My Journey as a Belly Dancer

by Elizabeth Gordon

“My Journey as a Belly Dancer” is Elizabeth’s true story that delves into the glitz and dangers of a world she found herself caught up in, when she began dancing in a Turkish Cypriot restaurant in London and shares her story with you in this enlightening book.

“I left Barristers’ Chambers in the Temple, after a broken relationship with one of the members there before temping with a Legal Secretarial Agency where I worked for a variety of Solicitors in the centre of London.

“I went on holiday to Morocco with my friend Colin, and on the last night of our stay, we wined and dined in a luxurious hotel in Agadir. Whilst listening to a 30-piece orchestra playing Arabic melodies, a beautiful belly dancer wearing a pale blue costume suddenly appeared and as I watched in awe how she synchronised the movements of her body with the music, I felt the strange sense of deja vu. It only lasted a split second or two but powerful enough to make me believe I would be in her place one day.

“On my return to work back in the UK, I was handed a Ms London magazine at Chancery Lane tube and whilst flicking through the pages in my lunch hour, was surprised to see the tiniest of adverts displaying ‘Belly Dancing Classes’ in Holborn and I bravely signed up for the evening course.

“I did not find the movements easy to learn at first, especially whilst playing the finger symbols at the same time but the most difficult part of the dance was learning the music well enough to be able to express my own choreography with the Arabic melodies.

“A year later, fate guided me towards my first audition at a Turkish Cypriot restaurant in London where the owner showed me the ropes. I learnt how to make a lot of my own costumes and stayed loyal with that particular restaurant for 10 years. The owner was divorcing his wife in Cyprus at the time and his son from the age of 11 to 15yrs would come into the dressing room and ask me lots of questions about my costumes and watch me do the show.

“Whilst there, I became professional and danced in numerous Clubs, Tavernas and Restaurants in and around London at night as a Belly Dancer, whilst still managing to keep my job as a legal secretary during the day.

“Many years later someone from my past tracked me down saying he has such fond memories of me, but I was very apprehensive about meeting him after such a long absence, because he had become a top famous celebrity, and I wondered whether he would still have the same feelings for me after all these years.”

Read this fascinating, insightful and compelling tale. Troubador Publishing Ltd Order: All bookshops and Waterstones. Online - Amazon. AbeBooks and Book Depository