Your first class,as a male, what was it like ? - Page 3

Shanazel · 07-11-2008, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Now, sometimes, they don't even bother with that - and I have to do a quick pivot around - "uh, warn me next time you're gonna take off your bra!"

It's just skin, babe.

Zorba · 07-11-2008, 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shanazel

It's just skin, babe.

That it is - I just DON'T want to be the cause of embarrassment for any of my dance sisters, that's all.

Caroline_afifi · 07-11-2008, 09:20 AM

You would be surprised at how many women who dont know where to bury their head when a bra comes off!

Thanks for the advice Zorba.

Shanazel · 07-11-2008, 02:41 PM

Honey, any woman who whips off her bra knowing you are in the room is either a veteran of many many dressing rooms or gets a bit of oomph from her flash. You aren't going to embarass her.

Zorba · 07-11-2008, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shanazel

Honey, any woman who whips off her bra knowing you are in the room is either a veteran of many many dressing rooms or gets a bit of oomph from her flash. You aren't going to embarass her.

That's probably true - but I'm certainly NOT going to sit there and gawk! I can go talk to one of my dance sisters on the other side of the room or something....

ShiroiOji · 07-24-2008, 06:08 AM

Mine was actually a VERY positive experience. Of course, I had some help.

See, I did a lot of research online before choosing a place. I even Googled male belly dancers and found Zorba that way, and emailed him to ask him for his advice, (thanks, mate!) and then looked through people on shira.net. I started by looking for proximity, and I lucked out, (I'm in Los Angeles, so it's pretty likely that I would!) by finding someone who has been teaching for two more years than I have been alive. I emailed Anisa and asked her about taking on male students, and she let me know that everyone was welcome, and told me to wear anything that I am comfortable working out in.

When I came to the studio a week later, I brought a friend with me, a young woman whom I am close with and whom has experience with taking Salsa lessons. Because I went to a daytime class, there were very few people there; Anisa, two older women, and the two of us.

Anisa's daytime class is a Beginner/Intermediate class, so I DID feel oafish at times, especially as she needed to entirely change my posture. Of course, Rachel also had her posture changed entirely, which helped me not feel so bad. I spent the hour working muscles I didn't know I HAD, and I hurt like a mofo the next morning, especially my lower back and lower abs!

I think what really helped though was that at the end of class, Anisa came over and asked us how long we had been dancing, me because of my arms and Rachel because of her ease of movement with her hips. It was nice to get any sort of compliment after working that hard!

Oh, and the next day, I did make sure to email Zorba and thank him for his help!

Zorba · 07-27-2008, 02:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShiroiOji

Anisa's daytime class is a Beginner/Intermediate class, so I DID feel oafish at times, especially as she needed to entirely change my posture. Of course, Rachel also had her posture changed entirely, which helped me not feel so bad. I spent the hour working muscles I didn't know I HAD, and I hurt like a mofo the next morning, especially my lower back and lower abs!

Watch out for lower back pain - make sure your pelvis is tucked, especially when doing side to side hip movements.

But yea, posture is everything, and I *STILL* have "issues". Belly Dance teachers do have that knack of finding some muscle you didn't know about, then S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G it farther than you ever thought possible!

ShiroiOji · 07-27-2008, 03:29 AM

Oh yeah, it only happened the day after my first class. Anything after that has been perfectly fine; no pain whatsoever. I think it was mostly that I had never worked that area before. I have been working on posture more than anything else so far; keeping my ribcage tucked is the really hard part for me!

khanjar · 07-27-2008, 11:40 AM

I don't have the lower back pain, as I am constantly doing other exercises to strengthen that area, but legs, they ache standing up and they ache lying down to the point I don't know what to do with them, they just ache ,for days at a time.

Especially knees, it is surprising that through learning this dance form, that my normal standing stance is locked knees, and again through the dance I am learning not to stand with locked knees, which is straining the underdeveloped muscles around the knees and contributing to the aching, but it is for the best and healthier too, correcting all these alignment problems.

AngelaJP · 08-02-2008, 05:23 PM

In my school, they don't allow male BD students unless they're very clearly gay. Most of the women feel uncomfortable having a man around, I guess, especially that many dress up in sexy outfits.

What are the advantages of being a male in BD, stronger leg muscles and better isolation? I'm so curious to see a male belly dancer perform!

07-27-2008, 11:40 AM	#29 (permalink)
khanjar Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: England Posts: 444	I don't have the lower back pain, as I am constantly doing other exercises to strengthen that area, but legs, they ache standing up and they ache lying down to the point I don't know what to do with them, they just ache ,for days at a time. Especially knees, it is surprising that through learning this dance form, that my normal standing stance is locked knees, and again through the dance I am learning not to stand with locked knees, which is straining the underdeveloped muscles around the knees and contributing to the aching, but it is for the best and healthier too, correcting all these alignment problems. __________________ I am a dream to some...and a nightmare to others.

08-02-2008, 05:23 PM	#30 (permalink)
AngelaJP Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Christchurch, New Zealand Posts: 550	In my school, they don't allow male BD students unless they're very clearly gay. Most of the women feel uncomfortable having a man around, I guess, especially that many dress up in sexy outfits. What are the advantages of being a male in BD, stronger leg muscles and better isolation? I'm so curious to see a male belly dancer perform! __________________ Carpe diem! Last edited by AngelaJP; 08-02-2008 at 06:02 PM.

07-11-2008, 09:20 AM	#23 (permalink)
Caroline_afifi V.I.P. Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Liverpool UK Posts: 1,376	You would be surprised at how many women who dont know where to bury their head when a bra comes off! Thanks for the advice Zorba.

07-11-2008, 02:41 PM	#24 (permalink)
Shanazel Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Rocky Mountains USA Posts: 4,684	Honey, any woman who whips off her bra knowing you are in the room is either a veteran of many many dressing rooms or gets a bit of oomph from her flash. You aren't going to embarass her.

07-24-2008, 06:08 AM	#26 (permalink)
ShiroiOji Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 60	Mine was actually a VERY positive experience. Of course, I had some help. See, I did a lot of research online before choosing a place. I even Googled male belly dancers and found Zorba that way, and emailed him to ask him for his advice, (thanks, mate!) and then looked through people on shira.net. I started by looking for proximity, and I lucked out, (I'm in Los Angeles, so it's pretty likely that I would!) by finding someone who has been teaching for two more years than I have been alive. I emailed Anisa and asked her about taking on male students, and she let me know that everyone was welcome, and told me to wear anything that I am comfortable working out in. When I came to the studio a week later, I brought a friend with me, a young woman whom I am close with and whom has experience with taking Salsa lessons. Because I went to a daytime class, there were very few people there; Anisa, two older women, and the two of us. Anisa's daytime class is a Beginner/Intermediate class, so I DID feel oafish at times, especially as she needed to entirely change my posture. Of course, Rachel also had her posture changed entirely, which helped me not feel so bad. I spent the hour working muscles I didn't know I HAD, and I hurt like a mofo the next morning, especially my lower back and lower abs! I think what really helped though was that at the end of class, Anisa came over and asked us how long we had been dancing, me because of my arms and Rachel because of her ease of movement with her hips. It was nice to get any sort of compliment after working that hard! Oh, and the next day, I did make sure to email Zorba and thank him for his help!

07-27-2008, 03:29 AM	#28 (permalink)
ShiroiOji Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 60	Oh yeah, it only happened the day after my first class. Anything after that has been perfectly fine; no pain whatsoever. I think it was mostly that I had never worked that area before. I have been working on posture more than anything else so far; keeping my ribcage tucked is the really hard part for me!