I thought I was in shape. Between the hundreds of hours at roller derby practice and the pylometrics, I figured there weren't any muscles I didn't know I had. And then, I took a belly dance lesson at the Mid-South World Dance Center. My butt may never be the same. The lesson was led by Liz DiMaggio, the head instructor / troupe leader of Memphis Raqs, a tribal fusion belly dance group. She's really, really good - her movements are graceful and serene, and she always looks like she's having a blast. I, on the other hand, have all of the grace of a poorly programmed robot. The lesson started off fairly easy - Liz led the three of us in the class through isolated hip bumps, some basic arm movements, and a four-point turn. When it was time to put all of those moves together, I struggled a little bit. Belly dancing is based on isolated movements, and I had a hard time getting my hips to bump properly while walking. But that's not the point. Belly dancing is about acceptance - while I was struggling to move my ribs side to side without moving my shoulders, no one judged me. When my hips were moving one way and my legs were going another, Liz gently encouraged me and offered suggestions. It's also a killer workout - I'm feeling last night's class in my hips, thighs, obliques, and arms. If you want to dance, Memphis Raqs offers classes for all levels every week. They aren't expensive - $15 per drop-in class, or $48 for four classes. Or, you can stop by the MidSouth World Dance Center's grand opening on Saturday, June 12. They're going to have a day full of free classes in belly dance, salsa, zumba, hula hooping, tango and yoga. Go There: MidSouth World Dance Center