Belly dancing craze boosts fitness

ROBERT CHARLES/Taranaki Daily News

BELLY UP: Instructors Leigh Duffy, left, and Paisj Stonnell show the beginners class some moves in their tribal belly dancing course.

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More women in Taranaki are getting into the craze of belly dancing if the beginners class at Hipnotix was anything to go by on Tuesday night.

Following on from the large Arabian Nights fundraiser a week ago, run by members of all three of Taranaki's belly dancing groups, there was a good turnout of nine first-timers to the class at Patten Academy of Dance in New Plymouth.

Two years old now, Hipnotix runs a beginners class every term to introduce interested women to what instructor Paisj Stonnell describes as "tribal style".

"It's actually a bit of a melting pot [of influences].

"I guess you'd look at it as the gypsies travelled from country to country.

"Their living was to do dance and music, and what they'd do is they'd take bits and pieces from the local town they were in and mix it up with what they did.

"There's stuff from India, there's stuff from the Middle East, even in our lot there's a flamenco influence."

As well as being enjoyable and learning about new cultures through music, the routines are also a great fitness workout, Mrs Stonnell said.

"You certainly get good abs. It's lots of fun and it doesn't feel like exercise because we're usually laughing when we're dancing."

Mrs Stonnell agreed more locals seemed to be showing an interest in the dance. "People are looking for something different to do, and you don't need a partner for this."

Hipnotix holds beginners class on Tuesdays, with its top troupe practising on Wednesdays, and the advanced beginners class on Thursdays.

- © Fairfax NZ News