An article from the Washington Post on belly dancing teacher Malika. Apart from performing, she teaches this dance form as away of helping students feel more centred.<P>A friend of my Mothers took up belly dancing for health reasons and said it was wonderful. She did this at the age of 92. May we all do as well.<P>Not sure how long this link will last.<BR> <A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/2000-03/22/070l-032200-idx.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/2000-03/22/070l-032200-idx.html</A> <p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited 03-27-2000).]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><BR>BRITAIN's belly dancers have reacted angrily to revelations that Saddam Hussein has been training female agents in the guise of exotic performers to target Iraqi dissidents in London, claiming that this will undermine their business.<P>Members of the Midlands Arabic Dance Network (Madan), which represents 600 belly dancers, are particularly concerned about reports that a well-known Iraqi belly dancer is planning to set up a school in London as a cover for giving support to Saddam's spies. They are worried that potential clients would desist because of fears they could be turned into "Mata Haris".<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I don't know whether the original story was true or not, but we should remember that it is the silly season and hacks are desperate for stories. If I was trying to go around incognito, I suspect that a professional belly dancer would not be my choice of my disguise. <P><BR> <A HREF="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000148269364269&rtmo=VPwGx15x&atmo=HHHHHH8L&pg=/et/00/8/6/nbelly06.html" TARGET=_blank><B>Here is the full story.</B></A> <p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited August 07, 2000).]

Stuart, I've seen a couple of references to the "silly season." Could you enlighten us yanks as to exactly what that is? (I await your answer with bated breath!)

aw, GO ON, stuart....give it a try!<P>i see you in pink, with lots of floaty scarf bits....and some of those big gold dangly sequins...

In the UK, with the arrival of the school holidays the volume of news around here and on the Continent goes down. As a result stories that would never see the light of day normally, do get into the press and journalists have been known to concoct stories. I'm sure that such practices never occur in the US. <P>From your description grace, I realise that you've seen <u>that</u> photo from <u>that</u> party. I just want to make it clear that, despite appearances, the 'Rocky Horror' look-a-like standing next to me was <B>not</B> with me.<P><p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited August 07, 2000).]

No Stuart, I don't think our US press requires a special season for that.

I'm not sure if there'll be any spies here but the Cal State Northridge Arts season begins with "'Awards of Belly Dance,' a two-hour performance featuring such international belly dancers as Hadia and Hayet El Helwa."<P><B><A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/editions/valley/sfnews/20000813/t000075845.html" TARGET=_blank>[From the LA Times]</A></B>

And here is the review of the Belly Dancing Awards:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Near the end of the 19th century, belly dancing was performed in the company of women only. But that won't be the case Saturday at the fourth annual Belly Dancing Awards at Cal State Northridge. <BR> Hosted by the International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance in Van Nuys, the program will include performances by 32 of the top belly dancers from the United States, Canada, Germany and Brazil. Suzy Evans, president of the dance academy, said the event is modeled after the Academy Awards and is designed to elevate the status of belly dancing.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><BR><B><A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/editions/valley/calendar/20000818/t000077627.html" TARGET=_blank>Read the LA Times article</A></B>