anti fishstick

Have any of you tried belly dancing? It looks very intriguing and sensual and I've been really into workout dvds lately (mainly tae-bo) so I decided to check out a belly dancing workout. It's really cool and I like the challenge of learning all the moves (it's not easy!). It makes me feel sexy, and I would love to take lessons one of these days and totally master the art.

Anyway, I'm just interested to see if any of you have tried it and want to share experiences. Or know anything about it. It's a very liberating experience.

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lurkette

I have taken some lessons and I LOVE it. The isolation is such good exercise, and there's something super empowering about doing a dance that is better the more your tummy and butt jiggle It's totally sexy and fun. Get yourself a good hip scarf with jingly coins - having that wrapped around your hips when you do hip throws and shimmies makes a world of difference. Go find a lesson - you won't ever regret it!

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sillygirl

There's a place I found here that does bellydancing classes, but none of hte schedules work with my work schedule.

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anti fishstick

I've often thought I don't have the "right" body to belly dance. Being a really petite asian, I don't have much hips. :P But I do have a small belly gut that I feel I can embrace more when I belly dance. I think belly dancing is about celebrating women's bodies, in all shapes and sizes. So there's really no souch thing as a 'right' body.

When my dad saw I had a new dvd he said that now I can work downtown. I assume he meant stripping. Which is rude and disrespectful both to me, and belly dancing. >_<

__________________
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
~Anais Nin

ngdawg

My belly dances on its own....nothing sexy about it, either...*sigh*

amonkie

I haven't done Belly, but my sister and I have been working out to a Hula video - both are very focused on hip movements and fluidity, and I really am having a blast.

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KinkyKiwi

done it for years its a great way to burn off tummy fat and its the only workout i do..keeps my abs rock hard, helps period cramps, makes your spine stronger, and helps digestion and internal organs. besides looking sexy. the learning annex used to have a couple of great classes..

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anti fishstick

i've wanted to try hula dance too! they seem kind of similar, at least with hip movements. but i'm not an expert or anything, so i could be off.

lurkette- where can you get a hip scarf? I use things around the house (big frilly pink neck scarf, hehe) but I don't have jingles!

__________________
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
~Anais Nin

KinkyKiwi

here ya go http://www.ajantaenterprises.com/Jew...elryframe.html they have awsome stuff

__________________
Some mornings, it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps.
Play with each other. Play with yourselves. Just don't play with the squirrels, they bite.

ontheroad

my mom has been in the baladi international group for 5 years and loves it! she has the body of a full figured goddess...and only when she gets on the stage is she most confidant. baladi is not about the size of your body, it is about the celebration of the female anatomy. and man do they celebrate..

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ironmaiden7o7

I love, love, love belly dancing! I'm West Indian, so our dance is sort of like belly dancing, there's a whole lot of movements in the hip and stomach area and I must say that it's very sexual. I love the whole belly dancing thing but I never really tried it professionally, I do have a few moves. :-) I'd be willing to teach for a very small fee. Hehe

sapphire

I have been doing belly dancing for a while and I absolutely love it. Ive only used the tapes but my gym is starting to offer classes and I want to try one out. I also want to try hula it looks really interesting.

anti fishstick

I saw a documentary about Indian dance and music and it did seem to be very similar to belly dancing. I wonder what the history behind both are and if it overlaps or is influenced by one or the other.

__________________
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
~Anais Nin

taboo

i love it...what a sensual dance
especially when you dance it with a sexy man

maleficent

This month's Fitness magazine had a one page article, complete with pictures on a belly dancing workout --looked like fun so I'm sharing it here...

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shesus

My aunt and cousin belly dance and love it. They make their own scarves and everything. I 'dance' on my own and try belly moves, but I don't think it's very sensual or sexy when I do it because JJ laughs at me. Oh well, I guess I don't do it right...should take a class I suppose. I always thought it sounded like fun!

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Grasshopper Green

Thanks for posting that, mal! I've always wanted to try bellydancing, now I can take a stab at some simple stuff in the privacy of my own home...so no one can see hehe.

Edit: I just did that, and it was a lot harder than it looked...and I'm sure I didn't do it correctly.

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anti fishstick

yeah the article covers the basics but even the camel is hard for me! and I can't belly roll either. you have to have a LOT of control, and I just can't move my muscles the way I want to. :P The pictures and descriptions don't do much for me.. I like to see things in action. I have a couple bellydance tapes but even seeing them on the tv screen doesn't help my lack of coordination. Oh well... I'll improve as long as I keep up with it.. I may not be very graceful, but as a workout itself, it's really good for targeting your abs.

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And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
~Anais Nin

Sultana

How cool to see a thread on something that is my absolute passion! I'll try to not write a book in this thread, lol. Of course I advocate belly dance for everyone. It's great to see so many here who are interested in it.

There are *many* different styles of belly dance: Egyptian, Turkish, Greek, Lebanese, and of course American, which tends to be a collection of the aforementioned and more. I myself tend to perform mostly Egyptian(?Arabic), Turkish, and American (Cabaret and Urban Tribal).

Under the banner of American-style belly dance there are subcategories like:

Cabaret--what folks typically think of when belly dance is mentioned: flashy, sequins and fringe nightclub stuff.
Link to video:
http://saharadance.com/video/raqs_sahara_promo.html

American Tribal Style (ATS)--dancers wear more ethnic clothing from all over (East Indian textiles and Afghani jewelry and LOTS of it are very popular) and perform group improvisational dance.
Link to video (this actually slides into the next category a bit too, but it's a nice little example clip):
http://homepage.mac.com/tijjster/iMovieTheater4.html

Urban Tribal--the funky, clubby, industrial cousin of ATS. This is the kind of stuff I do when performing at "Battle of the Bands" types of events. A stunningly, breathtakingly amazing woman named Rachel Brice is the poster child for this dance style (link to video clip--if you click on only one link in this entire post, make it this one):
http://homepage.mac.com/tijjster/iMovieTheater5.html

Gothic--I haven't performed or watched much gothic yet, it's a new-ish category, but growing in leaps and bounds. It's a derivitive of the Urban Tribal style, but I've seen a lot of 1920's influences lately.
Non-video link:
http://meddevi.com/gothicbellydance/

I encourage interested folks to find classes--belly dance is just not something you can really learn from print. There are some good dvds out there too, but nothing beats an experienced teacher.

Disclaimer: None of these sites are affiliates of mine, they were selected only to illustrate the styles. I don't want to break rules and plug my own site. :O But I'm thinking it's OK to tell you there's a link in my public profile, if anyone's interested? If it's not OK to say that, let me know and I'll edit out these lines immediately.

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bad jane

i've always thought this looked like fun, but never tried it. the variety of women i've seen do it amazes me though. i went to a festival with my bf about a year or so ago and we saw some belly dancers perform. there were women in their 50's and girls in their teens--fabulous to watch. and the ab workout has got to be amazing--it was the first and only time i have ever seen serious ab definition on a larger female (i'd guess a size 16 or so?).