Question for the Bellydancers page

[nicoleah]

Several of us in my Primal MeetUp group participated in the Whole 30 for the month of August. For September we are setting a personal goal of some kind. I chose to start doing the Primal Blueprint Fitness eBook program. I am waiting impatiently for a pull-up bar to be installed so my official start will be next week.

I take bellydance class on Tuesday nights for one hour and usually continue to practice for at least another hour (DVDs) at home the same evening. Where does this fit into the PBF program, as a ‘play/move slowly’ day? I’m fine with that since I truly enjoy it but much of it is intense so I wasn’t sure. If you’ve done shimmy/isolation drills for any length of time, you can attest to that. I’m trying to figure out how to work in the recommended PBF days since I try to do at least two evenings of dance practice per week.

Just looking for opinions on the above, input on your own dance/fitness program and wanted to say ‘Hi!’ to the fellow bellydancers out there!

[Dragonfly]

I put my contact improv/freestyle dance sessions into the "play" category.

I've taken many belly dance classes and incorporate many of the moves into my dancing.

Dancing can be intense for sure and I do my dance "sprints" during one of my 2 weekly sessions.

[TigerLily]

HI!

It's considered "play." As you know, it's definitely more than "move slowly."

What style of belly dance are you into?

[nicoleah]

Yeah, I figured it was 'play' but I think part of me is trying to get out of sprints! Haha. Especially considering the Shimmy Workout DVD that I have. I love it but Whew! It's tough!

I've been doing videos off and on since last Fall but finally decided to take a "general basics" class. I've discovered this is more of a fun-fitness class, which is great for now but I'll want to pick a specialization for a more serious class. The studio offers Middle Eastern including Cabaret & Turkish Romani plus separate Fusion courses. I'm leaning towards Fusion stylings but I wish they taught ATS, too. They also offer Latin, Ballroom, Bollywood & various yoga classes.

How about you?

[TigerLily]

Oh, DEFINITELY go to a live class!! There's not even a comparison to a DVD. I remember the first time I danced to a live drummer in class was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life. It was electric. Every hair on my body was standing on end. (Our teacher's husband came and played his dumbek for us in our beginner's class. We were all shy and didn't want him to see us, so we made him sit in the corner with his face to the wall. tee hee.)

I started out with Cabaret/Egyptian in Houston, then moved to San Francisco and studied with Carolena N. at FatChance and performed in some student salons. I haven't danced in a really long time, after I gained a lot of weight and had a nasty, nasty accident. But I'm making my way back to the Tribal classes in Portland. (I'm not sure what the status is of Gypsy Caravan; I do know that Paulette has retired from belly dance to her farm, but I'm not sure if GC is continuing on without her, or what.) Being able to belly dance again is one of the things that has kept me and keeps me going through a really long, tough rehab process.

I'm also really drawn to Tribal Fusion, and the first time I ever saw Urban Tribal Dance Company* perform live I thought my head was going to explode -- the most amazing thing ever! In my dream world, I would love to study with them. Cabaret/Egyptian seems just so hoaky and, well, cheezy, to me now in comparison.

One of the original principal dancers with FatChanceBellyDance is a member of this board. (Small world.) She likes to keep it on the down-low, though, so I won't out her. As she says, it was a lifetime ago....



*You know Urban Tribal?
http://www.urbantribaldance.com/gall...volution_m.mov

[nicoleah]

I've been in class for 5 weeks now and I love it (fastest hour of my week) but many of the students are just there to bop around. Which is okay, it's supposed to be fun but I want to LEARN the dance! I practice a lot so I can move into the next level classes. I don't know that I'll ever want to perform but I want to be good enough to. I started this obsession with a DVD as I was trying out several types of dance fitness style videos at the time. I fell in love with bellydance then I discovered the Tribal Fusion ones and my collection grew.

My teacher has a basics class (the one I'm currently in), but also several levels of fusion. Fusion is why I chose her.

As for the rest of your post - O, envy! regarding FCBD. (exiting fan-girl mode. Haha ) I would love to learn ATS alongside Tribal Fusion.

And good for you for striving towards dancing again! I wish I'd discovered this years ago before I got so out of shape but it’s helping me tremendously now.

I'm not familiar with Urban Tribal, thanks for the link! Belly Dance Super Stars will be here in October, first time seeing that for me. My studio puts on lots of student shows, public demos, etc. so there are plenty of opportunities to see live performances. My teacher is doing a 5th anniversary party/show for her troupe this Saturday, I can’t wait!

[TigerLily]

Isn't it wonderful to be so excited about moving your body?

Me and my friends would be waiting at the front door, like a bunch of overly happy puppies, for the teacher to come and unlock the door.

I hear women all the time say, "Oh, I HATE to exercise" And I think, well, you haven't been to a belly dance class, now have you?! Bunch of grown women with smiles plastered on their faces, acting like kids, going SQUEE! Such a wonderful thing to do for yourself, on so many levels, even emotional and spiritual. Powerful medicine.

P.S. Definitely go to BDSS! Make sure you get your ticket early, as they always sell out.

[nicoleah]

Thread Revival:

Tiger Lily: I did go to BDSS, it was amazing! I've been taking tribal fusion classes since last August and I finally am just starting to feel like I know what I'm doing. Sort of. We're currently working on our first choreo for performance, so I try to practice several nights each week on top of the two nights of classes. Tuesday night is an arms/chest/posture class, Wednesday is "Beyond Basics" fusion. I love it!

I created a bellydancers group here if anyone is interested. Just giving a shout-out to the other dancers out there.

Are we sure choo-choo shimmy drills don't count as sprints?