you if you have certain injuries or limitations. Please get in touch to check your personal circumstances.
Pricing: $95 / 9wks
Location:
We'll email you when spaces come up, or bookings are open for next term. To receive a text as well, use the form at the bottom of the page.
For our current students, so you can reserve your spot before we open to the public! This term’s upper level ZOOM bellydance options are below.
——
Awalim Technique, Aesthetic and Choreo
ZOOM (Tuesdays 7.45pm with Johara)
Step back in time to discover the Awalim — professional urban dancers of 19th-century Cairo and the Nile Delta — whose style helped shape modern Egyptian Raqs Sharqi.
This course explores their raw, earthy, and energetic dance style with a grounded feel and low centre of gravity. You’ll learn key Awalim movements, explore their musicality, and discover how the dance connects to the music and social setting of the time. While Awalim dance is traditionally improvisational, we’ll use short, accessible combinations to help you embody the style and apply it confidently to era-specific music. The course will build towards a group routine, making it perfect for dancers who enjoy learning through context and performance.
LEVEL: At least 1 year of bellydance training, confidence in all the foundation moves
Extend your technique and movement repertoire. You’ll learn more advanced moves and concepts, as well as bringing refinement and nuance to the foundations that you already know and love. Then once you have a solid movement vocabulary, we’ll explore musicality. Movement choices and dynamics are driven by rhythms, ornamentation, accents, phrasing and changes in the music. Rachel will guide you to develop your own combos and mini-choreos, building your understanding of how we apply movements to music.
(Plus we will be rehearsing our Saidi routine from 2025, applying your stagecraft skills in preparation to perform at Newcastle Bellydance Festival in March.)
——
Bellydance Intermediate Level: Dabke and Lebanese Oriental
ZOOM (Mondays 8pm with Rachel)
Learn the basics of traditional Levantine Dabke - the iconic ‘stomping’ folk dance from Lebanon, Syria and Palestine - then adapt it to a bellydance context. When should a bellydancer incorporate a stick, or Lebanese Oriental Bellydance style moves, or even wear heels when performing dabke? The course will culminate in a high-energy choreography to be performed as a group.
LEVEL: This more advanced class is open by invitation only, for dancers who have consistently attended class and practised for at least 2 years. Confidence with all Fundamentals and BBs techniques, ability to learn and retain combinations, developing understanding of Middle Eastern music, readiness to dive deeper. In general you should always get in touch before registering for this class if you’re not already a regular. Note that Dabke is a high-intensity, high-impact style. This course might not be suitable for you if you have certain injuries or limitations. Please get in touch to check your personal circumstances.
If you have not taken BBs level courses with Inspire previously, please contact us for individual assessment before booking.
Beyond Beginners Bellydance courses are for students with at least a year of belly dancing class experience (though it depends on the individual; ask your teacher for advice on your level). There’s no upper limit to your experience level as we will keep you learning forever! Each term has a different topic, such as more complex technique; props such as sword or cane; folkloric styles; musical interpretation and more.
These courses will develop your dancing with a focus on more complex combinations and footwork, improvisation and musicality, and more advanced techniques that build on your key bellydance moves from Fundamentals classes. Depending on the level of classes, elements of Egyptian folkloric dance may be taught, as well as props such as veil, finger cymbals (also known as zills or sagat), stick (cane or assaya) and sword balancing.
Group performance opportunities are available at community events throughout the year.
Be warned: at this level you’re expected to put in plenty of practice in between classes.
1 year+: Once you’ve taken Fundamentals for at least a year, and can do all the foundation moves with confidence, control, and nuance, as well as having learnt and performed 2 or more Fundamentals level routines, you may be ready to upskill with ‘Beyond Beginners’. Once you’re here, you’ll continue to enjoy these classes for many years. We keep you learning and having fun by exploring the many aspects of the dance.
2 years+: Keep taking Beyond Beginners, because there’s no upper limit to the experience you will gain in these classes. Every term is different. But we do also offer an Intermediate level class, which moves slightly faster, has a higher level of assumed knowledge, and expects students to put in more practice time in between classes. Before you join Intermediate classes, you should have already completed a number of terms of Beyond Beginners; including a range of styles, props, regional variations and more; and be confident with BBs level moves such as camels, jewels, undulations, layered shimmies etc.
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