In a quiet Auckland suburb, Paige Bell earns her certificate in the art of seduction
from the Queen of seduction herself - Monique Feron...

Seduce: to lead astray, to tempt into sin or crime, corrupt, persuade and cause abandonment of principles.

Surely not a course of action a good girl would embark upon? Maybe not. But, then who said anything about being good, or a girl, for that matter?

Nestled in the heart of Birkenhead, is a studio swathed in veils, mystique and eastern magic. A group of women from various walks of life are gathered for two hours to take instruction in the art of seduction. Candlelight, wine and chocolates set the scene and soften the senses for this most private of lessons.

Seductress extraordinaire, mother-of-three and tutor, Monique Feron stands only five-foot tall, but this tiny package oozes sensuality: "This is probably the only time it'll take you longer to take your clothes off than put them on," she says with a wink.

Monique is comfortable with herself. It comes from more than 20 years of teaching and performing dance - everything from bellydancing, Argentinian tango, salsa, meringue, lambada, Polynesian and, yes, even training strippers. "I've never been a stripper but Rainton Hastie saw me perform (as a bellydancer) and said I was a lot more enticing with my clothes on than his girls were with them off."

The seduction dance workshop has grown out of demands from women attending Monique's bellydance classes who wanted to "do something special" for their partners.

"Maybe it's his birthday, or he's going away. Sometimes it's good to plan it out."

And we all know what can happen if you don't (and I don't mean men falling off wardrobes in their Superman suits.) Monique recounts the story of an old friend who let herself into her partner's apartment to serve him up his fantasy - a gourmet meal wearing only a maid's apron and high heels. Tray in hand, she sashayed into his dining room, only to trip, send the meal flying, and herself into hospital, with a badly sprained ankle and a bruised ego.

So maybe our disparate group of women, who have engineered an evening away from their busy lives, can learn enough to avoid the obvious pitfalls.

We change into our two pairs of knickers and bras (you didn't think we were going to get it all off in front of each other, did you?). Heels are optional. Following Monique's lead we faced the mirror-lined wall to "shake off the day" with some warm up moves.

Next thing I know people are demanding hot sensual music. Well, the music signals we obviously mean business, even if we don't look like it just yet.

However, there's a definite lift in confidence as we're given our props: veils that look as though they belong in Arabian Nights - all soft, filmy and edged in sparkles. Excitement is high as we teeter around the room trying to make veils come to life. Well, maybe we're not quite there yet. Mimicking Monique, we strut around our imaginary partners, our veils held above our heads, carefully concealing our faces, then dropping them to the nose, below the breasts and finally to the ground.

Suddenly the veils are in flight as we twist them over our heads and then swish them teasingly behind us. Like young toreadors flashing their capes to tempt the bull. Two things are becoming apparent. This seduction dance puts the woman in the driving seat. "You must keep the man at a distance. You're in control and that means he doesn't touch," instructs Monique.

Of course this titillation is what it's all about, the presentation as a sensual, feminine form that calls the shots. And also, it doesn't matter so much what the woman looks like, it's the confidence with which she presents herself and the belief she has in her desirability that is sexy. "It's definitely something you've got to do when you're in the mood. It's not good if you're fighting or grumpy. It just doesn't work," says Monique as she takes us through our paces.

The more we move our hips, flick and shimmy, the more our embarrassment fades. Come-hither glances are thrown at our stand-in partners. Veils and scarves discarded on the floor, it's time to get down to the nitty gritty of taking off undies. I can tell you that doing this in a teasing fashion is not as easy as you might think. The trick with knickers is to lift the elastic high at the sides and pull them down with a straight leg. If you get that bit right, you've only got to watch that you don't get them tangled around your ankles and you're home and dry.

The class over, Monique hands us each a Seduction Certificate. "Now the rest is up to you," she says as we leave to make our way home to our unsuspecting partners. In the words of the song, we are ready to, "Do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight." Sounds good to me.

If you are interested in learning the art of seduction you can call Monique Feron on 09 4197 369 to book a place in the next workshop.

Please note: The seduction workshops are not Belly Dance classes.