More than ten years ago, Holly Ferreira “started bellydance for exercise. I did not intend to teach or perform at all. And I fell in love with it.” Soon she began to both teach and perform, always using the power of the dance she loves to help others gain confidence.
For many years, Ms. Ferreira and her (now former) dance partner Miladys visited women living in shelters, children living in foster homes, and others they felt would benefit from bellydance. They ran workshops and often “put on a play about reclaiming the Goddess within.” Ms. Ferreira says bellydance helps women “feel confident about themselves. You can still be beautiful, and not be in a magazine cover.” Ms. Ferreira still does such workshops, including women’s parties, showers, etc. She has also done workshops at pagan-friendly stores such as The Robin’s Nest in Bellingham MA.* “Wherever women would like to bond and get empowered, I'm there.” If you are interested, contact her at 401-390-5674 or hollyferreira59@gmail.com. “I can go wherever I'm wanted,” she says.
Today, the two women lead bellydance classes every Wednesday night at Odd Fellows Hall in Bristol RI. All genders and ages are welcome. Ms. Ferreira says she believes bellydance creates dancers “who feel secure in themselves, confident and powerful, comfortable to do whatever they wish in their life. If you’re shy or you don’t know how to deal with things, it helps with that.” The weekly gatherings also give people “a place to go to, to let go.” The gatherings begin at 7:30 pm and cost $12. Contact Ms. Ferreira for more information.
Ms. Ferreira also does frequent dance performances in the MA and RI area; contact her for more information.
Ms. Ferreira has worked in many communities but always feels most at home in the pagan and pagan-friendly communities. She says, “The pagan and Wiccan community appreciates people who are different and don’t fit in a box. In a pagan community, they really get us. They recognize our energy as Goddess energy.”
*See www.examiner.com/pagan-in-boston/the-robin-s-nest-a-metaphysical-community-store-bellingham-ma.
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