'The Real Housewives of NYC' Go Belly Dancing

They've already ridden camels, met a snake charmer and had their fortunes read -- but you know that The Real Housewives of New York City aren't leaving Morocco without a belly-dancing lesson! (Pretty sure Bravo actually put that in their contracts.) In Thursday night's episode (10 p.m. ET on Bravo), we get to see Ramona Singer, LuAnn de Lesseps, Jill Zarin, Kelly Bensimon, Alex McCord and Cindy Barshop indulge in a moment of supreme silliness as they try to learn the ancient Middle Eastern art of belly dancing. Watch the video below!

 

As soon as they enter the "belly dancing den," it's clear that the ladies are totally out of their element -- but when asked to dance beside young, gorgeous professionals, they accept the task with a sense of humor. Especially Ramona.

"If you got it, shake it, and even if you don't have it, shake it anyway!" says Singer, 54, in the clip. "Sometimes I wish these girls would loosen up and have some fun. Who cares, let's get in the spirit! And you know what? I can still shake it, I must admit."

We love how Ramona doesn't even hesitate to shake her tummy in the revealing dance costume, while some of the other cast members (like Cindy, who threw a tank top underneath her bikini) seemed oddly self-conscious about their gym-toned bodies.

With Sonja joking about her armpit cleavage and Jill wondering aloud "How do you move the hips and keep the boobs from moving?," the ladies compromise by doing a simpler traditional dance: the hora! And amidst the giggling, Jill sums up why we love the Housewives so much.

"When we are together and we're not fighting, we're laughing," observes Zarin, 46.

Yes, just like the song says, there's a time to laugh, a time to cry, and a time to belly dance. And then, of course, there's what Ramona calls "turtle time."

Cheryl Burke China Chow Chloë Sevigny Christina Aguilera