Maria is an award-winning professional belly dance artist based in Santa Clara of the San Jose / San Francisco Bay Area. She is the house belly dancer at three popular bay area restaurants and a ...

“Belly dance is one of the oldest dance forms. It was never intended for a woman to dance and perform for men,” Johnson said. “This is how the women entertained themselves.

As a dance that was created by women of color, is amenable to a wide diversity of bodies, and is often described by its disciples as "empowering" and "liberating" one would think that "belly dance" is ...