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Once upon a time there was a plain little smiley face J.  Her name was Ruth and she was like all the other smiley faces. She was carefree and happy-go-lucky but there was something missing in her life.

Gradually her smile drooped and although she didn't turn into a frowney she didn't quite fit in with all the other smileys. K.

Her friends were worried about her and tried to cheer her up. One of them suggested she try a belly dancing class. Ruth just rolled her eyes.

"Belly dancing! How silly." she thought.

But her friends told her that many of the smileys joined in belly dance classes….there was always lots of smiles and chuckles and outright belly laughs as the students tried to master all the steps and isolations required for the dance. Ruth decided to try her friends advise and took herself off to a dance class. They were right. There were lots of other smileys in the class and Ruth watched in delight as people tried to master the steps.

"Boy, I'm glad I don't have to deal with arms!"  thought Ruth, "Imagine trying to do all those combinations. It's like trying to rub you head while patting your tummy! Or is it the other way around?" 

Ruth smiled as she watched the students try to move their hips while keeping the rest of their body still. Or trying to walk while shimming and be graceful at the same time. When the class was over Ruth's smile was much brighter than it had been in a long time. She decided to come back and watch more of the class.

The weeks passed and Ruth dropped in on 'her' belly dance class faithfully. She learned it was properly called Raks Sharki, dance of the East. She learned that costumes were a big part of the dance especially for the Cabaret or Nightclub style. Silky chiffons and sequins and glitter. Lots of sparkles and shiney beads. Ruth's smile grew bigger the more she danced.

And dance she did. She twirled and flipped and spun to the music and the enjoyment of the students in the class. After all, smiley faces exist in our pleasure, the more we enjoy and smile and laugh , the more smiley faces there are.

"This is great fun!" she cried. And her friends were happy for her because Ruth had found her smile again.

But that wasn't the end of it. Oh no!  Ruth found a scrap of chiffon and fashioned it into a face veil for herself. She picked up some coins that students had dropped and added them to the sides of her face veil so she jingled merrily as she dance. And she changed her name. Now Ruth is an excellent name for a plain little smiley but when that smiley transforms into a more exotic creature a name change is definitely necessary. Ruth became Fatima. And she continues to dance and bring happy thoughts to many Middle Eastern Dancers to this day. So if you think you hear a faint tinkling of coins or are missing small bits of spangle from your costume, you can be assured that it is probably a smiley face that has pilfered the items to add to her costume…it might even be Fatima.

Happy Dancing Everyone!

1. It is a known fact, that once you have your costume secured, pinned and adjusted to perfection you will have to go to the bathroom.
   
2. Veils only appear inanimate, once on stage they will come alive and attempt to escape from any means of tucking or attachment you have used.
   
3. If someone else is in charge of starting your music , you can be assured they will press 'fast forward' instead of 'play'.
   
4. If you are busking at outdoor venues, 7 times out of 10 , when you have the best spot , it will be raining!
   
5. It is a known fact that when you are perfectly on time and ready to do your show, the program is behind time and you have to wait. The reverse is true also, that when you are running behind that's when you get asked "can you go on early?"
   
6. Always bring your own boom box to play your music because whenever you hear the phrase "oh course, sound equipment will be available" you know it won't.
   
7. Be assured, at some time in your career, someone will say to you, "oh, I thought you took Ballet!"
   
8. Be assured that no matter how carefully you measure and hang the hem of your circle skirt, gravity will attack the bias and make it uneven.
   
9. Be assured that when you find that perfect piece of material for a skirt and/or veil, there will only be a couple of meters left on the bolt!
   
10. When you need a specific piece of music for a show and you KNOW you have it, you will never find the tape or CD that it is on.
    
11. Be assured, when someone takes your picture, they will capture the exact moment that you are in the best funky chicken wing arm position or you have that really weird expression on your face.
    

1. You can't learn it all in a basic beginner class. Beware any class that tries to cover it all at the start.  This dance takes years to master.
   
2. Some teachers hold you back 'for your own good', usually it's for their good not yours.
   
3. Not all that glitters is gold. Some instructors talk a good story but their expertise doesn't match up to what they say. Bad for the student. Bad for dance.