Flag Dancing by AMY LAM

Flagging - a beautiful, relaxing, stress-relieving exercise and an artistic dance form in which you flutter, swirl, whip, spin, and twirl colorful yardage to the rhythm of the music. Provides excellent toning and cardiovascular workout, especially for the arms, back, and core.

Experienced flaggers create dream-like patterns and effects through a combo of technical skills and artistry. Throw in the strobes and black lights, set a great dance beat, and the results can be fantastically surreal.

Flag dancing draws its inspiration from Chinese fan dancing and Maori poi hakas, and has begun to gain widespread popularity from Boston to Brazil and Texas to Thailand. This thrilling skill also adds a special talent to the veil portion of a belly dance routine. It's even found its way into church organizations where it is called "Worship Flagging".

You control the tempo, rhythmic flag patterns, and mood. Choose from sultry and exotic, a calm moving meditation, whimsical, or high energy show-off dazzle.

Amy has taught and performed Flag Dancing throughout the United States since 2006, and is the only flagging instructor in the Valley.

Beginner classes are held Wednesdays, 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Pre-registration and pre-payment is required to enter the class.

Single pay-as-you-go class fees - $15; 4 prepaid class sessions - $12 each; block of 8 prepaid classes - $10 each. Privates available upon request.

For a sampling of what you will learn, please view Amy's demonstration of Flag Dancing below