Mia Serra has made a few moves in her time. But the last one has proved highly successful.
A former investment banker, Ms Serra, who has been belly dancing for the past ten years, left Goldman Sachs in 2003 to set up dance company BellyBliss Allstars and her own dance school.
Today, the Mia Serra School of Belly Dance is recognised as one of the largest in the UK and her BellyBliss Allstars have performed on ITV's CDUK with Akon, BBC3's Don't Tell the Bride and Nuts TV.
This week, they collaborated with Spanish-Jewish band Los Desterrados for a performance at north London's artsdepot.
"Belly dancing is very popular, even in the current climate," Ms Serra, 33, tells People.
"It's a fitness thing; it involves toning and cardio, and is also a lot of fun. It gives people a big confidence boost and the opportunity to dress up."
She says she has a lot of Jewish clients. "There is definitely a Middle Eastern connection. A lot of the Arabic music is written by Jews as, historically, Arabs were not allowed to write music, so you will often hear an Arabic track that was actually written by a Jew. There is a lot of crossover."
Miss Serra used to belly dance in the evenings after work before deciding she wanted to make a business out of it. She continues to perform with the company, dancing at corporate events and a selection of Jewish functions, from barmitzvahs to Purim parties.
