Brenda McFarlane, left, gives bellydancing instructions to Susan Lewis.When most people think of belly dancing, they imagine a seductive dance by an exotic young beauty. What most people don’t imagine is an older woman with salt-and-pepper hair being able to swivel her hips better than most 20-year-olds!

Alamo Heights resident Susan Lewis has been belly dancing with instructor Brenda McFarlane since 1999, when McFarlane offered belly dancing classes as part of the aerobics program at Purely Physical before she opened her own studio.

Originally, Lewis began belly dancing as a fun addition to her overall fitness program. After a few classes, she became hooked and eventually began taking classes with McFarlane three times a week. She found that belly dancing helped tone her arms and her core.

“For years, I had been doing step class and aerobics and all that,” Lewis said. “Belly dancing did make a difference in my overall fitness. My body shape went back to a more youthful shape than I had at that time. Belly dancing is deceptively aerobic.”

McFarlane was originally wary of belly dancing because of the heavy sexuality some belly dancers portray. After studying in Los Angeles with many performers, including the famous belly dance twins Neena and Veena, McFarlane began to teach on her own in San Antonio. She created a form of belly dance from several different styles, particularly the Egyptian style of belly dance.

“There’s a big difference between exotic and erotic,” McFarlane said. “It’s trying to dispel the myth that belly dancing is just to entertain men.

Back in the day, when the sexes were segregated, women entertained each other by dancing. Students are introduced to an elegant form of dance. It’s more folkloric, or gypsy.”

Lewis says that belly dancing is more about sensuality than sexuality and is appropriate for all ages. McFarlane even offers a children’s class for young girls 8 years old and up.

“Sensuality … it’s a style that comes from within,” McFarlane said. “It could be the way someone is standing from behind, a gesture. Sensuality and confidence go hand in hand; it’s a form of self assurance. It’s a beautiful way to get exposure to what’s beautiful and elegant. It’s not about being revealing, but that the movement is fluid and beautiful.”

Inadvertently, Lewis’s presence in class and performances has made many women feel at ease. Lewis performs with McFarlane’s dance troupe, and often sees many surprised reactions when she steps on stage. She often helps other students in class, and has become a role model to many women.

“She just wants people to know we all look different,” McFarlane said. “It’s for people of all different sizes, different ages. Sometimes people are surprised I have a pediatrician, a speech therapist in my dance troupe; they’re just everyday people. I want to dispel the myth that if you’re not thin or an exotic woman, that you can’t belly dance. People have this perception because of what they see on TV, you have to look a certain way, and that’s not true.”

While Lewis doesn’t consider herself a role model, she does hope that her presence at performances helps encourage women to take up belly dancing.

“What bothers me is if I get the feeling a woman has stopped taking classes because she is somehow embarrassed about her own body shape in comparison to other women,” Lewis said. “I don’t like to see that, where someone just doesn’t feel good because they’re not a size 2. If there’s some way I can tell women: ‘It’s OK if you’re over 20 and not a size 2 to get involved in something that makes you feel good and you have fun with it.’”

For those interested in belly dancing, just remember to take it slowly and persevere. McFarlane and Lewis say many people get frustrated by the movements and quit before they have time to really learn.

“You just can’t walk in and do one class and expect to catch it,” Lewis said. “What’s so great about the way Brenda teaches is the class is so much fun. An hour can be gone before you realize you spent an hour working out, because you spent an hour laughing with one another, never at one another. And before you realize it, you’ve learned a whole bunch without thinking.”

For more information about belly dancing, call Brenda McFarlane at Little Egypt Dance Studios at 410-3609.