[archychick]

Hey there all. I decided not to wait until I lost a great amount of weight to get the kind of exercise I want. So, I signed up for a belly dancing class once a week that a friend belongs to. The practice during the week will be fun. The class is a bunch of women of all sizes. I learned briefly when I attended a few weddings in Tunisia, but that was back in 1989 and I was young and thin. However, big as I am I must say that I can sway these hips nicely.

Also, my husband and I are going to NYC in a month to spend a couple of days. We plan to go Salsa dancing and neither of us, even though he is from the Caribbean, know how. Well, after a few Long Island Ice Teas we THINK we know and hit the floor, but ...lol So, I ordered a couple of Salsa DVDs from the library for us to practice.

Between belly dancing and Salsa, I am going to (literally) whittle my waist thin! lol

[mauvaisroux]

I am sure you will enjoy your classes. I have been going to classes for several years now and they are so much fun. Bellydancing is one of the few exercises I have actually stuck to.

[archychick]

Thanks mauv, I am really looking forward to it! Hey, I love your Ray Bradbury quote - very inspirational!

[mauvaisroux]

Thanks - Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite authors.

[dolphinea]

That's good, I don't think anyone should wait to do anything until they've lost weight -- carpe diem and all that!

I was gonna wait and buy clothes I want but I decided to buy some interim things off ebay and treat myself now. If it doesn't fit in three months, so much the better, I'll put it back up on ebay.

[bopeep]

Yes! I have been belly dancing for 2 years now and it has changed my life! I love love love it and take 4 classes a week now. I put off learning for years - I had stupidly convinced myself I was too fat to learn. I really regret letting my fear get the better of me for so long - it was so unnecessary.

BP

[Technosexual]

I've always been intrigued by belly dancing & would absolutely love to take classes.

However, I'm from such a small town, I highly doubt there is a class within a reasonable driving distance.

[bopeep]

Techno - In truth, nothing beats a real life class.After watching myself and other beginners for two years, it's pretty obvious that most of us get it wrong at first (we see the instructor doing something and we think we are repeating it, but we tend to be really, really wrong at first). A real life instructor can give us feedback and show us what we're screwing up and how to fix it.

However, as you mention, not everyone has the option of attending a class. In that case, I'd recommend picking up a basic belly dance DVD and learn as much as you can from that. Practice with a large mirror in the room, and really look critically at what you are doing and compare it to the DVD instructor. How close/far apart your feet are. How bent/straight your knees are. Where your weight is. Your arms and hands. That moving your chest does not mean your shoulders, hips and arms go as well. Etc..That's really hard to do at first because you don't have the muscle control yet, but it will come with practice.

Look into what's available in nearby cities. If you have to run a few errands in that city, maybe you can slip in a class while you are there. Often teachers allow drop-in students. Maybe you can contact a teacher and get an intensive private lesson to fine tune your progress that you make at home.

In any event - it really doesn't matter how accurate you get if you give it a try. The point is to have fun and get some exercise while you're doing it! I am not a natural dancer, and it will take me years and years of practice before I get to a point where I'm not sucking at it, but I'm having so much fun in the meantime. I love the control I am developing over my body, and I am gaining so much confidence that for that reason alone it's worth it!

BP