What inspired you to want to learn belly dancing? - Page 2

Mariyam · 08-17-2006, 02:08 PM

Good question... But I'd say the music, mostly. Whenever I hear music from the Middle East, I instantly close my eyes and let myself be transported in another world... So at first I wanted to learn how to move to that music, I was curious. Now I have transformed this infatuation into a complete journey to not only discover the music, the dance and the culture, but also discover myself!

elly-beth · 08-18-2006, 09:26 AM

My first introduction to belly dance was at festival when i was about fifteen....untill then i had done the usual dance stuff and loved it but did'nt find it expressive...At the festival people were dancing to drums and voices hand claps and whistles....It was such a free feeling.... now myself NOT being an introvert jumped up and let loose..later that night at the dance circle the fire dancers were playing and it became a choice for me to fire dance.... otherwise it would have been Belly dance from then...

Elly-beth

desertdaughter · 08-19-2006, 01:45 AM

I saw my first belly dancer when I was 15 and on holidays in Turkey. Like many of you I also was fascinated but at that time there simply were no teachers and schools where I was living, so I couldn't get lessons.

This was only possible many years later, after the birth of my second son and became some sort of a topic for me again since my midwife actually was the one who "revived" that "old" interest of mine. She showed me some movements which helped me a lot during labour and I then decided that I definitely wanted to learn more..... :-)
I still was talking every now and then to my husband about wanting to learn this dance but didn't know where, and then it happened that a belly dance teacher was offering a 4-weekend-course at the sports club where my husband was the swim coach at that time. So it actually was my husband who finally got me into dancing because he simply enroled me for that course without me knowing it :-) That was a good thing, otherwise I might have been too shy to enrol myself....

So I attended those 4 weekends and just loved it!!!! This was it! It felt like I finally had found a piece that had been missing in my life before. It's hard to describe, but I think you will know what I am talking about :-)
I went to classes for a couple of years, attended many many seminars and workshops with lots of great dancers and teachers, completed a teachers training, performed also for a couple of years and eventually started my own little "school".
I am teaching now for more than 15 years and am still loving it despite a few "set backs" with not so nice other teachers and students. But the majority of people, I met during those years, teachers and students alike, have been very nice and it's an absolutely great feeling to know that those student groups I left behind when I moved from Europe to the other side of the globe, are still friends and dancing together, continuing what I started with them....
Thanks for "listening" :-)
Desertdaughter

Yasmine Bint Al Nubia · 08-20-2006, 04:27 PM

My story is very similr to Mouse. I earnestly begn a exercise program about5-6 years ago, which included cardio and weight training. Well I put on muscle mass pretty quickly and was losing flexibiilty.So one day in 2002, while at Sam's Club I saw a video by Neena and Veena promoting bellydance as a way to lose weight and gain flexibility. Well I fell in love with the dance, music and costumes.So I bought their 3 DVD boxed set and I 've been hooked ever since. However I realized I needed a real life teacher to help me learn about the dnce and specifically the culture. Since that time, I've exposed myself to learn all i can about the culture and trditions from variety of sources and attend a many workshops and seminars that I can. The learning never stops.
Yasmine

Yshka · 08-20-2006, 04:40 PM

My story is kind of weird lol. I was sitting in the hall in high school three years ago when a bd teacher walked by and said: would you like to learn bellydance?

I'd always thought of it as really beautiful but didn't think I could ever move like that. Nonetheless I took the offer and now here I am three years later, hooked, maybe even obsessed lol. Dancing has kind of become a way of life, it's what I think about 24/7

Aniseteph · 08-20-2006, 07:58 PM

I'd fancied having a go at belly dancing for years - don't know why! I had no idea there were DVDs or a UK belly dancing scene. (though I played a "belly dancing" slave in an amateur musical production in the 80's, complete with dodgy 80's perm.

)

Did salsa for a while but husband won't dance, and without a partner to progress with it was SOO frustrating - the men just wouldn't lead!

I'd done ballet when I was little but got too er, statuesque, and it isn't something they let you do for fun (probably because it isn't fun...). Always felt like a lumbering elephant when I tried tap and jazz dance.

