An Introduction to Baltimore Bellydance

Baltimore Bellydance was started on a Monday night. It was after Piper's dance class one March night when she approached us. "I was thinking," she began, "that the two of your have really complimentary skills to start a newsletter."

One a photographer and journalist, the other a graphic designer and artist.

And so it began.

We produced the first Baltimore Bellydance newsletter within a few weeks. It included our first teacher interview with Piper, two pictures, a brief introduction to our goals as an organization and the entire back page was workshop and events listings. We had four teacher members then, Piper, Driana, Litani and Devra. The newsletter was one page front and back and we distributed about 400 copies.

Not long after that we started our website and produced "Arabian Nights," a gala bellydance show that packed Latin Palace in Fells Point so far beyond expectations that they ran out of food and seating.

In the past two years, Baltimore Bellydance has expanded and grown beyond expectations and our labor of love has become a standard part of life for dancers, teachers and dance enthusiasts in the area.

We have even more hopes for Baltimore Bellydance in the future. We plan to expand both our website and newsletter to be even more informative and comprehensive. We eventually hope to open a studio that will cater to bellydancers across the region, as well as offering massage therapy, pilates, yoga, lectures and more.

There are several constant requests made of us. One is another gala show, and we're working on that idea for spring 2005. Another is access to our old newsletters, and we will soon be able to offer that online in the form of a PDF library. But by and far the most requested thing we hear about is this - an article explaining who WE are, the women behind Baltimore Bellydance.

We didn't mean to be so enigmatic - we are always accessible to answer emails anytime, so please never hesitate to contact us. We love feedback and hearing ideas and suggestions from dancers. And if you can't tell us apart - that's okay too. Probably the next most common question we get is which one of us is which!

Without further ado, we are excited to reintroduce ourselves? Zahirah and Nerissa, the women of Baltimore Bellydance...