Interested in belly dancing? Downey is hosting a show.

DOWNEY — A Downey-based belly dancing class will be performing later this month, introducing the audience to the exotic artform, its culture, and its history.

The performance is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 25, from 5-7 pm at the Barbara J. Riley Community and Center, where the class rehearses every Tuesday.

According to instructor Levina Rivera – who herself is a third-generation belly dancer - the class has worked on the show for about a year. The performance will include authentic music, elaborate props, and hand-made costumes (made by Rivera herself) that were custom designed for each dancer.

“I’d like people to know that there’s a long history behind belly dancing; it’s not just shaking,” said Rivera. “It has a very long history as well as a lot of discipline, an as well as an artform. Like ballet, or learning the guitar or learning the piano, it’s definitely an artform.”

Levina says the class is “not watered down.”

“Not only do I train the girls to do the dancing and train their feet, train their body, I also train their ears because they don’t hear this music very often, so they have to grasp the music and go with it as a flow,” said Rivera.

The class enjoys a broad range of ages, backgrounds, ethnicities and religions, and body types. Despite their differences, each dancer has fostered a sisterhood with one another.

“Women are like a beautiful flower, I always say, and we are at all stages from the beginning to the latter,” said Rivera. “Basically, dancing brings all cultures together; it brings every religion together. It brings us all in happiness, and joy and sisterhood; like a team, because we can’t do the show unless we’re a team and doing it all together.

“It’s not just my show; it’s their show, and I’m showing them off because they’ve worked so very hard.”

Nathali Castro, 25, joined the class because “she’s always loved the artform.” She said that “it’s not something you’ll find anywhere.”

‘I’ve done lots of dancing. I’m Hispanic, so just in general growing up around dancing is very big. I’ve done theatre,” said Castro. “Here, I can feel I’m pushing my body to do things that it’s never done before, and moving in a way that you won’t move anywhere else.”

Cynthia Castillo, 42, said she’s had an interest since the age of 18.

“I finally got the courage at this age to put myself out there, because the way I see it, life is too short,” said Castillo. “It’s good to do something you want to do, and honestly with Levina I feel like I can enjoy it and feel comfortable around it.”

Tickets for the show are $10 at the door.