Belly Dance Classes in Lacey, Olympia, Online & Beyond

"She is fabulous! My granddaughter took lessons from Lara and to our shock, she won best talent at a huge national competition in Florida and was featured in a magazine!”

~ Twila, Scottsdale AZ

Nourish your dancer’s soul and learn the foundations of belly dance!! We’ll start with safe posture, alignment and conditioning. As class progresses, we’ll shift from basic dance vocab to more challenging isolations and combinations with clear breakdowns!

Curriculum runs in a 3-month series. Students are welcome to sign up any time. All bodies, ages, identities and abilities are welcome! Belly dance originates from fun, social dancing! So no nay-sayers or party poopers here!

Classes run Wednesdays from 6:30 to 7:20 pm at Kinetic Dance Academy in Lacey, Washington. Register Here!

Now offering beginning classes in West Oly at Spicy! Tuesday evenings at 7pm. More info Here!

Beginning Belly Dance

Find your flow! Advance your skills to the next level with the support of award-winning dancer Lara Victoria. Further your technique with drills. Explore and expand your belly dance vocabulary with advanced layering and challenging combinations. Enhance your dance as you learn about the nuances of Arabic music. Learn to dance with zills, veil, and traditional Raqs Sharqi props. Study iconic belly dancers of origin. Discover different dance opportunities for solo dancers.

Class culminates with a solo dance opportunity!

Pre-requisite: Beginning Belly Dance & instructor permission. Curriculum runs in 6-month series. Students are welcome to sign up any time. All bodies, ages, identities and abilities welcome. Classes run Wednesdays, 7:30 to 8:20 pm at Kinetic Dance Academy in Lacey, Washington. Register Here

Intermediate Belly Dance

Intermediate/Advanced Belly Dance! Group Performance

Join a group of fun, focused dancers! Learn choreography for a variety of Southwest Asia & North Africa (SWANA) dances. Choreographies drawn from Egyptian Raqs Sharqi and folkloric styles, the Levant, the Maghreb, Saudi Arabia and Iraqi. Learn to navigate the nuances of group performance. Year-round opportunities to participate in local performances and beyond.

Prerequisites: Beginning & intermediate raqs sharqi; must be concurrently enrolled in technique with Lara Victoria or approved course. All bodies, ages, identities and abilities welcome! Classes run Wednesdays, 8:30 to 9:20 pm at Kinetic Dance Academy in Lacey, Washington. Register Here!

Private Lessons

Past students have engaged in individual coaching with me in order to:

  • Prepare for performances, competitions, state and regional pageants, burlesque performance development, or personal enrichment

  • Review performance footage together to gain insights into what to improve and how

  • Run through choreography for insights into what to improve and how

  • Enlist assistance developing a choreography for a project

  • Commission me to develop choreography for their project

  • Gain further clarity in a particular area of SWANA dances

Coaching can be held in person or via Zoom. Contact me to schedule your sessions! Register Here

Workshops Offered

Workshop students posing for end-of-class photo. There are 7 students. Lara is front and center. Everyone is holding their fan veils out in a pose. Some fans are held to the left, some to the right, some overhead, and some low. The fans are colorful.

Workshop Topics: Egyptian Combos, Golden Era Combos, Fan Veil, Veil, Saidi, Shaabi, Mahraganat, Khaliji, Kawliya Fusion, Kawliya Hacha’a. Stage Presence, Poetics of Performance.

Highlights: 

  • Kawliya Fusion ~ Emerald Sanctuary Bellydance Retreat (2022) & Portland OR Workshop ~ host Heather Louise (2020)

  • Stage Presence ~ Olympia WA ~ Mas Uda Dance, Kashani (2018)

  • Fan Veil Choreography ~ Victoria BC ~ host Sacred Centre Dance, Nath Keo (2016)

  • Saidi ~ Olympia WA ~ Mas Uda Dance, Kashani (2014) 

  • Fan Veil Basics ~ Tacoma WA ~ Hasani Hafla, Hasani (2012) & Charleston NC ~ host Palmetto Oasis, Nadia Pomedt (2010)

  • Elegant Arms ~ Burien WA ~ Abyssinian Twins, Kellie Basin (2008)

Click here to message me with your workshop requests.

Lara teaches Iraqi kawliya dance to intermediate students in Portland Oregon.
About 22 students pose for a photo at the end of a Saidi cane dance workshop. Lara poses front and center with a Saidi cane.

"Taking your veil class, I learned that you can use your veils to connect, sensuality and lyricism, to create an intense emotional connection, rather than use them as a prop and a distraction. I thank you!"

             ~ Lauren, Port Angeles WA