Zoë McKay, 7, plays with her mother's belly dance veil.

“It’s a celebratory compulsion,” says belly dancer Jessamyn West. “If I didn’t have belly dancing in my life, I don’t know what I’d do.”

West, who is also the DJ for KMUN’s “Day of the Velvet Voice,” is not alone. Interest peaked in the 1970s (West’s mother learned belly dancing at that time), and then declined. Now, if the Columbia-Pacific region is an indicator, interest in belly dance is once again on the rise.

Belly dance is a form of traditional Middle Eastern and North African dance which arose so long ago that its origins are uncertain. There are those who believe, based on ancient carvings, that it was performed in Egypt in the time of the pharaohs. Another theory is that belly dance may have roots in ancient Arab tribal religions as a dance to the goddess of fertility, or perhaps as a form of worship of the moon god. Belly dance may also have originated to both celebrate and to prepare women for childbirth by isolating the hips, belly and lower belly from the rest of the body. Belly dance still serves this function, and has traditionally been performed at any of the rites of passage for women. Modern belly dance represents a fusion of many influences.

There are also those who say that belly dance has always been primarily for entertainment, and whatever else you say about belly dance, it is certainly entertaining. “Danse du ventre” is the French name for this oriental dance, and the French was translated literally into the English “belly dance” to describe it as entertainment. This happened in 1893 at the Chicago World’s Fair, where belly dance was an instant hit. You’ve heard of a dancer called “Little Egypt?” She is said to have stolen the show at the fair. Imitations of belly dance immediately sprung up with names like “Hoochee-Coochie” and the “Shimmy and Shake.” Women were sometimes arrested by shocked Victorians for their “immodest dancing.”

Times have changed. Today, little girls are learning to belly dance. West’s personal history with belly dance began when she was very young, watching her mother dance and feeling a strong resonance with the music she danced to. She was fascinated by the costumes as well, and when she was about 5, she was allowed to play with them. When she was 18, she began dancing herself, and has been doing so for 16 years.

Over the years, belly dance has evolved into a variety of forms. What most people think of as belly dance is the undulating Egyptian style, which is common in restaurants and cabarets. West dances the more playful and uninhibited Turkish style. There is also the Tribal style, based on traditional dances from North India, the Middle East and Africa. More recently, the American Tribal style developed in this country, followed by “Tribal Fusion,” which incorporates moves from dances as diverse as flamenco and hip-hop.

Erika McKay teaches a belly dance class at The Alabaster Jar in Astoria. She doesn’t focus on a particular style, but incorporates many, including Tribal Fusion, into something she calls Coast Fusion. Her students range in age from 16 to 60. Her daughter Zoë attends the class as well, but more to play with the veils (sometimes wearing all of them at once), as West did when she was that age.

It was 10 years ago that McKay took a belly dancing class on a whim. “It was so much fun that I fell in love with it,” she says. She has now been teaching for four years and sometimes performs with West, who occasionally substitute teaches McKay’s class. “Belly dance celebrates a woman’s form,” McKay says. “It celebrates being female, and it’s for women in any shape or form.”

There are health benefits, too. Belly dance is a physical toning workout, a nonimpact exercise suitable for all ages. McKay laughs, “You use muscles you didn’t even know you had.”

She also says that “it aligns the body, soul and mind.” Dancers learn to concentrate as they isolate and independently move various muscle groups, which enhances torso flexibility, and like yoga, belly dance aligns the spine. Hip movements strengthen leg and back muscles. Playing the finger cymbals (called zils) improves finger strength and coordination; dancing with the veil can build upper-body strength. Do you want a real workout? Try dancing with the sword: It’s heavy – and dangerous. Belly dancing even helps to prevent osteoporosis in older people.

“My class is based on the individual,” McKay says, “and I’m not strict except when it comes to form and posture. If you don’t have those right, you can injure your back or knees.”

I can well believe this, as I watch McKay’s students go through their shimmies and undulations, their hip hits and belly rolls. Veils swirl as dancers fly around the room, and as I finally leave I reflect that I may never again write a story that was this much fun to research.