boopook

Hi there,

First off, I'm not entirely sure if this is the right place to post this, I'm new here so if not I apologise in advance. I'm a new student to belly dance, I've been in classes for 2 months now. I'm keen to learn more about the dance but am not sure where to start. Should I start with different styles of dance? Or music? And also I was wondering if you knew of any good sites for info. Thanks =)

Khalida

Hi there!

Welcome to the forum :0)

A good place to start would be Shiras website Belly Dancing -- Art Of Middle Eastern Dance -- Bellydancing in Iowa City, she has tons of information and links to other sites about bellydance styles, music, history andsoforth.

There's also a wealth of information on forums like this one or BELLYDANCE CENTRAL - Everything Belly Dance! Welcome to BHUZ - Biggest Online BellyDance Community » BELLYDANCE CENTRAL Welcome to BHUZ - Biggest Online BellyDance Community.

You could also ask your teacher where you could find good sources to expand your dance knowledge.

Have fun discovering this wonderful art form!

Khalida

Jack

If I were you, I would find out more about styles. That way, you can choose your perfered style a bit more earlier on.

And one other thing, never trust information from just one resource. There will be a lot of misconceptions and myths on the internet. And if you find a resource that you think is reliable (Shira's website for example), just remember that a lot of history is blurry and that no one knows the absolute truth, there all theories. Almost nothing is set in stone.

So what you can do is learn ALL of the theories. That's the only way around it.

BTW, welcome to belly dance!

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Kashmir

Depends what you mean by "more about the dance". If you mean its history there are few reliable books out there. I've included some that I like with some reviews on my site Sources - which could be a start. (Re-reading the page I see it is out of date - MED list and Habibi are no more - I must add it to my update list )

With the internet there is lots of complete bull out there - so be careful.

The other thing to expand your knowledge is good performance videos and if you have a leaning to Egyptian - some of the old black and white film footage. Best ask someone (like you teacher) before shelling out big bucks because again - it is not all value for money. (And don't rely on YouTube). Some teachers will show footage in class - if you find something you really like you could buy your own copy if it is still available.

jenc

If you have been learning for only 2 months, do you know what style your teacher teaches. Can she tell you why she chose this style and what, in her opinion defines this style and makes it different from the others?

adiemus

I've spent time looking at the video's that people have posted on here as examples of good dancing...I've also spent time comparing some of these ones with some of the not so good ones on You Tube!! I second what Kashmir has said about not relying on You Tube as a place to fine 'good' examples of the dance! But it can be useful as time goes on to compare and contrast different styles to see what you like.
Initially I had absolutely NO clues about what was 'good' and what was not, but I have found my preferences moving towards Egyptian style although it's not easy to actually do.
I spent hours on both this forum (which is very friendly and people are keen to help you) and others, including Shira's and Kashmir's websites...
A DVD I love is The Bellydancers of Cairo, which is a documentary and has some wonderful clips of different dancers with different styles.
You've started a wonderful journey - enjoy it!

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He wahine, he taonga- Every woman is a treasure(Maori proverb)