Belly dancing gathers force

16:48' 28/06/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - “Let’s shake the butt and make the belly dance!” shouted Ara Hwang in one of her daily lessons. From only a few enrollees, the talented Korean artist’s class in Hanoi is attracting more and more girls. Ara Hwang’s success is reflected in Bastet Douat, the first and only belly dancing group in the country, which she founded at the beginning of 2006. And just one year after being established, Bastet Douat, which is made up of 6 young Vietnamese girls, has a hectic schedule. On the heels of their recent first public performance at the Sheraton Hotel in Hanoi, the dancers will visit Shanghai, China from July 17- 20 to give 2 performances at the Salsa and Swing Festival to be held there with the participation of many famous international dancers. And at the end of this July, the girls will travel south for shows in HCM City only to return right away to Hanoi to compete in the Salsa International Competition, where they will have to show off both their belly dancing and salsa skills. At the end of August, Bastet Douat will organise a belly dancing festival in Hanoi. Talking about belly dancing, a beautiful and difficult type of dance originating from traditional dances of the Middle East and Arab countries elsewhere, Huyen Trang, a Bastet Douat member, said that this dance was particularly good for one’s mental and physical health. It helps the muscles to be nimble and strong and ensures a good gait for the body. The beauty and healthiness of belly dancing is thus drawing more and more Hanoi girls to Ara Hwang’s class. Her basic session now has 40 students, who are captivated by the sexy, attractive and feminine belly dance, plus those colorful costumes with tiny bells giving off merry ringing sounds every move one makes. (Source: Viet Nam Net)