Want to Learn Something 80 Percent of Today's Belly Dance Teachers Don't Even Teach?

NYC BellyCore class revives the lost art of finger cymbal playing -- with the trademark BellyCore addition of a Pilates and cardio workout.

New York City, NY (PRWEB) June 2, 2006 -- What’s so cool about belly dance? Is it the opulent, shiny costumes? The aura of the exotic? The sense of being a part of a deep and ancient history? The spice of doing something different from everyone else? The “je ne sais quoi” you radiate, learning something new and unusual? The spine-tingling feeling of having a secretly daring alter ego? The small but growing cadre of fashionable superstars -- Britney Spears, Beyonce, Susan Sarandon, and Margaret Cho, to name a few -- who have studied or performed Middle Eastern belly dance?

Back in the day of Middle Eastern belly dance (which can date all the way back to ancient Egypt!), dancers played finger cymbals (Arabic “sagat” or Turkish “zills”) as they danced, becoming part of the band as they danced and played. In the 1960’s and ‘70’s, the heyday of Middle Eastern dance in New York City, dancers took pride in completing an entire show without removing their finger cymbals.

Today, many fewer dancers use finger cymbals. Teachers start teaching finger cymbals later in class, or skip them entirely. Finger cymbal work is becoming more and more rare -- and really good finger cymbal work is even more scarce. But finger cymbals are not to be feared!

Finger cymbals add glamour to your costume, elicit knowing nods from people who remember the old days, and set you a cut above the average dancer. When you learn to play music as you dance, you get a deeper understanding of the rhythmic intricacies of Middle Eastern music -- one of the things that makes Middle Eastern belly dance so attractive to many dancers.

And once you’ve heard really good finger cymbal playing, you’ll never forget it. Anyone who’s heard Artemis Mourat or Eva Cernik playing zills gets a glimpse of new heights to strive for and new horizons to reach.

So open up a whole new world in your Middle Eastern belly dancing, and jump into a finger cymbal class with both hands!

Melissa, professional dancer, drummer, and founder of BellyCore belly dance and Pilates classes, brings her understanding of Middle Eastern rhythms and physical knowledge to you this June with a 2-hour finger cymbal workshop. Learn drills to make your zils faster, cleaner, and more accurate; take home the 4 most common rhythms of Middle Eastern dance music, and dance and play to the live drumming of Carmine Guida, one of New York City’s brightest new stars of Middle Eastern music. Class will be held at CAP21, 18 W. 18th st, 6th floor, near Union Square, from 7-9 PM on Tuesday June 13th. Subways: N, R, Q, W, 4, 5, 6, L to Union Square, or 1, 2, 3 to 14th st.. Preregister for class and find out more info at www.bellycore.com.

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