In the Ottoman Empire, belly dancers acted as spies, shimmying past oblivious guards and using long, flowing scarves to rappel down palace walls. Dance without danger with today's Groupon: for $20, you get four consecutive weekly classes of introductory tribal-fusion belly dance with Memphis Raqs (a $48 value). Classes take place at MidSouth World Dance Center.

Memphis Raqs blends moves and costuming from Asian, African, and modern-American dances. On Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings at the airy and comfortable MidSouth World Dance Center, hip-shakers can shirk strict choreography and instead sway with the smooth improvisation and spontaneous group collaboration of tribal belly dancing. Over the course of four belly-dance classes, Memphis Raqs's passionate instructors school beginners in the basics of muscle isolation, dance posture, and perspiring shimmery star formations. Weekly classes are capped at 10 students to ensure that each dancer gets plenty of individual attention, and the sessions welcome all experience and skill levels.