Then a teacher started belly dance courses a couple of years ago near where I live and I caught the obsession and here I am! No partners needed, no unpleasant bouncing up and down, no need to be about 3 stone lighter... AND dressing up in sparkly things

. And I can even use my lifelong habit of making beaded/embroidered/crocheted crafty stuff to some useful purpose instead of just making pointless beaded/embroidered/crocheted crafty stuff. And I've made new friends and discovered a whole new world of music. Maybe one day I'll even have a go at wearing an over-the-top wig and false eyelashes, ha ha ha.

samsied · 08-23-2006, 03:04 AM

It's cool reading people's stories! I wanted to take bellydance classes for a few years before I actually did. A lot of little things inspired me...

I was always intrigued by the bellydancing on TV and films. When I started college, my roommate was a Turkish woman who danced in a folkloric troupe in her country. I was fascinated with her photographs of her troupe, music and costumes. I also really liked the way she danced when freestyle social dancing. I didn't associate that with bellydancing since she described what she did as "folkdance" (and I think her troupe work was primarily line dances, but her social moves were bellydance moves). That same year, I had an Iranian friend who also used a lot of "bellydance" moves in her social party dancing. She taught me a few of her moves, but I still didn't see that as bellydance since I thought of the two-piece caberet costume and belly movements as bellydance. Both of these women were older than me and had graduated and moved away before I saw a live bellydance performance.

There was a big bellydance scene in the town where I went to college. Over the next few years I saw several fabulous bellydancers at events around town. I am glad that my earliest exposure to live "belly dance" was good dancing since it dispelled all the stereotypes I somehow picked up. I also immedietely saw that this dance used many of the moves my Turkish and Iranian friends used for their social dances. I asked one of these dancers about classes and it turned out her mother taught in my local area. It was still a year or two before I was brave enough to enroll in classes.

08-20-2006, 04:40 PM	#15 (permalink)
Yshka Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 1,251	My story is kind of weird lol. I was sitting in the hall in high school three years ago when a bd teacher walked by and said: would you like to learn bellydance? I'd always thought of it as really beautiful but didn't think I could ever move like that. Nonetheless I took the offer and now here I am three years later, hooked, maybe even obsessed lol. Dancing has kind of become a way of life, it's what I think about 24/7 Last edited by Yshka; 08-23-2006 at 10:24 PM.

08-17-2006, 02:08 PM	#11 (permalink)
Mariyam Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Leiden, the Netherlands Posts: 263	Good question... But I'd say the music, mostly. Whenever I hear music from the Middle East, I instantly close my eyes and let myself be transported in another world... So at first I wanted to learn how to move to that music, I was curious. Now I have transformed this infatuation into a complete journey to not only discover the music, the dance and the culture, but also discover myself!

08-18-2006, 09:26 AM	#12 (permalink)
elly-beth Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: australia Posts: 20	My first introduction to belly dance was at festival when i was about fifteen....untill then i had done the usual dance stuff and loved it but did'nt find it expressive...At the festival people were dancing to drums and voices hand claps and whistles....It was such a free feeling.... now myself NOT being an introvert jumped up and let loose..later that night at the dance circle the fire dancers were playing and it became a choice for me to fire dance.... otherwise it would have been Belly dance from then... Elly-beth

