Any woman who has taken a few bellydance classes knows that this ancient dance form celebrates the female body and feels like nothing else.

The Hotter than July Bellydance Extravaganza - which takes place at 1 p.m. this Saturday, July 9 at the La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley - also celebrates the culmination of the Girls Raks Bellydance and Body Image Summer Program.

The two-week summer program gives teenage girls of all sizes, ages 13–19, a celebration of the female form, doing wonders for any body image or self-esteem issues, at just the age when it’s needed most.

“The program gives teenage girls an opportunity to have a body-positive experience, free of judgment and competition,” said Tammy Johnson, who is involved with the program, now in its second year.

However, that is not the extent of the program’s cleverness and rejection of counter-productive societal pressures.

“Programming for young people, especially arts-related programming, are usually the first to be cut during a budget crisis," Co-Director Etang Inyang said. "Girls Raks was our way of stepping up and stepping to the gap. It’s been an inspiring and successful intervention.”  

A $10 to $20 donation is suggested at the extravaganza in support of the program. The show also offers entertainment value, as not only Girls Raks and its parent Raks Africa will perform, but they will be joined by Bay Area bellydance treasures Nanna Candelaria, Ahava, Monica Berini, Khalilah, Queenie TT, Asata Iman, Zadiyah, Raks al Khalil, Shabnam’s Ooh La La Dancers and Monica McCartney.

This is female-positive subversive art at its best, offering a wonderful celebration of the value of girls, women, dedication to the arts and the culture of an ancient and beautiful dance form.