Rich-Joseph Facun/THE POST Ohio University freshman Sarah Slate practices a form of the belly dance drop as her friend Liesel Ramsey helps her keep her balance. A belly dance class was held at the Ping Center as part of its Friday Night Free-For-All.

Grooving to the modern tunes of Erikah Badu, 30 women gathered Friday to discover the flowing moves of belly dancing by participating in a female tradition stemming from Middle East harem times.

The Ping Center's Friday Night Free-For-All offered this program taught by students Angie Zugay and Elizabeth Nickell, who have taken the Ohio University belly dancing class.

"I think belly dancing is a very beautiful form of dance because there are no guidelines," Zugay said. "It's what you feel you want to do and what you want to express."

Belly dancing arose from the harems in the Middle East, said Hilary Pyers, OU belly dancing instructor. Harems are quarters that house three to five women who all were married to one man.

Since there was such a high ratio of women to men, the women would have spare time. In this time they would dance together and try to outdo each other.

"It became a significant bonding time," Pyers said.

Adapted forms of these dances are prominent in dance clubs all over the world, but belly dancing is not something to be displayed to everyone. There is a basic rule that involves the object of the belly dance.

"Women traditionally belly dance first for themselves, practicing different moves in front of the mirror, for their own enjoyment," Zugay said. "Next they dance with other women just having fun together. Finally they dance for their significant other."

The basic belly dance technique is isolated in two areas of the body, the ribs and the hips.

"The most important part of learning the belly dancing technique is not to move the hips when you are moving your ribs and not to move your ribs when you are doing hip movements," Nickell said.

The moves vary from basic sways to figure eights and the "hip flick." There are also accessory arm movements, special walks and drops.

"It changes the way you dance," Nickell said. "You'll find yourself moving more fluidly and doing things that you've never done before."

Students in the class found belly dancing to be enlightening, too.

"I've done a lot of Latin dancing, and belly dancing is something that I have always wanted to do," senior Brandi Bette Staley said. "It is total body expression."