[aweighstogo]

Thanks aphil for the info! I'll check them out now!
I also have another question. Someone asked me if I picked out a dance name yet. I had no idea what they were talking about. Could you fill me in? Thanks

[aphil]

If you dance only with a video or as a student you don't need to worry about that at all.
If you are getting to the point where you are performing regularly in shows and events, and attend a lot of workshops and such and plan on making yourself known in the belly dance community-a lot of dancers choose a dance name-essentially a "stage" name that they go by. Some dancers keep their own given name-especially if they were given a very pretty or exotic name already-like if a woman is named Carissa Smith she may go by "Carissa" as her professional dance name. On the other hand-if your name is sort of plain or rather ordinary-you may find that something like Susan Jones just doesn't look or sound as exotic being announced by a stage emcee or look very great on a show program.
A lot of dancers with rather ordinary names choose a stage name to go by when they dance. Some names are just "pretty" names...and others have specific meanings to them, or maybe are Middle Eastern in descent.

[teapotdynamo]

Aphil,

How did your performance go? Do you have any pics?

I have had two of my classes with Delilah now, and I think I'm already hooked. I'm not terribly coordinated at this point, but already getting a little better at some of the isolations. I'm amazed by how fast class flies by -- I'm having such a great time that I don't notice an hour has passed!

I've ordered a couple of the DVDs mentioned here so I can get some practice between classes, and I also bought Delilah's CD of music she uses in class so I will know the music a little better.

I also found out about some other classes during the week at Morocco's studio, so I might supplement with a class here and there as well.

As bad as I am at this point , I think I've been bitten by the bellydance bug! So far I'm much better at the hip isolations than anything else. How long did it take you guys before you could shimmy at a reasonable speed? I'm so slow!

[aphil]

Helpful shimmy hint-keep the shimmy EVEN on both sides. If you go slow, you go slow. If you keep it even, over time you will get quicker with practice.
If you "freeze" it up and stop it being even/equal on both sides-you won't be able to sustain it for longer periods of time.

[michellejy]

Does anyone have an idea where I can sell a Hilary Thacker video I bought? I don't want to sell on eBay since I haven't had much luck selling on there in the past. I bought a copy of "Egyptian Belly Dancing for Intermediates" intending to buy a DVD copy, but I ended up with a VHS copy instead. It has Baladi style dancing and a little bit of instruction about dancing with a cane.

[aphil]

Actually, I HAVE that same Hillary Thacker vhs. Ebay would probably be your best bet though for selling it. I have sold on Ebay quite a bit, and have bought things on Ebay quite a bit.

A bit of Ebay advice-put as much info as you possibly can into the auction. If you have a digital camera-a photo helps. State the full title and Hillary's name in the auction title. That way it comes up in the Ebay search if someone is looking for that particular item. I have gotten a couple belly dance vids really CHEAP on Ebay-simply because the person didn't put much information in the title...like having "belly dance video" as the title of the auction instead of the real video title and dancer's name. The more you can give-the better it will auction.

The only other thing I could recommend is possibly going to Yahoo Groups online, and looking up a belly dance trading/swapping sort of group. I know there are a few out there, maybe you could trade it for something that you don't have.

Good luck,
Aphil

[gypzye]

I ATS!!

Okay, quick history: I first discovered bellydance at age 15, when my mom signed me up for a community ed class. It was 8 weeks of basic Egyptian and then we were off to War (my family's weird like that) where I got to practice my belly moves to live music... oh, and it was love at first dance.

Unfortunately for the next five years I didn't do much with it.. I was too busy, forgot to sign up, blah blah... my dancing was basically once a year at War, and by the time I'd picked it back up it was time to go back home...

Fast forward to me moving to Phoenix and discovering the Domba studio and their specialty, ATS!!

I took classes for four months and loved every second of it. Bellydance, to me, has always been a way for me to connect with my femininity, to embrace sisterhood and to celebrate women. (Ok, and I just like to dance, period.) ATS embodies everything I love about bellydance.

I had to stop taking classes because I was too broke to afford them... ... almost a year later, I'm finally in a financial position to resume my classes, and even though I know I'm going to have to start over I am SO excited to get back to dancing!! The next session starts June 19th and you better believe I have it marked in my day planner!!

So glad to see some belly sisters on this site! Shimmy on!!

[thebooklass]

I signed up with 3fc today, but I am not new to working on my weight. It's slow going. I was excited to see a thread on belly dancing in the exercise section. I used to take lessons and have several videos. Since we moved here to California, though, I have not found a new teacher. I almost gave up on it, because I am not exactly graceful and it is more fun with a real, live instructor. Seeing this thread, though, changed my mind.
Do any of you go to the Bhuz.com site? It has a pretty big list of instructors there if you cannot find what you need on Shira's site.

[aphil]

gypze-you are BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!! I love your photo!!
I do both cabaret and American Tribal style. I enjoy them both very much, and next weekend I am taking a class in Indian Classical Dance as well, and I have taken classes/workshops in Turkish Rom/gypsy as well. My goal is to learn about every form of belly dance and Middle Eastern dance that I possibly can.

thebooklass-
No, I have not been to that website. I'll have to check it out. I found my instrucor on Shira's website.

I wanted to let everyone know that the Bellydance Superstars are going to be touring-they are scheduled to be in my state in October. I encourage everyone to look up Bellydance Superstars online, and try to find their list of tour dates.

