Weekly Bellydance classes in Edinburgh

 Coming home..

Well… it’s been so long since I wrote in my blog that I’ve almost forgotten how.. and 6 years since I left Egypt... I need to update the header for the blog too!!

Hello again!

Guess what? I’ve been back in Edinburgh after my 10 years in Cairo for quite some years now.. but it’s only now that I feel I’ve truly come home. The reason? 

I’m setting up new weekly classes!  

For the past 16 years I’ve been an international performer and have been teaching workshops around the world as well as teaching some online private classes. Before all that I used to teach 25 classes per week, and I did it for years. I had over 400 students every week around Scotland! 

Heres a couple of photos of me, taken by a local newspaper, on Portobello beach, just before I headed off 16 years ago to live in Cairo!

How young and slim I was back then with my hair dyed black to 'look more Egyptian'!

I loved those pyramids made from sandbags on the beach, such a great idea. 

Although I don’t intent to work those crazy hours again (and of course I will continue to travel to perform and teach workshops) I have decided that what I am REALLY missing are those regular human connections that I made during all those classes with my students. 

So, new weekly classes in Portobello, Edinburgh, Scotland, start next week.. 27th October 2022

Rather than teach in a swanky mirrored dance studio, for these classes, I’ve decided to keep it local and am using an amazing building close to my home. It’s a beautiful old church, Bellfield, which was set to be redeveloped into houses, but the people of Portobello objected and won their case, and it has became a community hub, run by and for our local community! I decided that ‘it’s the people that count’ is the premise for how I want my classes to run! 

Yes, I’ll miss having mirrors it’s true, but I’ve always found deep friendships and connections blossom every more in classes where we are not all staring at ourselves in the mirror! I’m looking forward to not only teaching people to dance, but to facilitating the forming of new friendships and allowing freedom of self expression through dance. I know the vast majority of my friends have been made through bellydance, so I’m pretty evangelist about this!!! 

As well as introducing new beginners to this wonderful world of bellydance, I also want to gather in a lot of the dancers who have gotten lost along the way, who haven’t been to classes for years, who have lost their dance mojo, for various reasons, and feel shy about coming back. Let’s rebuild this wonderful supportive dance community! 

Please do come along if you can, and even if you can’t, feel free to spread the word for me! 

Thursday night weekly classes commence 27th Oct 2022 at Bellfield, 16b Bellfield street, Portobello, Edinburgh, EH15 2BP

Beginners Bellydance 

Thurs 18.15-19.15 

Small hall 

A fun, low impact, stress relieving way to exercise at the same time as meeting new friends and learning about a different dance form , music and culture. Great for all ages and levels of fitness and ability. NOT required to bare your belly, but of course you can if you want to! We dance barefoot, but you can wear soft shoes or grippy socks if you prefer. Wear loose comfortable clothing and bring water and a scarf you can tie round your hips. Prepare to have fun! Beginners only! 

Next Level Bellydance

19.30-20.30 

Big hall

A class for anyone who has bellydanced before, either recently or some time ago, to whatever level. Not suitable for complete beginners. We will refresh basics of course but this class hopes to develop dance skills and the large hall allows for us working on props and travelling moves too! A suitable class for Bellydance improvers, intermediate and advanced alike. 

Payment can be made on a drop in basis (I’m aware no everyone’s lives allow them to be in the same place every week!) which is £10 per class or the 8 week term can be block booked which makes it more affordable at £68 for the term. 

Payments can be made in cash, BACS or PayPal (contact me directly for details for those) 

I am so looking forward to this ‘coming home’ to being a regular teacher again. I’ve missed you all!! 

For those who live a bit further away and can’t attend a weekly class, I’m also going to be teaching a 2hr monthly workshop, here in Edinburgh at a different community centre in Portobello, The Washhouse, 3 Adelphi Place, Portobello, Edinburgh, EH15 1AP

These workshops will run in symbiotic style alongside the amazing monthly Rose halfa that my good friend and fellow dancer, Natalie Borg organises. Each month the halfa has a theme… and the next one, on 12th Nov will be “All that Jazz” so I have decided to create a workshop topic to fit with her theme! 

Jazz Hands!

4-6pm Sat 12th Nov. 

Washhouse community centre, Portobello. 

Two hours focusing on something most of us find most challenging within bellydance, arms! We will work out some fun a new ways to use our upperbody, hands and arms and hopefully take away those droopy arms and unnecessarily twirly hands!! Elegance, power and connection are the keys! Mixed level workshop. Must have basic bellydance technique. 

for the workshop, Payment of £20 can be made to me by cash, BACS or PayPal. Please whichever method you choose, contact me in advance to reserve your spot! 

So… it’s all going on! If you are only following this blog and haven’t yet followed me on social media, please do so since I post much more frequently there!

Instagram- LornaofCairo

Facebook- Lorna of Cairo (aka Bellylorna!)

Facebook group- Bellfield Bellydance classes

If you aren’t on the socials, you can email me directly at bellylorna@hotmail.com

If you’d like to know more about the monthly haflas (arabic for for a party!), to book a slot to perform or a ticket to attend, please check out Natalie’s website… 

www.rosesunderthemoon.com/haflas

See you on the dancefloor! 

(if you are interested in classes but live further afield, I am still teaching online one to one coaching sessions... feel free to contact me about those!)