Like most people I guess, my path into Belly dance started by going to a local class. I’ve been a dancer most of my adult life doing all the usual forms of dance such as ballet, tap, jazz, modern, salsa and Latin American but always on the look out for something different to try. So when a friend gave me a clipping from the local newspaper about Belly dance classes, I went along to see what it was like and that was that, hooked big style. It was an immediate love affair, so different to any dancing I’d trained in before, the music was wonderful and the dressing up thing, well that was just a bonus.
I started going to classes regularly and became more and more interested in the dance then I started to travel to workshops with such names as Aida Noor, Yasmina of Cairo, Leyla Jouvana, Kay Taylor, Randa Kamel, Jo Wise, Fereshti, Ozgen, Sara Farouk, Tracey Gibbs, Heather Burby, Ann Kingston, Fifi Abdou, Lulu Sabongi, Ava Fleming, Tine Valois, Camelia, Khaled to name but a few. I decided to take, completed and passed the JWAAD Foundation course and then followed it by obtaining my JWAAD Teaching Diploma in Arabic Dance earlier this year.
I have been a dancer for more than 25 years taking numerous qualifications in various forms of dance and have been teaching regular classes in East Yorkshire for the past 5 years. I also travel and teach various Belly dance workshops including Fusion styles, give talks, demonstrations and performances.

People ask my why do you enjoy teaching?
‘Well because I love to show people the joy that dance can give.
To me expression through dance is so wonderfully uplifting, in other words it makes us feel good, takes you to a happy place and everyone at some point should experience that feeling.’

My classes are varied, lively and fun and I use my knowledge of dance in all its forms to make my classes interesting for everyone.
I firmly believe that anyone and everyone has the ability to dance, if you can walk you can dance, you just have to take that first step.
All my classes be it Belly dance or Latin are designed to give the individual the best experience possible. So if your looking for a new lease of life or just a new way to exercise, come along and be one of my happy smiling faces!

HAPPY DANCING!!

Sandra Thompson (JWAAD)