A nine-year-old girl from Kaohsiung has just won the second prize in an international belly dance competition in Guangdong earlier this month. And the accomplishment is made all the more impressive by the fact that she's only been learning the Middle Eastern dance for less than two years.

Cheng Tzu-ling is noticeably nervous when speaking to the camera, and begins crying when reporters ask her questions.

On the stage, however, she enjoys being at the center of attention.

Sporting a Cleopatra-like hairstyle and dressed in a blue bellydancing costume, the nine-year old enchants and captivates the audience with her dancing.

The nine-year old executes each movement with ease, and undulates and shimmies her way across the stage.

Cheng has only been taking bellydancing classes for a year, and this was her first time competing in an international bellydancing competition.

She says that performing makes her feel happy and gives her confidence, and that winning second place in the children's category is an added bonus.