Internationally acclaimed male belly dancer Ozgen held a brief oriental dance workshop in London extolling the virtues of oriental dancing as a great way to get fit and stay healthy.

The male belly dancer, who has travelled all over the world to take part in oriental dance displays, performed a brief dance routine and hosted a workshop designed to teach basic belly dance moves.

He teamed up with leading physiotherapist Elizabeth Sharp to demonstrate how belly dancing can also be an effective way to deal with back pain, an endemic health problem in the West that is said to affect 80% of all adults.

Mrs Sharp, who has 40 years of experience in the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions and injuries and 20 years experience working with dancers and performers, was only recently introduced to belly dancing when Ozgen hosted a workshop at her clinic in Harley Street.

She was impressed with its ability to work the deep muscles in the body’s core areas that bear the brunt of the body’s weight and actions. She described belly dancing as the Gold Standard in workouts, giving the muscles in the body’s protective corset the optimal level of strength and control.

Ozgen demonstrated the key moves of the dance, such as the shimmy and undulation, while Ms Sharp explained how these fine movements give the body a total workout, reaching and strengthening important deep muscles of the abdomen and spine.

She stressed this was “virgin territory” and that research is needed, but believes belly dancing can play an important role in combating back problems. She noted the dance is an excellent way of developing great neural control and body co-ordination and to stay healthy, on average burning up 109 calories for every 10 minutes of dancing.

Source: Dance UK