Goodbye Bridge Club: Moms Are Belly Dancing in Bay

The sound of Middle Eastern music fills the air, and group of ten women dressed in flowing skirts and beads begin to sway their hips to the beat.

The performance could have easily been witnessed in Turkey or Egypt, but this particular scene unfolded at , where Whitefish Bay's local belly dancing group Jewels of the Bay held their third annual belly dancing recital.

So how did belly dancing make its way to the North Shore?

"The majority of us are mothers and it’s our time to get away. Instead of bridge club we have belly dancing and our friendships," said one member, Suzanne Singh. "That’s how belly dancing started: women dancing with women and community building."

Singh and the other Jewels of the Bay dancers are in the level two belly dancing class made available through the Whitefish Bay Recreation Department. The group has also been seen around the village at , and they may be seen at other events, such as the Whitefish Bay Farmers Market, in the future

Singh first learned how to belly dance when she was living in Portland, Oregon. When she moved to Whitefish Bay, she wanted to find a group to dance with and was happy to find the belly dancing class in the Recreation Department.

"I teach the intro course. Once somebody takes two sessions they can take the level two class with (instructor) Zahra Sagira," she said. "To be a part of Jewels in the Bay, you just have to join the level two class and have a desire to perform. Not everybody wants to and they don't have to."

Patricia Leeson has been taking belly dancing classes at the Whitefish Bay Recreation Department since the winter of 2009 and just recently began to perform.

"I didn't think that belly dancing was for me, but when my friend dared me to do it and said it was a great abdominal workout, I decided to try it with the understanding that I would not perform in public," Leeson said. "This was just for exercise and fun. I have been involved for about a year and a half and finally they
talked me into performing."

The students started performing after an instructor encouraged them. The instructor, Julianna, died suddenly of cancer a few years ago.

"We had a teacher who passed away. It was heart breaking, but she really pushed us to start learning choreography and do performances," Singh said.

Singh also said that many women are attracted to belly dancing for the unique muscle workout.

"I think people go into to it for the exercise. It's a really good workout for the core," she said. "It's not competitive; it’s a supporting environment."

Leeson agrees that the other women who are involved in the course are what keep her coming back.

"We are all interested in learning, but we don't take things too seriously. We giggle a lot," she said. "It is an escape. When I am in class I just have fun and forget about everything else."

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