Bodies undulated, colorful veils sailed through the air and hip scarves jingled as two dozen barefoot women shook their stuff at a belly dancing workshop led by North Bend resident “Aleili” Carla Orellana at Chief Kanim Middle School.

The six-week workshop gave Valley women a chance to “get excited, let go of your troubles and worries, and come and dance together as a community,” said Orellana, who has been teaching dance and yoga for decades.

“Belly dancing is for all ages, sizes, inclinations. This is a very empowering art form. It really is to draw the community together as women – to support each other and to nourish each other,” she said.

It’s also great exercise.

“Do you know how many calories this burns off? Thousands!” Orellana shouted out to her shimmying students.

Some dancers came to add variety to their regular workouts.

“I’m always looking for a new physical challenge, and boy did I get it! I had never known that your body could move like that,” said Diana Hingston, who had been persuaded to take the class by a friend.

The movements looked different on each of the women, most of whom were beginners.

“It’s fun, but I’m a little frustrated with my lack of coordination,” said Jodie Skewis, who was trying belly dancing for the first time. She added that taking the class gave her a new appreciation for the professional dancers she liked to see perform.

Orellana told her students they should be patient with themselves as they learned.

“Give yourself six weeks, until some light goes off in your mind or your body,” she said.

While some dancers donned the type of workout clothes you’d see in any gym, others wore sultry, midriff-baring costumes that evoked images of “I Dream of Jeannie.” Most women wore ornate hip scarves that produced satisfying clinks when shaken.

It was obvious the dancers were having fun playing with their sensuality as they moved fluidly to exotic rhythms.

“I like that it’s feminine in a way that’s not very acceptable now. You can have frills and pretty movements,” Hingston said.

Orellana encouraged her students with calls to express themselves however they wanted to, and to imagine themselves as women of the earth.

“This is an ancient, ancient sacred art form,” she said. “Its origins came from teaching women how to be healthy to give birth, but it’s more than that. It brings women closer.”

Put on by Fall City Arts, the workshop concluded Monday. Orellana said she’d love to teach more Fall City classes to supplement her regular teaching schedule, which includes classes at Si View Community Center.

She also directs the Middle Eastern dance troupe Veils of the Nile, which uses swords and finger cymbals in performances all over the Seattle area.

* More information about Fall City Arts programming is available at www.fallcityarts.org. More information about Orellana and her classes is available at www.aleili.com.