News: I Want to Belly Dance... But, is it for Me?

Have you been thinking about joining a local Belly Dance Class? Many people are curious about Belly Dance but are unsure of what to expect in a class, or may be worried about not being the "right" body type, weight, or age.

When I tell people I meet that I am a professional Belly Dancer I usually get a response like this from Women: "Oh, wow! I've always wanted to do that, but I'm too..." (Go ahead and insert a common feminine insecurity) "old", "fat", "skinny", "uncoordinated", "top heavy", "bottom heavy", "my belly is too big", "my belly is too small". You name it. How do I respond? "There's no such thing, and that is the Beauty of Belly Dance!"

For thousands of years Women of ALL ages and of ALL sizes have enjoyed this fun, low impact, creative, and feminine form of expression. Women through their 70's have attended my class (and my toddler daughter shakes it around the house in her own little coin scarf!). I have petite students as well "goddess" sized women. It matters not! 

I urge you, if you have ever thought trying Belly Dance would be fun, find a class. We Belly Dancer teachers exist EVERYWHERE! Literally everywhere, you'd be surprised! In most cases there is more than 1 option. Do a search online and take a look at their experience and qualifications. Once you have pinned an Instructor down, grab a friend or family member and just GO!

In a typical Beginning Belly Dance class (with a good instructor) you can expect a warm up, movement breakdowns, fun Middle Eastern music, encouragement, laughs, background information, dancing around, and a cool down with light stretching. It's not the kind of class where attendees are competitive and judgmental. Some come for exercise, some come just to get out of the house, and some have developed a real love of the Middle Eastern music and dance.

For those of you of the Male persuasion, fear not! Men Belly Dance, too! Check with the instructor first as some teachers have no experience guiding Men through their Belly Dance journey, and aren't comfortable experimenting on you.