Corazon del Barrio: Belly Dancing with Maya Herrera

Belly Dancing With a Latin Flavor for Fitness and Fun! is both a celebration of Middle Eastern dance and music and a call to the dancing spirit in each and every one of us.

In this class students will learn the basics of belly dancing, from slow and gentle undulations to fast pulsating rhythms. Through good posture, muscle control, body rolls, hip thrusts, shimmies and turns, students get to experience a time-tested and holistic way of keeping fit!

Class instruction is bilingual (Spanish and English) and previous experience in any sort of dance is not required. The class consists of three parts -- slow, medium and fast -- based on the speed of the different rhythms. The total duration of the class is 1.5 hrs. Students should wear comfortable clothes suitable for a workout and a scarf to be worn around the hips. Shoes are not recommended, however ballet slippers are acceptable. In addition, students can bring a yoga mat for warm-ups (optional).

Teacher Bio

Maya (aka Dannhae) began her journey into Middle Eastern dance and culture as an Egyptian-style “Raqs sharqi” dancer and performer during her teenage years with Magaña Baptiste in the mid 90’s.

Her dance studies gave her the opportunity to perform in various settings under the mentorship of Bay Area professional belly dance performer, instructor, and producer Amina Goodyear.

To expand her knowledge and appreciation of this art form Maya has also attended numerous workshops and lectures given by many other nationally and internationally known professional belly dance instructors from the United States, Europe, and Egypt. In addition, she has collaborated professionally with the renowned Bay Area Palestinian-Lebanese musician and band leader Georges Lammam in a sold out fundraising event to benefit the US-Mexico Study tour at San Francisco State University.

She has also traveled to Morocco and Egypt to continue deepening her understanding and appreciation of Middle Eastern dance, music, and culture.

Maya’s style of dance is all about listening to the body’s intuition and feeling the music to allow oneself to move and fuse with it.

A note from Maya: “I want to acknowledge the ancient wisdom and healing that comes from Middle Eastern dance and music. I am deeply appreciative of all the dance and music teachers locally and from far away who have made it possible for me to learn from them, especially the women who live in the regions where this ancient and beautiful art form originated, and who continue to nurture it. It is my hope that I can spread my love and passion for Egyptian-style belly dance with my Latinx community and beyond!”

Host or Publisher Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts