Belly dancer spices things up at Hinderwell Village Hub

After retiring from a longstanding rewarding career in performance, including TV and radio, community teaching and local authority education programmes, as the world’s first UKA teacher in Raqs Sharqi (aka Belly Dance), Kristal – also dubbed as the “Belly Dance Guru” - vowed the wonderful chapter had come to its natural close and wouldn’t teach again, unless she got “the calling”.

"However, I never did,” she said, “until 17 years later, while quietly eating a nutritious Budda bowl breakfast at Hinderwell village hub, the calling suddenly arrived.

“Im not sure if I was reminiscing over the tabouli that I was eating - it’s an Arabic staple - reminding me of weddings, haflas and melas (celebration parties) I performed at all over the country, back in the day, or if it’s the fact that the unescapable wonders of the perimenapause, just changes you inside and out and, indeed, your perspective on life and what really matters to you.

"Seemingly now serving the community through teaching is the matter I had been avoiding.

“I just suddenly decided, there and then, let’s get this show back on the road, thinking if not now, when?

"So I booked the room, staff curiously enquired ‘so what do you plan on teaching?’

“I said ‘belly dance’ and at that point it felt like the music stopped and the world stopped turning.

"Nobody knew what to say or where to put themselves apart from to say ‘wow, we weren’t expecting that.’

“I said ‘no, neither was I’ and we all had a good laugh.

“Local ladies in the community have responded really positively to me spicing up and brightening up a wintry Monday at the hub.

"News has began to travel in the village and even the local WI have booked a session.

“Raqs Sharqi (belly dance) is widely believed to have roots in ancient fertility rituals, goddess worship and birth preparations, with origins dating back thousands of years in the Middle East.

"It was traditionally performed by women for women to celebrate feminine power.”

Kristal said that while she was “born dancing” and have tried and taught many different styles of dance, belly dance won her heart.

“It will always be the one for me because it’s a total mind and body workout, it’s for women of all ages and body shapes, it raises the endorphins and can empower newfound strength and confidence.”