The age of fifty has come and gone for me and as my body ages, my lower back has been tightening up in response to the workouts it doesn’t want me to do. As I pulled up to POWER BODY and FITNESS BODY SHAPING and AEROBICS CENTER, in Newburgh, New York, I wondered about the hip swiveling in the belly dancing class I was about to take. Would it seize my muscles into a tortuous and painful knot, only to be unraveled by drugs, bedrest, and massage therapy? While I waited for class to begin, Brunilda Perez, a belly dancer over 40, came in and told me that “dancing keeps me young.” She has been dancing for 8 years with Sarah Bell, the instructor, at festivals and senior citizen homes. Brunilda tells me that as you study the dance, “in the beginning it feels awkward, but eventually, it brings out the spirit and woman in you.”

That seems to be the theme of everyone I’ve spoken to who belly dances. Barbara Bell, a hypnotherapist and dance instructor in Dutchess County says that belly dancing, “wakes up the dormant goddess within…students find the goddess in their body, regardless of size or shape.” For women going through menopause, or the “hormonacoaster”, as Barbara calls it, belly dancing, will have you “strutting through menopause. It’s a real stress buster,” says Barbara, “as it awakens energy from the waist down,”; she has students “visualize energy flowing down” while they isolate and move their hips.

Meanwhile, back in Newburgh, Sarah Hall, the instructor, walks in complaining of back pain and has Brunilda demonstrate. I worry: did she hurt her back dancing, and will I be okay? She’s an exuberant blonde in high heels, dressed totally in black. During class, she expressively uses her hands and arms in snaky movements, as she encourages us to swivel, schimmy, undulate, bump and grind to an eclectic mix of Indian, disco and Broadway show music (the theme from Gypsy). I’m thinking of the pop singer Shakira while trying to gyrate and remember the steps.

By the time Sarah brings out the chiffon veils, I am hooked. The goddess has been released from my lower back and I dance with attitude and abandon. I needn’t have worried about Sarah’s back pain, she tells us she injured herself doing something unrelated to belly dancing. As I ullulate ( a characteristic vocalization of Middle Eastern culture), I actually feel looser in my lower back, as we warmed up with specific stretches for the hips and back. Most other forms of exercise neglect the hips, pelvis and glutteals, and belly dancing may strengthen the internal muscles that stabilize the lower back. However, it doesn’t matter what shape you’re in: among my classmates were pear and apple shaped teachers, mothers, and young girls, all of whom demonstrated grace, power and femininity in their dancing. The class is so much fun; we have worn belts with coins to enhance the movements, and veils to play hide and seek; I alternately feel like Sophia Loren, Marilyn Monroe, and Britney Spears.

In addition to toning the oblique muscles, belly dancing glorifies woman and her sensual, devouring power. I feel my self-esteem rising a few notches, as I am bejeweled with a coin laden scarf and a flowing, colorful, chiffon veil. In the mad rush of work and homemaking, I sometimes forget to be feminine and take time for adornment of any kind; the class satisfied that neglected aspect of myself.

In researching the history of oriental dance, it is difficult to separate this folk dance from the Middle East, with dance done by gypsies, Indians and Persians. In the turn of the century, at the Chicago Exposition, we misnamed Oriental Dance as it crossed from the Middle East, north to Africa and eventually to the west. Named the “dance du ventre” (belly dance) by the French, we translated their moniker for the folk dance into our own. We also altered the costume, which historically did not show a bare midriff, into the now familiar bra and low slung pants or skirt. Ancient Middle Eastern Societies may have used the dance as a fertility ritual, which fits with the Egyptian habit of having an oriental dancer at weddings. It is believed that the Egyptian wedding ritual began as a way to demonstrate to the virgin bride, the power of her passage into womanhood on the wedding night. While this practice has come under greater scrutiny with the rise of religious fundamentalism, it is still performed in Egypt today, with wedding pictures typically featuring the bride and groom with their hands on the dancers’ belly. There is even a similar dance with canes that is performed by men.

According to the Middle Eastern Culture and Dance Association, belly dancing in America, has grown in popularity by 30 percent since September 11, 2001, with the renewed interest in all things Middle Eastern. However, Donna Marie Floyd, who uses the stage name, Habiba while teaching in the Capitol District of New York, says her interest was sparked at the age of 14, when she discovered a belly dancing record. The music inspired her and the great exercise and low impact nature of the dance has been appealing to her ever since. “It’s something you can take up at any age,” she says and has told prospective students who ask: Am I too old? “Absolutely not!”

Over the years, I have danced professionally, taken up karate, aerobics, biked, hiked, run races, weight lifted and taken yoga classes. None of these endeavors were as much fun as belly dancing. Workout routines sometimes need a change of pace, as is the case with me, and beginning exercisers need a fun way to move their bodies. So, if you are looking for a low impact way to exercise with grace, wit and sensuality, and you need a change or are just starting an exercise routine, belly dancing may be right for you.