Student research project lays bare the benefits of belly dancing

IT'S a form of dance which is usually shrouded in mystery and exoticism.

But now the "science" behind belly dancing is to be laid bare for the first time thanks to a research project by a Stevenson College student.

Lindsey Silver, 28, has been teaching belly dancing for about two years and hopes to take it up full-time.

The former children's charity worker is studying for an HND in health, fitness and exercise, and is carrying out her own experiment with a group of eager volunteers to find out whether belly dancing lessons will improve their strength, coordination and fitness.

For some, having their every shimmy scrutinised might sound like hell, but when Ms Silver advertised on her website she received 32 enquiries, which she had to whittle down to 12 participants. The group, which ranges in age from early 20s to in the 50s, meet every Friday at The Studio Below in Bread Street to practise their moves.

It might be fun for the dancers but for Ms Silver there is a serious side.

She said: "The title of the project is 'Does belly dance increase motor skills in adult women?' First of all, we did pre-lesson testing. I did lots of different fitness tests with them, like having them balance on one foot and pat your head and rub your tummy. They were all to do with coordination and motor skills.

"We're halfway through a course of eight lessons and at the end of that I'll be doing some re-testing and we'll see if there's any noticeable difference in the results from it."

One of her recruits, university administrator Marjorie Drysdale, 32, said: "I'd been wanting to take belly dancing classes for a while and I saw an advert for her study and it was free, so I thought I might as well give it a try.

"It's a lot of fun. Sometimes you're not really sure if you're doing it right but she says that the one thing about belly dancing is that everyone looks different – you just wiggle about, hoping you're doing it right! My abdominal muscles are definitely getting a lot stronger because you're using them a lot more."

Anecdotally, belly dancing is said to improve everything from muscle tone to concentration, but Ms Silver said she wanted to be able to offer her pupils firm evidence of the benefits.

"There is a long list of the things it offers, but these are all things that have just been passed on over the years. I want to challenge that and say 'Is that correct?' and make sure that what I'm doing is giving people accurate information."

She is also reading around the subject and said her research so far has led her to believe that her study is groundbreaking. She said: "Part of it is obviously looking for some secondary research to back up my findings and at the moment I haven't found anything similar to this so, as far as I'm aware, it's a first."