HARTFORD – The weekly belly-dancing class at the Town Hall provides more than exercise, say the half-dozen or so women clad in jingling skirts.

“There is also a socializing aspect of the class,” instructor Laurie Babineau said. “My students enjoy getting together as a group to catch up on life, share information and laugh a great deal.”

“We just love to get together,” said dancer Susan Johnsen of the group that meets Tuesdays from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Babineau started the classes more than a year ago after experiencing its positive physical effects. A dancer since the age of 4, she took up belly dancing when a doctor told her she could no longer do aerobics, mountain biking, jogging and horseback riding because of a deteriorated disc in her back.

“I became depressed and gained weight. Then I found a meditative belly dance class … (that) was low impact and gentle on my back injury. I lost weight and gained strength in my lower back,” she said. “Joy was back in my life.”

Babineau works with the students to build muscles.

“In the belly rolls, each muscle in the stomach is isolated and worked,” she said.

“This is an opportunity to exercise parts of me that normally don’t get worked on,” dancer and Selectman Lee Holman said.

“It is also important to note that this dance form is sometimes mistaken as being erotic,” Babineau said. “Yes, it can be sensual and some women dance for their husbands, but more often it is danced for the individual’s personal needs.” And dancers do not have to expose their belly, she said.