Calcutta: Egyptian classical belly dance is beginning to makes its presence felt in the land of Bihu.

Laasya School of Belly Dance and Rhythmix International Dance Studio collaborated to host a belly dance bootcamp in Guwahati recently. The bootcamp, conducted by Aakriti Prasad, artistic head/founder of Laasya School, was held at the Rhythmix International Dance Studio from March 5 to 9, with workshops spread over 10 hours.

Laasya School of Belly Dance is the first and only belly dance school in the eastern region with branches in Calcutta, Bhubaneswar, Jharsugua and the Northeast. It is co-founded by Aakriti and Shanelle D'Souza.

The bootcamp was organised in collaboration with Ajay Roy, artistic director and founder, and Binita Das, managing director and co-founder of Rhythmix.

"This is one of the first workshops of its kind in Assam. We are hoping belly dance as a form will make inroads in the Northeast. Young and old alike have shown interest in learning the form," said Roy.

There were more than 20 participants in the intensive bootcamp, focusing on a basic beginners module of Egyptian classical belly dance.

"It was heartening to see that the age group of the participants varied between six and 40 years. Students, working women, housewives participated and learnt about body awareness, movement, music and choreography," Aakriti said.

"Every day, they shared their interest in belly dance, their own inhibitions that they had before starting and how they felt after the workshop," she added.

"Belly dance is an extremely sought after dance style in India right now. People have seen this dance style on television and are accepting it as an art discipline as well as a fun regime. Professional dancers want to learn it to add to their repertoire and fusion experimentation, youngsters look up to it as a training. Many people here were excited to give it a try," said the dancer.

A participant in the workshop said, "She made the experience such fun. I liked the way she broke down techniques and simplified them for us. I am looking forward to more such workshops as I love how the dance makes me feel -feminine and in control of my body. "