I started dancing as a small child in ballet. I grew up in Ireland and music and dance was a huge part of our family gatherings, which were quite frequent, so I've been doing folk dancing my entire life. I continued with ballet and modern dance through my teen years. I've also been studying polynesian dancing for eight years. My dance training has had a significant influence in my training with oriental dance. It was very natural for me to learn. I see the same in my students with dance training, and those that have no training seem to need a little extra help (not all of them though; some blow me away).
Polynesian dancing is similar in so many ways, that there are moves that are nearly identical to each other. The transition to bellydance was very smooth. I credit my dance experience for helping me to develop to where I am now and I don't think I would be where I am now without it. Very beneficial for beginners.
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