Issue date: 7/13/05 Section: News

Media Credit: Ravi Garach Courtney "Kalia" Searcey (left) and Cristalle "Zara" Martin present a belly dance performance with their group at Fitzwilly´s on Tuesday night.

Some Texas A&M students are willing to go a long way to find a creative outlet. Through classes at the Student Recreation Center, gyms and the Texas A&M University Belly Dance Association, students are finding that outlet.

"We'd been dancing with a group called the Brazos Valley Belly Dance Association," said Cristalle Martin, a third-year student in the College of Veterinary Medicine and president of the association. "I took some belly dance classes at the Rec, and there were a bunch of people who were interested. We started the organization to provide an opportunity to practice on campus and perform occasionally."

The club promotes itself mostly by spoken advertising, said Courtney Searcey, a senior cellular and molecular biology major and the organization's secretary.

"People will hear about us and ask us to perform," Searcey said. "It's kind of a word-of-mouth thing."

Searcey said she heard about the organization herself through word-of-mouth.

"They danced at the MSC Open House in the spring, and one of my friends saw them and knew that I had danced in the past and was looking to dance again," Searcey said. "I hadn't heard about them until the spring."

Searcey said belly dancing was a return to an activity she had participated in since she was very young.

"I started dancing when I was 13 in Dallas and quit during high school for other extracurricular activities, so when I got down here and heard about the association, it was an opportunity to dance," Searcey said. "I guess it was a chance to perform again, good exercise and fun girls."

Katie Sproull, a fourth-year student in the College of Veterinary Medicine, said she had danced before and that belly dancing was a new twist on a familiar activity.

"I had danced other types of dance, so I enjoy other types of dance as well," Sproull said. "I started taking classes at the Rec Center last August and then I heard about the organization around January."

Martin, who is also the president of the Brazos Valley Belly Dance Association and teaches belly dance lessons through the city of College Station, said the club's mission includes more than just dancing.

"The main goal is just to provide students, faculty and staff a community so that they can belly dance or learn about the form of dance and come express their creativity," Martin said.

Martin said she enjoys the feeling of community that she's getting from the organization.

"I enjoy having a chance to meet other people that are interested in belly dancing because there's such a wide range of different types of dancing," Martin said.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools