Serena Studios

This place is great! I started taking classes here about 8 months ago with Zenaide who is fantastic. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of all of the different styles of bellydance (Egyptian, Turkish, gipsy… much much more to list here!) and teaches them in her classes. She is very focused on developing each dancer’s individual style. The class setting is great and fellow dancers are very supportive and fun.
In general the studio provides many opportunities to perform, and live music is a big point of emphasis which is such a treat.
The room itself is small and kind of old. But the great instruction really makes it worth it.

So after years of suffering from a shoulder injury from pole dance, I realized how much I missed dancing! I had done a little bit of belly dance back in college and figured why not give it another try. But, I wanted to find a studio that was committed to seriously teaching the art and working their students towards performance… not just a «workout» (because honestly, it’s not that hard of a workout unless you really have your technique down). This is definitely the studio for you if you are looking to learn the dance, and perform. I have only taken two classes– 2 beginner on Sundays, with with Ms Noora and one with Ms Hilary. Noora’s class was a bit more basic– we learned the basic positions which was review for me but I really liked how she took her time to explain everything in detail and explained that it’s all about isolating the movements. If you’re not disciplined about this, you won’t progress correctly. Hilary’s class was much more «dance» as we went through a routine and more movements but she didn’t explain things really as thoroughly so I think I will be taking classes with Noora more often even if it moves slower. I would def suggest that if you want to really learn the craft– if you just want to have fun dancing, stick with Hilary. Both are good and I’d be willing to try other beginner teachers as my schedule permits.
They have a good schedule of classes, which at least one or two each day. After beginner, there is beginner/​intermediate then I think advance. Unlike their website says, classes are now $ 15 a la carte but you can buy bulk packages. Their website is really outdated but the schedule is accurate. They only accept cash or check and the folks out front are super nice.
Unlike other dance studios, there’s no need to book in advance or anything. You just show up and go– wear loose fitting attire and bare feet. Once I get a little better, I’ll get a hip scarf (they sell some on site but their shop has limited hours) because that makes the dance much more fun. The studio itself is of medium size and a bit. dark and old (not like a lot of light as you’d expect in say, a ballet studio) but it works.
I’ll be coming back regularly!

I started taking belly dancing class here in 2007 while Serena was still around. I took off for a while but came back here recently to take a class with Zenaide. You really learn the basics well here, with room to be creative. I learned zills well when I used to take Serena’s class. Zenaide is now the head of the studio and I’ve been taking class with her for a long time on and off. She is the best teacher there in my opinion and very funny.
Sometimes the dance floor gets a little too crowded. If you can deal with that, you’ll have a good time.
Definitely coming back for more :-)

Great, friendly, and helpful instructor. I had a great time and feel like I learned a lot! I definitely plan on going back soon!

So I don’t really have any other studio to compare Serena’s to, but I’d still like to recommend this place to anyone wanting to try out this form of dance. Beginner instructors are so helpful and enthusiastic. They really want you to master the basics so you can build on what you learn. Pretty convenient location in West 50s and several classes throughout the week. For newcomers: all body types, ages and ethnicities are represented here, and the energy is about having fun and feeling good.

Anastasia 10:30/11:30 on Saturdays is great for true beginners because she encourages you and is not mean in any way. She’s very patient and really explains things. Kelly Ann used to do beginner classes but hasn’t done it in a while. If you haven’t done a belly dance class yet, go to one of the classes. If you go to one of the other classes, you might feel shamed (briefly) or uncomfortable unless you’ve had more experience.

I’ve been taking basic beginner belly dancing classes at Serena Studios for 6 weeks.
I love the neighborhood feel; it’s very accessible and affordable.
As a beginner, I felt intimidated at first, but I was immediately put at ease by Ivette.
Belly dance is truly one of the most beautiful art forms for celebrating the sacred feminine, and Serena Studios embraces it fully.

I was taking classes here for about a year… just because I wanted to. I’ve always been interested in Middle Eastern culture and inevitably the seductive belly dancing associated with Middle Eastern culture. Belly dancing is a good workout– makes you look AND feel sexy! Also, I was tired of doing belly dance DVDs at home alone…
So my roommate at the time found this place out from… not sure but she did! We went together at first… but as goes with any kind of «buddy» (gym, study, lunch) we couldn’t synchronize our schedules so I started going alone. I really liked it at first… I never surpassed the beginner’s classes but I had a great time and enjoyed one particular instructor. However, their schedules changed, instructors changed and I found myself feeling like these classes were becoming a waste of my money. Also, some classes were TOO crowded and although they have more than one dance studio on this floor, the «good» instructors’ room were overcrowded and trust me you do not want to be in a room with 40 other females, all practicing snake arms.
Long story short– I stopped going. I do feel like it taught me a few things but wasn’t worth the travel or the discomfort of being in an overcrowded dance studio.

They don’t only teach you how to dance, but also teach you how to discover and celebrate your feminine power. I love the classes and teachers there, definitely inspirational.
The only pity is that the restroom is not convenient for changing.

affordable but not inspiring at all. Jam packed class where you get no attention/correction.Under that condition, how does anybody become advanced enough to go to level 2?
It’s just a weekly routine without any detailed instruction. The teacher just speaks to the entire class as a whole and there is no individual attention.

Serena Studios have the best teachers and they were taught by the late legendary Serena.
I had the privilege to study with Serena for 6 months prior to her sudden passing in June 2007.
Belly dance is NOT stripping. It is art!
The current teachers Rayhana, Dorit, Zenaide and others are great teachers and performers. I’m deeply inspired by Rayhana and her interpretation of the dance (strong, sexy, feminine and powerful).
Give it a try — you have nothing to lose (okay maybe you’ll lose few pounds).

This is the highlight of my week. I wish there were more class times. That’s my only gripe. The teachers are great. They have no problem explaining things to you after class or before class. They explain things well. They make class fun.

I took Belly Dancing classes at Serena Studios in the summer of 2007. I think I took classes with Sahira. not sure though. but the classes are held in an old building. When I went there were two classes being taught at the same time, but on different floors. From what I remember, the classes get pretty crowded, so come early to change and stretch. The people in the class were friendly and mostly in their late 20’s to early 30’s. Overall, the atmosphere of the place was welcoming… there weren’t any snobby people there.
The instructor was fun and informative… I loved the analogies she made for different dances… for one dance we had to move our chest in a circular motion, so she told us to make believe we were washing a car with our chest… lol
I remember being in soo much pain the day after my classes… and I loved that because that showed that I actually had a good whole body workout!
I remember the classes being $ 10 each and you could get a 5 class card for around $ 50… but I think they recently increased their prices, so now the classes are $ 12 each and the 5 class card is $ 55. but that’s still pretty cheap.
Also, they say that they have a «boutique» where you can buy belly dancing attire. don’t get all excited. it’s just a long cluttered closet! They do have belly dancing scarves in several sizes and colors that you can tie around your hips while dancing. I remember paying around $ 25 – 30 for my scarf… which I think is kind of expensive. you can get the same thing at Jackson Heights for $ 10. but at that time I really wanted to feel like a belly dancer, so I just gave in!
I’m giving it a 4 out of 5 stars because they need a changing room! They do have a bathroom where you can change, but the bathroom is really small. The dance studio also needs to be a little bit more spaced out. Sometimes I felt kind of cramped, which is why I had to come at least 30 minutes before each class just to get a nice spot in the studio.
I love the whole body workout from the classes, so I think I might start going to Serena Studios again! =)

Cheap classes, and you get what you pay for. When I first got to the studio and tried to pay for the class, got attitude from the old red-​haired lady. In class, I felt like I was back in elementary school trying to play follow the leader, and being told I wasn’t doing it right, even though the instructor didn’t bother to teach us how to do the steps.
Not a total loss, but I’d rather pay more and actually feel like I was learning something. Left class with a distinct feeling that the beginner class was easy money for the studio, without them actually putting any effort into teaching.

It only gets four stars because the classroom on the fourth floor is suffocating… maybe they are trying to recreate the feel of the Sahara? In any case the price is right, the beginners class is awesome and I love it.

I took an interest in belly dancing when I was 18. It started off as a workout class at New York Sports Club. After my gym membership expired, I started looking for a studio that taught the art of belly dancing and that’s how I found Serena Studio. I’ve been going there since 2003. In that time, Serena Wilson, the owner of the studios and my first teacher there, passed away in 2007. Her husband, son, and daughter-​in-​law have taken over operations. (Scott Wilson is also a very talented and renowned oud player.)
At $ 12/​class, pricing is very reasonable for an hour-​long class led by a professional belly dancer. (It was $ 10/​class for many years.) The classes are discounted if you pay for more than one class at one time (by buying a class card). The class levels start at beginners all the way to performing. There are large classes that can range in attendance of 5 students to about 20, and they also offer private lessons which are more expensive. The studio also advertises and hosts numerous belly dancing events every month. The events give the students opportunities to perform in front of live audiences. Some of the instructors were former students who are now performing professionally.
The studio also has a closet-​size boutique that sells costumes, hip scarfs, veils, and zils at reasonable prices.
I’ve only taken large classes at Serena’s (I took private lessons when I went to Istanbul). The classes can either get very crowded or have very low attendance. Like a previous reviewer wrote, there are a couple of teachers who seem a little snotty. My favorites are Kelly, Ivette, and Wanda.

(3.5 stars)
Serena Studios is a bellydance institution. Nearly every bellydancer that comes out of New York has taken a class here, with good reason. This studio teaches the beginner the good ‘ol basics from the Turkish walk to the Egyptian shimmy. My only problem: the quality of teaching varies to the extreme. Aside from Zenaide, the others tend to be a bit snobby and spend a little too much time talking rather than dancing. Still, the classes are great for technique since all of the teachers are sticklers for following traditional bellydance (read: no tribal style can be found here).
On Serena’s boutique, it does the job, though I prefer to buy online or from the swap meet forum of
.

Looking for a hip scarf for bellydancing? Serena has them in a lot of colors in prices starting at $ 25. I went to this studio because someone told me about the «boutique.» I think it’s a stretch to call a closet a boutique, but they had what I needed, so I’m happy.
This place is definitely of the old school dance studio variety… no frills, which I like.
Serena also has classes and performances, but I haven’t tried them. I’ve only taken bellydancing at Steps and at New York Sports Club.