Belly dancing, one of the oldest art forms still in existence today, also remains one of the most exotic. Despite an almost overfamiliarity with the dance through countless appearances in film and television, there is still a mystique about Middle Eastern music and dancers. Though belly dancing is immensely popular, it’s a testament to the skill needed to perform the songs and the moves that, until the recent appearance of Danyavaad and the Shimmy Sisters, no other local groups have ever tried to make an impact with this music. On Friday, Dec. 5 Danyavaad and the Shimmy Sisters will perform a CD-release show at Portugalia to promote their debut album/DVD “March of the Gypsies.” Featuring dancers Leilainia Penix and Adelaide Marcus with sitarist Greg Vaughn, percussionist Gabriel Penix and bassist DJ Sandbag, the album includes 10 music tracks along with music videos and instructional segments on belly dance, sitar and bass. Danyavaad and the Shimmy Sisters played their first full show in October 2006. However, their roots go back another 16 months. They initially met through local singer-songwriter Marie Haddad. “Marie told me if I played a show with her downtown, she would take me to a belly dancer party afterwards,” Vaughn said. Meeting the Penix’s for the first time, they bonded over musical ideas and quickly made the decision to form a group. Wanting to promote a positive message, they chose the Hindi word for “thank you” — Danyavaad — as their name. Although Vaughn is also a virtuoso guitarist and teacher and musically skilled in numerous genres, he considers Middle Eastern music to be a natural progression from his early love of classic rock. “I was into The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and the soundtrack to Lawrence of Arabia,” he said. “That led me to Ravi Shankar and Middle Eastern music.” While the origins of the group can be traced back three years, Vaughn has been inspired by belly dancing music for decades. “My spirit muse has always been a gypsy,” Vaughn said. “I had a belly dancer logo on the cover of my 2001 pop album ‘Gypsy Girl.’” Indeed, some Danyavaad songs such as “My Serpent Kiss” were written years ago with belly dancing in mind. Vaughn’s inspiration for a show combining dance and music came when he saw the first Belly Dance Superstars tour in 2003. While he enjoyed the performance, he was disappointed with the program’s use of pre-recorded music and instantly knew this was a void he could fill. Having seen the audience’s response to that show, he was certain there would be a ready-made audience for a group that combined dancing with live music. “The market is big,” he said. “Being unique has been great. Sometimes people are skeptical because they have never seen anything like us, but once they see the show and how high-energy it is, venues and promoters are eager to have us back.” In addition to local club dates, the group has also become a favorite at corporate events. Though Danyavaad and the Shimmy Sisters focuses almost exclusively on original music, they have been known to throw in the occasional reworked cover tune. “We have done some Beatles and Radiohead,” he said. “We have a huge list of famous songs we intend to learn, but whenever we get together to rehearse we usually end up writing something new.” He notes the free-form nature of their performances. “Some songs just evolve on stage,” Vaughn said. “The girls like to dance while we improvise and that impacts where the music goes as well since we are feeding off their energy.” Vaughn is particularly proud of “March of the Gypsies” educational aspects. He noted that all the band’s members are also music or dance instructors. “When we tour we want to do dance and music seminars in each city where we perform.” Vaughn said. “We all enjoy teaching and mixing education with performance gets the public more involved and passionate. It deepens the experience.” Having been a working performer much of his life, Vaughn considers the exchange of energy between the group and crowd to be most important thing at a show. “I love it when people get up to dance and play drums with us at the end and participate,” Vaughn said. “It really means a lot when people say they feel like they have been a part of something very special. We want to take that vibe and experience to the world.” Danyavaad and the Shimmy Sisters perform at Portugalia, 4839 Newport Ave., on Friday, Dec. 5. For more information, visit www.sdportugalia.com.