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Getting in touch with the inner dancer

Ex-Whistlerite returns to teach Zumba, Funky Belly Dance, Pussycat Funk, Vintage Burlesque and Booty Shake 'n' Grind

What: Dance classes

When: Saturday, July 24, Sunday, July 25 & Tuesday, July 27

Where: Meadow Park Sports Centre

Cost: $40/class; discounted rate for multiple classes

Leave your ballet slippers home this weekend, ladies: belly dancing is all about getting back to the basics.

"You don't have to be little or skinny. In fact, if you've got a little bit extra, it works better for you!" Bec Webb giggled. "It's all about shaking it, really!"

Webb started dancing relatively late in life. She was inspired to learn to dance at age 21, after seeing a Shakira music video.

"I was like, 'oh, wow, I want to be able to dance like that!'" she recalled.

"I read an article about her and it said she had done belly dancing since she was little, and I was like, 'that's it!'"

So, she started belly dancing immediately, learned some basic moves to use at the bar. Soon she was obsessed.

"At the time, I was at university studying psychology and sociology and stuff and if someone had said, 'You'll be a full-time dancer' I would have thought they were on glue or something."

Today, she is a full-time performer and dance teacher, doing about 10 shows and 15 classes per week.

Webb is from Melbourne. Like every second Australian (seemingly), she lived in Whistler for a few seasons with an ex who loved to ski.

"He wanted to ski a season and me being a dancer, I wanted to have a shot at go-go dancing at Tommy's," she explained.

They'd done their research - Whistler had the nightlife scene to complement the on-piste fun.

"We went there because of that, because I'm not really a snow bunny at all."

She found herself working as head go-go dancer at Maxx Fish, which led to some very memorable nights.

"There was this one night where it was the middle of summer and it was really, really warm and the air conditioners broke and my girl, Vanessa - she was my dancer with me at the time - we looked across at each other and we were like melting, sweat pouring off us and the whole club was packed... It was like a circus: the bartenders used to blow fire, and he was doing that, we were dancing and the music was going off and then one of the bartenders, because it was so hot, started spraying the whole crowd with the water gun down from behind the bar."

Webb also wanted to keep learning and pushing herself to improve, but discovered that there weren't any dance classes being offered, at least, not the type of dance she was interested in practicing.

"They're very different styles from what Whistler currently offers. When I got there, it was just hip hop, tap and jazz and a bit of ballet - it was all very sort of standard styles," she explained.

So, she decided to start her own classes.

"...The styles I teach are very grounded earth styles. They're not styles that you need to have great flexibility for, they're not styles that you need to have a lot of spatial awareness. You don't need lines or you don't need to be able to pirouette or leap, or have a certain type of body."

The classes took off immediately. Soon, she had landed her class performances with the Whistler Arts Council and Tourism Whistler. But in the fall of 2008, almost three years after arriving in Whistler, Webb decided it was time to move on.

"It was time to leave. I had pretty much done everything I could possibly do there. I was in the paper all the time, the girls were performing every long weekend, I was doing go-go stuff in Vancouver, as well, and I was kind of getting bored."

She needed to keep pushing the boundaries of her art form. She returned to Melbourne to resume her training. Since then, she's expanded her repertoire to include her funky belly dancing (of course), Zumba, a workout dance routine; Pussycat Funk, a really girly style of hip hop; Vintage Burlesque, old pin-up style dance; and Booty Shake 'n' Grind, a Jamaican-style dance.

"I actually teach more styles here now, which is why I'm coming back over as well, because all my students are like, 'When are you coming back?'"

Now, she's heading back to this side of the world, with Whistler in her crosshairs. While she's here on a three-week visit, Webb has managed to work a series of workshops into her plans.

Participants from as far away as Saskatchewan have registered for the Whistler courses, which started on Wednesday and also take place on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday. And while you don't need any real dance experience to take part in Webb's classes, she's found that many of Whistler's women are naturals.

"I actually found when I taught in Whistler, the girls there were really body-aware because it's such an active place to be," she said. "...When I got back to Melbourne, my (beginner) classes were actually too hard!"

To register for Webb's classes, contact c-bella-d-dance@hotmail.com.