How is everyone doing with their videos and classes? Here is my current belly dance schedule:

Sundays: 2 hour troupe rehearsal
Tuesdays: 1 hour private lesson at my instructor's home

Then, along with my regular walking, yoga, and strength training through the week-I commit myself to doing a belly dance video (either professional instruction video or a belly dance fitness video) once or twice a week just for practice and exercise. Then we also have various workshops and/or performances here and there.
My next workshop is the Classical Indian dance one next weekend for two hours. Then at the end of May we are performing in a show a few hours away, after attending a workshop during the day with Zahra Zuhair. So-that is what I am up to this month.

As far as my videos at home that I do once or twice a week, here is what I own currently:

~Bellydance Fitness For Beginners (Veena & Neena)~
-Basic Moves/Fat Burning dvd (2 workouts)
-Arms & Abs/Hips, Buns, & Thighs dvd (2 workouts)
-Slim Down

~Discover Bellydance (Veena & Neena)~
-Basic Dance
-Beyond Basic Dance
-Mystic Dance

~Fat Chance BellyDance vol. 1-basic
(I also have Fat Chance vol. 2-but it is not a "dance" video-it is on makeup and costume)

~Hip Hop, Hip Drop-Rania dvd
~Bellydance Jam/BellyQueen dvd
~Bellydance For Wimps dvd (I do NOT recommend this one)
~The Goddess Workout-Dolphina
~The Goddess Workout with veil-Dolphina
~The Goddess Workout with finger cymbals-Dolphina
~Flex Appeal-Kathy Smith & Ansuya
~The Art Of Oriental Dance vols. 1 & 2
~Egyptian Bellydance For Intermediates-Hillary Thacker
~Belly Dance Surpise (with Neon-tray balancing)
~A Retro Choreography-Delilah
~Bellydance Magical Motion-Atea
~Bellydance Fast Moves-Atea
~Bellydance Slow Moves-Atea
~The Woman Power Workout-Karen Andes and Fat Chance Belly Dance
~Delilah:floorwork and belly rolls

I *think* that is what I have now. I ahve other videos that are performance ones

I am looking for a few new ones-I am interested in getting Ruby Jazayre's isolations videos, and looking for Rachel Brice Yoga Isolations one, and I am also looking to get Rania's "Too Hip", as well as some of the new Bellydance Fitness Fusion ones by Suhaila.

[thebooklass]

Aphil, as far as performance videos, which would you recommend?

[aphil]

For performance...I guess it really depends on what kind of belly dance you "like". If you like American Tribal Style, then any of the performance videos by Gypsy Caravan or Fat Chance Belly Dance are great.
If you prefer cabaret, and like a variety of styles-I would check out some of the videos that have performances by a variety of dancers and troupes. Dahlal Internationale has a nice selection of videos online-and they have them divided up into performance, instructional, and workout/fitness. Then those categories are split up into categories as well-so it helps you find a video by what YOU like.

[sweetvanillagirl911]

does it really help you lose weight! cool p.s any good websites for it?

[aphil]

sweetvanilla-
Bellydance burns calories and tones muscles just like any other dance form or exercise-tap dancing, ballet, walking, aerobics, etc.
With any exercise though, the muscles are used differently. You may find that someone who has taken ballet for many years has a really rock hard behind and legs due to the heavy use of those muscles-and someone who is a swimmer will have really defined and shaped shoulders and back from the heavy use during that activity. All exercises burn calories, but the muscle use is a little different.
In my experience in regular belly dancing moves-I find that I have really whittled my waistline down due to all of the circular and twisting moves in the belly area. This is a whittling down of the entire waistline though-I also due heavy abdominal work to get the muscle definition in the front (the 6-pack muscles). Belly dancing has also really worked my upper arms and shoulders, and my front thighs, and my back. It has also really improved my posture and balance by learning balancing. (sword, basket, etc.)

You can get a couple of "fitness" type belly dancing videos at a place like Best Buy or a dvd store and do it solely for a more enjoyable form of exercise, or you can take real classes with an instructor if you would like to get into it more seriously. It is a part of my regular exercise each week, but I do it for the art form, and the exercise is more of a "bonus" for me. I do it because I love the dance, the culture, the sisterhood among the women in the troupe I am involved in.
Websites:

www.shira.net (A great basic website with a little bit of information about everything-a little on costumes, a little on the history of the dance, a little on props, instructors list-a bunch of stuff all in one place!)

www.zweena.com (this is the dance troupe I am in-had to add that! )

www.chandras.com (A great little place to buy costume stuff-she has some great $20 metal hip belts and great prices on harem pants with little metallic stripes-great basics for beginners. )

[michellejy]

My bellydance DVD collection is getting a bit out of control. I have:

Bellydance Magical Motion - Atea
Bellydance Fast Moves - Atea
The 3 DVD Discover Bellydance Set - Veena & Neena
Bellydance Jam - Bellyqueen
Egyptian Bellydance For Intermediates-Hillary Thacker
The Dance - Carrie Konyha
The Dance Vol 2 - Carrie Konyha
Bellydancing Your Way to Energy - Amira Mor
Bellydancing Your Way to Your Soulmate - Amira Mor
Bellydancing: The Sensuous Workout - Shamira
Bellydancing: The Sensuous Workout 2 "Pure Techniques" - Shamira
Belly Dance Party - Neon
Instant Bellydancer: Curves - Neon
Instant Bellydancer: Hipwork Plus - Neon
Instructional Bellydance with Jillina Vol 1, 2, and 3


When I'm not working out with the Bellydance DVDs, I have a couple of Tahitian DVDs and also two Indian dance workouts that I haven't tried yet.

[michellejy]

Aphil- What do you think of the Delilah DVDs? Have you tried any aside from the 3rd one? I was considering ordering 2 and 3.