North Norfolk Bellydance

North Norfolk belly dance is also known as North Walsham Dance. Started and very ably run by Jane Barrett (right), from small beginnings this belly dancing hub is going from strength to strength.

Jane has really done us proud and continues to do so. She has organised classes taught by a variety of teachers from within Norfolk and beyond, along with some large events such as workshop and hafla weekends including some of the big names in the Arabic dance world. Never afraid to try something new and adventurous, we have enjoyed weekends with Maria D'Silva, Nikki Livermore and John Slieman, and Hossam and Serena Ramzy.

Jane has put North Walsham on the map of the Eastern England bellydance community. She is a forthright but essentially modest woman and is loath to take credit for her achievements, but everyone involved in Egyptian Dance in North Norfolk appreciates how much she has, and still does, put into it.

Dianne, along with a number of others, notably members of the Eceni Tribal Bellydance troupe, helps Jane wherever possible and has written a number of articles (reproduced on this site) about the workshops and haflas, previously published in Mosaic, a national belly dance magazine.

Until recently Tessa Kirkpatrick from Norwich was our regular class belly dance teacher at North Walsham. She has an energetic, experimental and innovative style and is always cheerful (how does she do it?) Tessa has taken a step back from teaching us from last year onwards as she has other commitments. We wish her well.

We are now taught by a variety of teachers including Lorraine Theobald, Helen Hymans, Jane Webster, Bridget Warns and Pauline Shreeve. Juliet Harrison is still a part of our belly dance scene and she has taught the occasional class or workshop, although currently she is incredibly busy and her dancing is taking a back seat in favour of career priorities.

It might actually be said that "The Sisters are Doing It for Themselves" to some degree now, as some members of the advanced/improvers class are now doing choreographies to teach to us all with the intention of performing at our haflas, notably Sharon and Frances who are also members of the local Eceni Tribal Dance Group.

At the core of North Norfolk bellydance are the belly dance classes which take place on Monday nights during term time at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church Hall in North Walsham.

Jane

Dianne Davies

Tessa Kirkpatrick

Sharon

Sharon with Frances of "Eceni"

It all started on 2nd June 2003 when Jane joined a six-week course at the Sacred Heart Church Hall, taught by Juliet Harrison. Jane caught the belly dancing bug! Juliet was also teaching a large belly dancing class at the local Paston College. Unfortunately after a year or so Juliet began to feel the need to stretch herself, career-wise, (in her "day job") and she wanted to take on new and different challenges.

When Juliet decided that she was unable to continue taking the class, it was Jane Barrett who had the idea to write down everyone's contact details in case other teachers could be organised. In Jane's own words "Somewhat to my surprise, this simple action immediately elevated me to Being In Charge!".

Interest in belly dance in the North Norfolk area continued to rise at this point and the group continued to meet. The numbers swelled to such a degree that Jane realised the group could afford to pay teachers to come from Norwich to teach the keen belly dancers. Teachers such as Jane Webster, Jane Erens, Helen Cummins (Hymans), Tessa Kirkpatrick and Nik Ravenscroft.

tremendous! And so, in September 2005, Jane was able to start up a new Beginners' class, and with the increased numbers, we could afford to pay a teacher every single week. So, the group, as it now is, has been in existence for three and a half years.

Juliet

Jane (third from left) with the Carnival Procession Group 2006.

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The biggest breakthrough came after a group of ladies had paraded through the streets, with the North Walsham Carnival, handing out flyers: the response was

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Jane

Click on the "Play" button below to play the BBC Radio Norfolk interview which Jane and Dianne did on 13th March 2008:

Dianne Davies, pictured left and right is the webmaster (mistress?) of this site along with her husband Ray, of smallbusinesswebsiteservices.co.uk

Dianne has a life-long love of dance and was involved in the late Phyllis Greene Morgan's Dancercise movement in London in the 1980s. Returning to the North of England, whence she originated, she learned to belly dance in Yorkshire and Lancashire from Chris Ogden and Anne Kingston. "I can't imagine doing any other type of dance now, I love Egyptian dance so much, it's in my soul".