Belly dance to raise funds

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THE story of Shahrizat, the princess who married the Persian King and escapes execution for 1,001 nights using her story-telling techniques will be narrated with a twist through a belly dance show end of this month.

With the aim to raise funds for Pride Foundation, The Middle East Dance Academy and the Coronade Hotel, Bukit Bintang are organising a belly dance charity concert, The Pink Hafla.

Pride Foundation advisor Nasirah Aris said the proceeds would help them in their ongoing empowerment and support programmes for breast cancer survivors as well as spreading public awareness on the importance of education, early detection and treatment for breast cancer.

Expect a colourful dance: Nanccy (centre) with her students who will be performing in ‘The Pink Hafla’.

“Some of our projects include pairing one survivor with another lady to share experiences and grooming breast cancer survivors to do the catwalk in a fashion show at our gala dinner.

“These activities boost the self-confidence of breast cancer survivors to make them realise that life goes on as normal or gets even better. It all depends on what we make out of the experience.

“We try to expose them to different kinds of activities and have in the past conducted sporting activities like climbing Mount Kinabalu, sailing a yacht and even professional dance classes, which proved to be very beneficial in making them believe that they still can conquer or master different fields,” she said in an interview at the headquarters in Petaling Jaya.

Pride Foundation trustee Salwah Abdul Shukor said belly dance complemented well with their objectives as it would send the message to all women to be comfortable and confident in their own skin.

“Most women associate womanhood with their hair and breasts, therefore losing a breast will be like stripping of their womanhood.

“The message that we want to send to all women is that there is life beyond the physical self, and confidence is what you work out for yourself,” she said, adding that a woman was not what people saw in the magazines.

Middle East Dance Academy principal Nanccy Bakhshy said about 50 of her students would be participating.

“All ages and sizes can do the belly dance because it is all about feeling sensuous like a woman. Excuses like I have given birth, I am fat and have cellulite do not apply. I am a mother and I have all that, but my daughters can not match up to me in belly dance, yet!” said Nanccy.

The Pink Hafla will be held on Oct 29 at 7.30pm at the Makan Makan Restaurant, The Coronade Hotel Kuala Lumpur. Tickets are priced at RM150, which includes dinner, belly dance show and one month belly dance classes at the Middle East Dance Academy, while the RM200 ticket includes an additional mammogramme or breast ultrasound and the RM250 ticket includes an extra tummy detox treatment.