Cara B. is a belly dancer from London, UK. Only 25 years old Cara managed to have her own belly dance school, where she teaches interested people how to move and how to open up for something new. In our interview Cara speaks about her background and her never ending passion for dancing.

KIKA: Cara, for how long have you been doing belly dancing?

CARA: Since I was a little girl – some of my family are from Algeria and Spain, so my family would always be dancing. I decided to begin training professionally when I was 16.


Where did you learn? Who was your teacher?

My first teachers were my Aunty and my Mum. After that I learnt from some amazing teachers here in the UK: Hazel Kayes, Karine Butchart and Wendy Buonaventura.

To have a hobby is one thing, but what was the turning point in your life, the moment you decided to make belly dancing your profession?

When I was 18 many of my friends began to ask me to teach them. So I went to my teachers and turned to them for guidance. After that I formed social groups to dance together as a hobby. As I got older I realised how much I loved to teach and so I decided to train as a Belly Dance teacher.
Performance of Belly Dancing is something I’ve always done, although my first public performance was so scary! Luckily my Mum was on stage with me so that definitely helped.
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Did you travel as well, to study some traditional movements and styles?


Yes, I have traveled to Egypt and Turkey to study Belly Dance. I try to visit these countries as much as possible to learn the authentic styles, although we have many wonderful teachers in this country, too, which saves one buying a plane ticket!
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How important is self confidence to progress?


It’s OK at first to have no confidence, Belly Dance will help you to find yourself and grow as a person. To become comfortable in your own skin.
To teach you do need to have confidence in what you are showing your students. You need to be approachable, friendly and enthusiastic. It can take a lot of energy!
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You are dancing for audiences, what was the nicest show in your career?


There are a few! One was last year, when I saw my students dance a very difficult choreography, which I had written for a big show – they looked amazing and I was so proud to dance with them.
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Another one was at a private party in a mansion! It was such a huge house, and I was told to dance around the garden whilst colourful lights shone on me. It was so funny, but everyone was really kind and I had so much fun!
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Cara, you are only 25 but you have a dance school, the Belly Dance School. How could you realize this?


My dance school is a concept I built up with my partner Eddie. I teach in a way that is easy to understand but still challenging. Every one is welcome. It has taken dedication and help from many family members and friends, but I hope the business will continue to grow and be a success.
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Did you need to modernize belly dancing for our times?


Sometimes, yes! Especially for complete beginners, it is nice to make Belly Dance accessible to everyone. The music we use tends to be Middle Eastern which sounds different to Western music, so I try to incorporate Western beats too.
I often fuse Belly Dance moves with Spanish dance and even Ballet, Jazz and Hip Hop. If it can work for Shakira, it can work for us!
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However, I do like to teach the importance of the more traditional styles – Belly Dance is SO varied, there are many different styles to dance, you can never be bored, be it traditional or not.
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Can you live from dancing?

You can, although most teachers have another job, too. It’s very physical so it’s up to you how much you do. It takes time to get a good number of students attending classes, and I’m sure the recent economic recession has affected many of us! But like any other business, you can make a living from dancing, you just have to work hard on it!
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How often do you train?


I train several times a week, either for personal development or just for fun. I also continue to study the dance as much as I can – I believe we are always students, as there is so much to learn.
Currently I am on a professional dancers course taught by the legendary Hossam and Serena Ramzy. I have to learn how to play the instruments I dance to, which is very challenging!
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Many young women are studying different kind of dances. What is your advice for them, not to give up on the long way?


If your passion is dancing, then don’t ever stop! Be the best YOU can be, not what others think you should be. Don’t be afraid to go your own way and make dance movement your own, that will help you stand out from the crowd and be happier by being truer to yourself.
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I admire your costumes. Where can you get these?


I get most of my costumes from Sim Moda Evi in Istanbul. They are made to measure and the best quality you’ll find (in my opinion!). The people who work there are such lovely people, who are my good friends too.
I also love Egyptian style dance costumes, some famous designers in Cairo are Eman Zaki, Hannan, Hallah Moustafa and Pharaonix amongst others.

What are the women looking for, when they enter your courses?

Some want to lose weight and keep fit, some want to learn something new and exciting, and others just want a place where they can be social and have a giggle with other ladies. Most women join feeling unsure about the dance, and end up staying with me for years, I am proud to say that several of my students are now teachers too.
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Are men nowadays studying belly-dance, too?

Men have always performed Belly Dance – in fact it looks amazing to see male Middle Eastern dance, it’s very masculine (in many cases), and an experience I highly recommend. Some of the best teachers I’ve learnt with are male, and I’d encourage any man reading this who wants to try it to give it a go!
Many classes are women only, out of respect for female comfort and even religious reasons. But don’t give up, guys! Plenty of classes do accept mixed students, so contact the teacher first to find out.
Personally, I try to respect everyone’s space, and I teach women only classes AND mixed, so everyone is welcome.
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Cara, you produced a “How To” DVD for people to study at home. Does it really work? How can it work?

I’m lucky that my partner is a TV editor, so he helped me to film and produce the DVD. It guides the viewer through the core movements needed in beginning Belly Dance, it also includes a practise session and an entire dance routine to learn too!
It’s done in a way so you can learn on your own or with friends, and you can watch it at your convenience. You can go at your own pace, and rewind anything you don’t understand!

It has been so popular, four more DVDs have now been commissioned, and two of them will be released later this year. I’m very excited about this!

Cara, thank you so much for your time and words!

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Belly Dance School, LONDON

Introduction of Cara’s DVD