With the jingle of bell-fringed hip scarves and the clanging of zills melding with modern Arabian music, exotic sounds filled Tina Taylor's belly dancing classroom Tuesday morning.

Eight women, diaphanous veils in hand, gathered at Timberhill Athletic Club to learn to move their hips, twirl their scarves and tap into their creative sides, all while getting a good workout.

"The idea is you want to focus on making one part of your body move at a time, and everything else is as still as it can be," Taylor instructed, demonstrating how to alternate rolling the arms and the hips in a grapevine step.

The women danced across the room in a long line, watching their shoulders shimmy in the wall of mirrors facing them.

Taylor, who dances under the name Levanah, a Hebrew word referring to the feminine aspects of the moon, told the class that belly dancing is actually more about hip action than stomach movement.

Taylor started belly dancing 30 years ago. "I was a tap dancer. I got tired of just moving my feet. I said, ‘There is more to dance and more to my body,'" she explained.

She believes belly dancing provides an excellent workout, especially for the arms and the quadriceps. It also helps with muscle coordination and increases flexibility in the torso, she added.

In Tuesday's class, Taylor stressed isolation of movement and good, open posture.

"Tailbones dropped, and lifted hearts," she urged the students, as they all sat in a circle practicing head movements.

With their arms lifted high, hands together forming a triangle with the palms facing outward, the women created frames for their faces. They learned to trace their chins in a circle to create a round movement, and to shift their ears from elbow to elbow for a side-to-side head motion.

"It's good. Hard, but good. It's fun," said first-time belly dancer Christine Dunn. "I'm retired from Hewlett-Packard, and I'm doing things I always wanted to do but never had the time to."

Angie Greenwood has taken belly dancing classes before and was excited for more instruction.

"It's something different. You move in different ways, you make different sounds. It's fun to be outside of your ordinary," Greenwood said. "The thing that I really love about it is it's all about women — all different shapes, sizes and ages. It's all about empowering women to move in ways that are uniquely feminine."

Reporter Mary Ann Albright can be reached at maryann.albright@lee.net or 758-9518.

SO YOU WANT TO DANCE?

Here are some local places to learn the ancient art of belly dancing:

• Corvallis Bellydance Performance Guild - This non-profit organization, founded in 1989, is always looking for new members. The group meets the first Thursday of every month at 8 p.m. in the basement of the Corvallis Arts Center. It performs every Wednesday at 8 p.m. in the Old World Deli. Membership costs $10 per year. For more information, see the guild's Web site at www.corvallisbellydance.org.

• Corvallis Fitness Center - Siobhan VanLanen, licensed massage therapist and certified yoga instructor, offers a six-week course for beginners. The classes cost $50, and rates can be adjusted to accommodate late registrations. The class meets from 7 to 8:15 p.m. on Fridays through Nov. 18. For more information, call 757-1983 or go online to www.siobhan.ws/music.

• Linn-Benton Community College Benton Center - Janie Fisher teaches beginning belly dance Tuesdays from 7:45 to 9:05 p.m. The courses began Sept. 27. Fisher also offers an intermediate class Thursdays from 7 to 8:20 p.m. that began Sept. 29. Both are 10-week classes, and cost $45.

• Majestic Theatre - Corvallis Parks and Recreation Department offers classes. The group meets Tuesday evenings. Beginning classes run from 7 to 8:15 p.m., and intermediate lessons begin at 8:15 and end at 9:30. The eight-week courses started Sept. 20 and go through Nov. 8. Belly dancing will be offered again Jan. 17 through March 7. Each series costs $50 for city residents and $63 for non-residents. For more information, call 766-6918.

• Oregon State University - Dixon Recreation Center holds a belly dance class Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. Classes began Sept. 26. The series costs $45 for members and $65 for non-members. For more information, call 737-3736.

• Timberhill Athletic Club - Tina Taylor offers an eight-week course. Classes meet from 10:15 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesdays Nov. 22. The series costs $50 for Timberhill members, and $60 for non-members, and rates can be adjusted to accommodate late registrations. For more information, call 753-2255 or see www.heartandsoulwellness.net.