08-19-2006, 01:45 AM	#13 (permalink)
desertdaughter Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 12	I saw my first belly dancer when I was 15 and on holidays in Turkey. Like many of you I also was fascinated but at that time there simply were no teachers and schools where I was living, so I couldn't get lessons. This was only possible many years later, after the birth of my second son and became some sort of a topic for me again since my midwife actually was the one who "revived" that "old" interest of mine. She showed me some movements which helped me a lot during labour and I then decided that I definitely wanted to learn more..... :-) I still was talking every now and then to my husband about wanting to learn this dance but didn't know where, and then it happened that a belly dance teacher was offering a 4-weekend-course at the sports club where my husband was the swim coach at that time. So it actually was my husband who finally got me into dancing because he simply enroled me for that course without me knowing it :-) That was a good thing, otherwise I might have been too shy to enrol myself.... So I attended those 4 weekends and just loved it!!!! This was it! It felt like I finally had found a piece that had been missing in my life before. It's hard to describe, but I think you will know what I am talking about :-) I went to classes for a couple of years, attended many many seminars and workshops with lots of great dancers and teachers, completed a teachers training, performed also for a couple of years and eventually started my own little "school". I am teaching now for more than 15 years and am still loving it despite a few "set backs" with not so nice other teachers and students. But the majority of people, I met during those years, teachers and students alike, have been very nice and it's an absolutely great feeling to know that those student groups I left behind when I moved from Europe to the other side of the globe, are still friends and dancing together, continuing what I started with them.... Thanks for "listening" :-) Desertdaughter

08-20-2006, 04:27 PM	#14 (permalink)
Yasmine Bint Al Nubia V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Akron, Ohio Posts: 1,138	My story is very similr to Mouse. I earnestly begn a exercise program about5-6 years ago, which included cardio and weight training. Well I put on muscle mass pretty quickly and was losing flexibiilty.So one day in 2002, while at Sam's Club I saw a video by Neena and Veena promoting bellydance as a way to lose weight and gain flexibility. Well I fell in love with the dance, music and costumes.So I bought their 3 DVD boxed set and I 've been hooked ever since. However I realized I needed a real life teacher to help me learn about the dnce and specifically the culture. Since that time, I've exposed myself to learn all i can about the culture and trditions from variety of sources and attend a many workshops and seminars that I can. The learning never stops. Yasmine

08-20-2006, 07:58 PM	#16 (permalink)
Aniseteph V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Sussex, England Posts: 1,703	I'd fancied having a go at belly dancing for years - don't know why! I had no idea there were DVDs or a UK belly dancing scene. (though I played a "belly dancing" slave in an amateur musical production in the 80's, complete with dodgy 80's perm. ) Did salsa for a while but husband won't dance, and without a partner to progress with it was SOO frustrating - the men just wouldn't lead! I'd done ballet when I was little but got too er, statuesque, and it isn't something they let you do for fun (probably because it isn't fun...). Always felt like a lumbering elephant when I tried tap and jazz dance. Then a teacher started belly dance courses a couple of years ago near where I live and I caught the obsession and here I am! No partners needed, no unpleasant bouncing up and down, no need to be about 3 stone lighter... AND dressing up in sparkly things . And I can even use my lifelong habit of making beaded/embroidered/crocheted crafty stuff to some useful purpose instead of just making pointless beaded/embroidered/crocheted crafty stuff. And I've made new friends and discovered a whole new world of music. Maybe one day I'll even have a go at wearing an over-the-top wig and false eyelashes, ha ha ha.

08-23-2006, 03:04 AM	#17 (permalink)
samsied Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 120	It's cool reading people's stories! I wanted to take bellydance classes for a few years before I actually did. A lot of little things inspired me... I was always intrigued by the bellydancing on TV and films. When I started college, my roommate was a Turkish woman who danced in a folkloric troupe in her country. I was fascinated with her photographs of her troupe, music and costumes. I also really liked the way she danced when freestyle social dancing. I didn't associate that with bellydancing since she described what she did as "folkdance" (and I think her troupe work was primarily line dances, but her social moves were bellydance moves). That same year, I had an Iranian friend who also used a lot of "bellydance" moves in her social party dancing. She taught me a few of her moves, but I still didn't see that as bellydance since I thought of the two-piece caberet costume and belly movements as bellydance. Both of these women were older than me and had graduated and moved away before I saw a live bellydance performance. There was a big bellydance scene in the town where I went to college. Over the next few years I saw several fabulous bellydancers at events around town. I am glad that my earliest exposure to live "belly dance" was good dancing since it dispelled all the stereotypes I somehow picked up. I also immedietely saw that this dance used many of the moves my Turkish and Iranian friends used for their social dances. I asked one of these dancers about classes and it turned out her mother taught in my local area. It was still a year or two before I was brave enough to enroll in classes.