So, a Manchester girl, living in North Norfolk teaches Egyptian dance - huh?

I was born in Manchester and fell in love with dance in all it's forms at an early age.  As a teenager I danced at every available opportunity - folk dancing, head banging, disco, I was up on the floor like a shot!  I'd almost dance to street buskers!  Regrettably, there was little chance to encounter belly dancing in Manchester at that time.

I attended university in Sheffield and in spite of spending far more time that I should have in the theatre group, dance classes or partying, obtained a degree in English literature.  I then moved to London intent on becoming an actress. 

After a few years at a drama college and a prolonged spell "between roles" I realised that unless I was extremely lucky, I could spend my life "between roles" and so gave up on my thespian dreams and joined what might loosely be termed mainstream society!  Whilst in London I met my husband and later we set up our own business in Yorkshire. 

Following a few boozy nights in a huge Greek restaurant in Bradford, we both developed a passion for Greek dancing.  Not just the Zorba stuff, but the real Greek "Tsiftetelli" as danced by the Greeks which, in all but name, is very much like belly dancing.  This is a loose description as although heavily influenced by Middle Eastern culture, the Greek form is very different from the Egyptian.  Additionally, there are huge regional variations in Arabic dance, even within one country.

After about nine years of Greek heaven, the restaurant changed hands and became an Indian restaurant; presumably someone decided that Bradford really needed far more than the hundreds already there!

After some months of trying other forms of dance and failing to find the sheer joy I derived from the Greek experience, my husband noticed an ad in our local supermarket for belly dance lessons.  This was just over 9 years ago and the rest, as they say, is history!

I soon found this was what I'd craved my whole life.  A dance that suited all sizes, ages and abilities.  Being fundamentally a solo dance, designed for performance whether formal or informal, it enabled me to take to the stage at the regular parties known as "haflas".  This satisfied the urge to "show off" and play to an audience - a desire that had remained unsated since those far off days of trying to build an acting career.

An added bonus is that, like most women, I love to dress up as a princess for the night, and how few opportunities there are in these "dressing down" days.  That's me on the left.

When we moved to beautiful North Norfolk I was delighted to find a local belly dance group and from then on I started to receive invitations to teach.  I obtained the appropriate insurance policy and PPL  before I began offering my services.

I love to dance myself, but equally derive huge pleasure from teaching.  The sight of beginners experiencing that "penny dropping moment" when they realise they can perform some of the basic moves, is a sheer delight.

I stumbled onto the hen night idea by chance but have grown to love the highly-charged, "girls just wanna have fun" atmosphere.  Bearing in mind that I believe belly dancing should be fun, a group of girls wanting to enjoy themselves and learn something new at the same time is the ideal class.

Dianne