When I turned 17, I wanted just one thing for my birthday: belly-dancing classes. The dance's beauty, grace and creative costumes, along with its strong connection to Arabic music, made it a natural ...

With easy precision, Kelly Ferguson mimics her instructor's movements in unison with verbal cues. She bends one knee slightly, then the other, her hands by her side with palms parallel to the floor.

Despite getting a teaching degree to appease her mother, Sherry Brier never saw herself as being a teacher. But when the Tiburon resident stumbled upon a belly dance troupe performing at a summer fair ...