Your "first date" with belly dance...

I always like to share questions I receive from students with the group as it might answer questions you have... Last night we welcomed 8 new students. Attending your first belly dance class is an experience in itself. It's important for me to share from my experience as a belly dance instructor for the past 9 years and my own experience going to class.... that attending a belly dance class is very different than many other classes. Belly Dance connects so strongly with your heart and spirit that it is a surprisingly vulnerable place to be. 

For most of society, belly dance class is perceived to be just a "fun workout" class where you get to feel "sexy." What actually happens is quite the opposite most of the time. Although there are many "feelings" I hear ladies mention after their first class... "sexy" is not one of them. 

Belly dance is technically difficult and complex, there are cultural and emotional elements that are a huge part of the instruction and it takes years to master. Even when mastered, belly dance offers thousands of elements to be learned and layered on top of the technique you know. When you layer those and learn new concepts you are encouraged to go back to the beginning and re-learn the basic steps that you thought you knew and start again. It's a beautiful cycle of learning and growing, very much like life and our different stages of growing and learning. It challenges every bit of your body, mind, and soul. It's also the reason why many belly dancers remain engaged and continue learning this dance form for years or a lifetime.

Adding live drumming to that, adds another level of difficulty. We love live music- but live music, unlike pre-recorded music, requires that you invite the music into your body first and connect with it before you even start to move. The drum needs the dancer as much as the dancer needs the drum. It's a beautiful conversation but it takes practice and an open heart. Lots to take in on a first "date" with belly dance. It's much like discussing what you will name your first child on a blind date. However, what a beautiful thing it is when you can have conversations like that minus the insecurities. A safe place where you can say and do what you like and be you. That is what a great belly dance class is to me. 

Allowing yourself to be challenged by the technique while remaining open to these challenges and appreciating every single part of your body for moving in the way it wants and allowing you to express yourself from the heart, that is the goal.

When I am asked what you can do to strengthen your practice outside of your regular belly dance class... my answer is always to work with opening your energy, improving your posture, and experimenting with balance. These are some of the core elements of a strong belly dance foundation. Experiment with the following:

• Tuck your tailbone in
• Practice rocking your pelvic bone forward and back (tuck and drop)
• Heart Open and Shoulders back
• Engage your shoulder blades and push them towards each other
• Heart up, deep breath in and lift
• Create space in your Throat Chakra to be able to connect
• bring your chin up and relax your facial muscles
• Engage your belly
• separate it in three parts (right under your rib cage, right in your mid section, 3 fingers below your belly button) and practice tightening one area at a time
• Shift your weight
• With your knees bent, shift your weight from one foot to the other, rocking...practice moving from side to side, front to back, feel the ground, lift your toes, shift from the heels to the balls of your feet.... experiment with weight shift while your knees are bent and tail bone tucked in, shoulders back, heart is open, belly engaged, facial muscles relaxed.

On a less spiritual level, my experience tells me... make it through the first class and you might come back, make it through the second class and you will feel less crazy and will start to think you can do a couple more, make it through the third class and you'll feel like you might actually be able to do this.... make it to the fourth class and you're hooked!

As far as other practices, of course more belly dancing, more classes! But outside of belly dance, I find YOGA is a great complement. Being grounded and shifting awareness to different parts of the body is really important. Yoga is a practice that will strengthen that ability. Practice tree pose and mountain pose, practice awareness of your breath during practice and during savasana... allow yourself to connect with the earth and be still. Stillness is an important element of Egyptian belly dance. I posted a video yesterday about this, check it out. It has a lot of great information from an inspirational dancer in our community.

just my two cents

Thank you for coming to class, thank you for being interested in our class.

Happy Friday and Happy Festing Y'all!!!!