RENOWNED Redditch belly dancer Emma Wheate-Price has once again raised a bumper sum for charity – by turning to Zoom to showcasing her fund-raising ‘hafla’.
Emma hosts a hafla – Arabic for party – with her dancers and others from around the Midlands twice a year.
However with the one planned for May cancelled due to Covid she decided to go online via a combination of live streaming on You Tube and Zoom on Saturday, December 5.
“Many of the dancers who were initially down to perform in May submitted videos of their dances, and my class that I hold on Zoom even managed to learn a choreography and film it,” said Emma.
“With the help of some clever video editing we were all dancing together on one screen!”
This year the dancers chose to support Redditch Association for the Blind, a small local charity which, amongst other things, runs a luncheon club twice a month, plus social outings and also provide devices such as talking clocks and dominoes in braille to assist those who are visually impaired.
“Many of my dancers along with those who tuned in to watch the show sent generous donations and we managed to raise £650,” she added.
“I am so happy to be able to present this money to the charity, following a tough year for them.
“I’m also thrilled as I never imagined we would raise this amount, and it warms my heart at the generosity of everyone who donated.”
The money takes Emma’s fundraising efforts through haflas over the years to £18,858.
“I am also grateful that many of my dancers have embraced technology to take classes with me online during the pandemic as I know for many of them belly dance is essential for their physical and mental wellbeing.
“Regular classes will start again in January but I will continue to teach one class a week on Zoom.”
For more information visit http://www.belly-jewels.co.uk
