Belly dancers give lesson at SRSC

Ioana Popa's red sash and belt of tiny bells swished quickly and smoothly as she danced barefoot to the exotic Persian music. The room stared in awe as all tried to emulate her captivating ethnic dance.\nErica Martinez, along with 7 other female students looking for cultural flavor, tried to make Popa's smooth moves their own at a belly dance class Sunday night at the Student Recreational Sports Center. The class, sponsored by the Persian Student Association, is one of many cultural activities sponsored by the International Services Center.\n"I came for a little culture and to add to my dance moves, like I have some," Martinez said.\nPopa revealed that the secret to belly dancing is in the hips. \n"I wanted to let people know that they can belly dance. You don't need choreography; it should represent your personal style," Popa said.\nShe taught students a variety of moves in the hour-long lesson. Students learned to swivel their hips in figure eights, shimmy their shoulders and frame their bodies with their arms and hands.\nThe students were tentative at first, but by the end of the lesson the girls let go of their inhibitions and boogied to the Persian and Romanian belly dance music. The students tried on Popa's authentic sash and bells to get a taste of a belly dancer's attire.\n"You put yourself into it, make it natural," Popa said.\nPopa, a native Romanian and freshman at IU, started belly dancing at age 14. She learned her first moves from watching TV in Romania.\n"Belly dancing is very sexy, the rhythms attract me," Popa said.\nPopa usually teaches private lessons; this was her first time to teach an organized public lesson.\nAside from Popa and the belly dance students, three officers of the Persian Student Association attended the lesson. The belly dance lesson was one of the club's weekly activities, which aim at uniting Persians, who come from modern-day Iran.\n"We try to get Persians together to learn about our culture," said Ben Jafari, the club's president.\nThis is the club's first semester on IU's campus. The majority of the club's 40 members grew up in America. About 40 percent of the club's members are native Iranians.\n"I knew there were many Persians on campus, and I wanted all of us to get together. I started the PSO by calling friends to spread the word around," Jafari said. "It was only about five of us in the first meeting, now we have at least 40 members."\nIn addition to meetings and weekly activities, the Persian Student Association members like to get together and go to movies, parties and dancing.\n"We're young, we're growing, and we're looking for members," Jafari said.\nTo join Popa for her next belly dance lesson, e-mail her at ipopasim@indiana.edu.\nFor more information about the Persian Student Union, contact Ben Jafari at bjafari@indiana.edu, or visit the Web site at php.indiana.edu/~sfahr/pso/.