Samira bint Aya

Fatinah. Thanks for posting this thread!
The same thing happens to me too, and it is a relief to see that I am not the only one “afflicted”!

Personally, I believe it has to do more with psychological reasons rather than physical. I dance better when I am concentrated in the music and aware of my body movements. Stress or preoccupying thoughts interfere with this, and I end up making a mess out of my practice.

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Each dancing step brings a fresh breeze سميرة

sstacy123

The biggest let down for me is when I let things like not getting it or messing up bother me more than they should...I sometimes have to remind myself I do it because it's fun...and as my teacher said once, there is no timeline that you have to get it in...

fatinah

Im sooo glad Im not alone too

Tikvah

((hugs)) don't worry too much about it. Sometimes our bodies will unlearn movements that we haven't touched for a while (hello vibration shimmies over here!! Where did they go, and why can't I figure out how to do them again??). Some folks it takes years to figure out some moves, and some will pick them up quickly....so don't beat yourself up about it!!

Eve

Happens all the time.

Working with your body when it's fatigued is one thing, getting your mind up to speed is another.

& I used to beat myself up over it if I didn't get something right away. The thing is, when I did other stuff M.A/Boxing I never put that expectation on myself and never on my juniors - so why put that pressure on myself with this dance? I find it easier to let go and say, for whatever reason it's not working today (not to be mistaken with quitting or being lazy) it's more knowing yourself, sometimes you need to work through a problem sometimes you need to leave it for an hour or a day before coming back to it.

*leila*

I think it has alot to do with practicing so much, i do the same, i can do it at home get to class, and i drop my shimmy all the time, last week, everytime i tried to step forward while shimmying, i just coudl not do it, but it was alot of fun trying.

Samira bint Aya

Yes, I agree, although that is not very clear from my post.

Since you also seem to be into physical exercise, let me share with you an observation that I have made, and you can tell me your opinion. I have found that my good days at the gym, when I am full of energy, strength and stamina, tent to coincide with my bad days at dancing, when the movements come out clumsy, or looking forced. Recently I started yoga, and I am starting to see that my bad yoga days are the same as my bad dancing days.

Interesting that you say, how having a bad dancing day bothers you more than a bad day at the gym… I suspect that most of us here in this forum are motivated to be good dancers. I know I am. I tend to be a perfectionist in general, and I think that I have (subconsciously) invested part of my self worth in being good at what I do. With belly dancing this may be a bit more intense, since the results are displayed for others to see and judge for themselves. And it also has to do with femininity, which is such an important part of many women’s self esteem.

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Each dancing step brings a fresh breeze سميرة

lizaj

One thing to remember:
as I discovered -your fellow student is usually equally worried she is letting herself down and if she isn't, she's probably a deluded diva!

fatinah

haha thats very true!!

ShiroiOji

Ugh, whenever it comes to spotting in class, I feel like complete rubbish. Keep in mind, I am new, and I will get better. However, when I am at home, I feel as though I am able to focus on certain things in the room. When I look in the mirror, I don't have a focus, and I cannot seem to keep it, thus I end up getting sort of dizzy by the end of eight turns!