JACKSONVILLE — Residents from Twin Oaks Health and Rehabilitation Center were clapping their hands as East Texas belly dancers swayed to the beat of the music on Saturday.

The belly dancers have been entertaining nursing home residents for the past year and belly dancer  Edith Fudge said their goal is to perform at as many Jacksonville nursing homes as they can.

“The belly dancing we dance is American style,” she said. “It is a mixture of Turkish, Egyptian, African  and more. We take all of those, mix them and make them into our own.”

Saturday was the second time the belly dancers performed for Twin Oaks residents.

“What I do it set up an appointment with the nursing home and then through Facebook (and other social media) I notify the dancers about the performance and they let me know if they can come,” Fudge said.

Sherry Stemm, activity director with Twin Oaks, said she heard of the belly dancers and wanted to set up an appointment, but Fudge beat her to it.

“The residents had smiles on their faces the whole time,” she said. “I'm sure they loved the ladies, the costumes and the props.”

Eight dancers performed in their hip scarfs. The dancers used scimitar swords, tambourines and bells during their solos. The last dance consisted of all the dancers dancing individually with residents in the audience.

The belly dancer performers are not one group, but a mixture of belly dancers from across East Texas such as Palestine, Rusk, Van and Tyler. Sisters of the Dance, a belly dancing group from Tyler Junior College, also performs with the independent dancers.

“We never know how many dancers we will have,” Fudge said. “Sometimes we have as many dancers as we had (yesterday) or sometimes I perform alone.”

Performances can last anywhere between 30 minutes and an hour. While the dancers circle their hips and use props in their performances, Fudge said belly dancing has a technique.

“You can't show your under arms or make any forward thrust movements,” she said. “Belly dancing does have etiquette (despite) movies giving belly dancing a bad name.”

Jennifer Keohaue, a member of Sisters of the Dance, said when she performs the sound of the music brings out the movements in her body.

“There's something in a dancer that you just feel,” she said. “A certain rhythm will remind you of a movement and that move breaks into a while routine.”

The belly dancers are anywhere between 16 and 70 years old and sometimes mothers and daughters dance together.

“It gives us on outlet,” Keohaue said. “It's not about showing off, it's about building a family from within.”