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The workshop titles did it for me. I had to find out what Indian Bollywood Hip Hop, Kama Sutra Kitchen and Funky Egyptian Combos were all about. So this year, I spent Memorial Day weekend at the Bellydancers of Color Association’s (BOCA) conference. Bellydancing is fast becoming a national phenomenon. Amazon.com sells over 80 exercise and instructional DVDs. Bacardi commercials feature a hip-drop as a signature move for its version of the mojito. And comedian Margaret Cho has her own line of bellydance gear. As bellydancing’s U. S. popularity grows, BOCA’s objective is to ensure that women of color are recognized and included in its success. Founding troupe, the D.C.-based Moor Hips, has for two years focused on creating a conference that educates participants about the history of the dance, as well as teaches some fancy moves.

"Creating BOCA was the first goal, because I saw that there was a need to create a support system for women-of-color bellydancers," says Sunyatta Amen, BOCA executive director. "I’ve been to many bellydance conferences over the years, bringing 30 or more Black and Hispanic women, as well as lots of money to these events. And they would look at us like, ‘Why are you here, your entrance is around back.’" Amen was intent on creating a space where women of color felt welcomed and embraced, as well as challenging how bellydance was depicted. Some of the information at these events was historically and culturally inaccurate, according to Amen, with leanings toward Eurocentrism and xenophobia. "There were women teaching West African bellydance fusion saying things like, ‘Putting your leg up like this is called the dog-pee.’ They described West African and Gambian dances, which they would add their own moves to, in insulting ways."

BOCA’s historical perspective attracted women like Njideka Enenogu, a Nigerian dancer who lives in Westchester, New York. "When people think of African dance, they only associate it with West African Dance. There is nothing wrong with West African Dance, but that’s not the only dance form of the continent. There is bellydance in my country, too. The Tivs tribe of Nigeria does a form of bellydance that is beautiful."

She argues that a dancer’s desire to move to a different beat must be balanced with the knowledge of where the beat originates.

In BOCA’s workshops, you can jiggle your way through the Ethiopian Shoulder Dance, learn the origins and movements of Moroccan and Tunisian bellydance, or practice fibroid-fighting figure eights with your hips. Amen, who is a naturopathic physician, says that the mixture of health-oriented workshops was intentional. "My focus is really holistic living. Movement and diet are part of a healthy lifestyle."

Positive Pat, a dancer from Capitol Heights, Maryland, agrees. "I bellydance because it’s good exercise. Because of my age I don’t want to stop moving, especially because I have problems with my knees." The health benefits of bellydancing don’t stop there. It is no accident that there are many similarities between the Lamaze birthing technique and bellydance. For centuries, Arab and African women used dance as a ritual to assist mothers through childbirth. "Bellydance is a celebration of the work that women do to get children out in the world. In my group, we have danced at each child’s birth and helped the mother move and breath through the birth process," says Amen.

Bellydance has helped many women of color address issues around body image. "A lot of young women don’t like their bodies," reflects Elva Anderson-McFee of Washington D.C. "That’s why my two daughters, ages 2 and 4, are taking classes this year, so that they understand that there is power in knowing your body and that it’s okay that bodies come in all shapes and sizes. Plus you need a belly to bellydance!"