Classes & Workshops

Beginning Bellydance

A group of dancers enjoy beginning belly dance class. They are dressed in casual motion wear. They are standing with their hands at their heads. They are about to start the basic Egyptian step-touch step.

If you want to learn how to bellydance, you've landed in the right place. In this class we’ll learn the fundamental movement vocabulary that will help you get started on your own bellydance journey!

Classes are held at Levity Loft in Historic Downtown Oly WA. Purchase your class pass at EventBrite.

Classes run Wednesdays, from 6:30 to 7:30. The purchase of a 4-week pass will be good for 6 weeks.

Let me know if you would like to attend online via Zoom, as we have that option.

No refunds. One-time transfer to family or friend offered.

Intermediate/Adv Raqs Sharqi

Lara bellydances with two of her students. They are wrapped in veils that will turn into a fan veil dance.

Join me for further explorations of Raqs Sharqi and other folkloric dances of the Arabic world! (Permission to join this level is required) 

Warm Ups - We'll warm up with a follow-along, improvised dance to get our bodies going. Then we'll stretch. I'll likely throw in other folkloric MENAT (Middle East, North African, Turkish) dances during warm ups. And I'll probably share nerdy facts along the way! 

​What We'll Do - Push our dance skills further via drills, combinations and cultural/historical studies. There's SOOOO much to do! We'll listen and dance to both classical and contemporary Arabic music. We'll cover both classical and contemporary movement styles. We may shift through master studies of various Egyptian/Arabic bellydance legends. We may shift through various props/specializations such as veil, cane, sword, zills, tray, floorwork etc. And I'm always open to hearing about what students are interested in focusing on! 

​Classes run Wednesday evening from 7:30 to 8:30pm pst. All classes offered in person and online. Classes are ongoing.

Purchase your 4-class pass in class with cash or check, or online via EventBrite. Four-class passes must be renewed after 6 weeks.

Workshops Offered

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.
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)