Every day at the Kexin Belly Dance Club in Shuizhuizi, Chaoyang District, young women in dazzling Turkish costumes shake their hips, roll their bellies and seductively shimmy. They are not professional dancers, but amateurs with a newfound love for belly dancing.

Growing in popularity worldwide, belly dancing has taken the capital by storm with its calorie-burning moves and exotic style.

"Belly dancing is very good both for your body and spirit," said Wen Kexin, coach and founder of the dancing club. "Every part of the body benefits from the exercise. The legs and, of course, stomach area are given particularly good workouts."

Li Yi, 25, started learning belly dancing several months ago.

"It is interesting and I burn calories without thinking about it," she said.

The first time she saw belly dancing Li was amazed by the dancers' snake-like hip movements and rhythmic shaking.

Soon after she decided to take lessons, Li found it to be much more enjoyable than being confined to a treadmill.

Though beginners may find their stomachs sore after hours of strenuous movement, "belly dancing is accessible to everybody to build self-esteem and improve their body," Ke said.

In addition to belly dancing, salsa has found a following in Beijing.

Offering more freedom in movement than other ballroom dances like waltz or tango, salsa has become particularly fashionable among white-collar professionals and young people in Beijing and Shanghai.

"You don't have to be an expert in dancing to learn salsa," said Lu Dan, the Latin dancing coach of Shang Pin Women's Club. "You can dance salsa even if you're rhythmically challenged and suffer from the 'two left feet' syndrome," she said.

The fact that salsa is easy to learn is one reason for its popularity, Lu said.

Moreover, salsa strengthens the cardiovascular system, contributes to good posture and body alignment and increases flexibility and stamina, she said.

Lu's words were affirmed by Xue Li, who experienced back and neck pain from long periods at her computer at work. Since taking up salsa, Xue said her pain has been greatly reduced.

Li Dingfei also uses salsa to alleviate work-related stress. Once the music begins, she forgets about everything but dancing, Li said. She becomes totally immersed in the rhythm and the beat.

"Once you feel confident dancing, you start feeling that people admire you and it makes you feel beautiful," she said.

Many Beijing clubs and bars offer salsa and belly dancing, with hourly prices ranging from 30 yuan for a group lesson to 100 yuan for one-on-one instruction.

Most of these dance spots are located in Chaoyang District, home to many foreigners and overseas companies.

In Haidian District, where most universities are found in Beijing, young people tend to favour classic ballroom dancing. Most of these dancers are students, teachers and IT workers.

Yang Nan frequently visits Haidian Culture and Art Mansion and Tsinghua University to attend the dancing parties and meet with her dancing friends.

"Compared with the bold sexy dances, I love the traditional ballroom dancing more," said Yang. "It is more conservative and suits my identity as a university teacher."

She has even found a partner on, and off, the dance floor.

"To find a good partner is really hard after you've been dancing for several years," she said. "After I found him, our shared interest fuelled the love in our hearts. "

Though both are amateur dancers and are often busy with their work, they squeeze in time every month to attend dancing parties.

"Dancing is the most romantic and beautiful thing in the world, " she said.

(China Daily 10/19/2006 page14)