Any other bellydancers?

I am 218 pound bellydancer. ;)  I said it publically. I'm down from a recent high of 221.5 lbs and an all time high of 227, but starting over again since six months ago I was down to 210.

The form of exercise that has really bitten me hard is one I first started as a child some 30 years ago, and returned to a little over a year ago.  I started with a one hour belly dance class once a week (Raqs Sharqi, Egyptian Cabaret style dance), and worked my way up. I now have two Egyptian Cabaret style classes a week, to the tune of two hours, troupe rehearsal for a middle eastern dance troupe I am a member of (add on 2-4 hours per week of rehearsal/practice time), and another 90 minute class in Tribal Style bellydance. The Tribal class is particularly good at toning and muscle strengthening and always leaves me with muscles fatigued to the point of shaking.  I practice for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour daily and tend to drilll moves or shimmy while waiting in lines. I even car-dance, which consists of practicing bellyrolls and rib cage isolations when I'm in the car. (Bellyrolls while driving, rib cage slides, lifts, drops and circles while at traffic lights). Its the only thing I've found that I truly adore and don't get bored with. As a matter of fact, as I strive to improve my dance skills and develop solid technique, it gets more and more challenging. I even get paid for performances, which is a nice bonus. Its not outpacing what I spend on classes and materials to make my own costuming, but it is a nice benefit. This is less than the cost of the gym membership I didn't use often enough, and I can practice pretty much anywhere as long as I put on some music.

I was wondering if there are any other people out there using bellydance as a form of fitness (though I get far more than the physical benefits from it) or as a major way of getting into shape. 

No but it sounds awesome and I want to now!

I want to learn how to bellydance!

What states are you guys located in? I can see if I can locate instructors in your area. I'll be teaching a beginning class in my area, but I'm only qualified to teach beginning level dance in Egyptian Cabaret style at this point. I dance at a higher level than that, but need a lot more study before I would feel qualified to teach beyond beginning level. I'm in touch with other dancers and instructors all over the world though so I can probably put you in touch with someone in your area.   If we can message through this site, drop me a note, and if we can't, let me know so I can list my email address here.

Washington!

I always wanted to learn how to belly dance. Too bad there's none in my area that teaches it. (Binghamton, NY just in case!!)

I just love the way you guys shake your hips! It's not just crazy shake everywhere, but with more cut and order.. er, not really sure how to put that in words..

-Lemon Jello

[edit] well, google proved me wrong.. :P hopefully i'll be able to take classes!!

Oh, I was browsing through your pics and thought you looked pretty amazing. And from what I've seen, more meat is better than stick skinny for belly dancing. (:
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I took a few classes once a few years ago and found it to be great fun!  Unfortunately I didn't really stick to it :)

Maybe I should look into classes here....*thinking out loud*

Western Washington!

I took up belly dancing a few years ago...participated in a few public performances.  My last class/performance was in June. 

I'm currently looking for a new instructor/troupe (Egyptian/Cabaret) in the area.  I have a few leads but really haven't followed up on it.   I practice with DVDs.

I've attended a couple of Tribal dance practices.   It's a great workout!  But my preference is cabaret.  I'm all into cabaret, gypsy glitzy, happy danc'n kinda girl!!!  I have one assuit costume the rest is cabaret!

I'm glad I'm not the only nut out their in traffic!  (thanks for the laughs)  Be careful, it's easy to get carried away.  Have you tried chest lifts while sitting at the light?  hehehe  Practice, practice!!!

I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO THIS.  I would love it, for the coordination and the exercise.  I'm getting the phone book out to look right now. 

This thread convinced me to sign up for a class at my uni. ! wee!

I take belly dancing classes a couple days a week.  LOVE IT!!  And it feels great on the back!! 

Lets see...

Binghamton, NY Bellydance Instructors:

Helena    http://www.egyptiantwist.com/ ;

Donia   http://www.hiptwist.org/

Diana Shahein  Dianashahein@aol.com


This web site lists instructors all over Washington state:

http://www.orientaldancer.net/belly-dance-ins tructors/united_states/washington/

More on this page for Ohio:

http://www.orientaldancer.net/belly-dance-ins tructors/united_states/ohio/

and in the Ann Arbor Michigan area:

Crystal  http://www.unveiledbellydance.com/

Zahra  http://www.troupetaamulat.org/

and a Turkish style instructor can be reached at turkobellydance@yahoo.com

As an aside, I haven't met most of these instructors so I can't attest to their teaching styles, but its prefectly fine to try a few classes with one instructor and if their class doesn't work for you for one reason or another, try a different instructor! I've studied with a number of people and hope to never stop learning, but I definitely learn better with some teaching styles as opposed to others, so if I really didn't mesh well with one person, I tried another until I found others I could learn well from.

mcsero--

*lol* I know. There are certain CDs I can't listen to while driving because I get wrapped up in dancing to them and drive slower and sloooower....

I practice all sorts of chest lifts and drops in the car, and hand floreos and ripples out the window in the summer. I find that I love the glitz of cabaret but really like the costuming and the sinuous nature of Tribal. My solution is to fuse them and go Tribaret--glitzy Tribal style in costuming and dancing that is a fusion of the styles. I'm pretty eclectic and will adopt moves I like from other styles. I even choreographed one dance to bagpipe rock and made a custom tartan costume, (yes, its wool) complete withe hand-made fully sequined sporran. (Pics in my profile).  It was a big hit.

qamar-  your pictures are awesome!! 

 

Thanks! I have a lot of fun with it and my daughter loves photography, so she uses me a training exercise. As a result, I end up with some really lovely photos.

This is great!  I live in small town Iowa and I think I saw an add for bellydancing class in our small town paper...I told my husband I might do it just to sweat!  Looks like fun and a great way to tone stomach and back muscles.

I've lost 20 pounds so far and am 285, but it gets cold here in the winter and walking is going to be much harder to do so this would be wonderful.  Your post is a great "sign" for me that I'm on the right track.

I like it because its something I can do year-round. In the winter I just layer more costuming underneath to stay warm--harem pants and several layers of skirts where in the summer I might just have one or two skirts and no harem pants.  You don't really need anything special for costuming for class  though, and while I show my midriff (I get HOT dancing) thats strictly a matter of personal preference. All you really need are comfy clothes you can move easily in. A hip scarf of some sort does help when learning hip isolations though, and its a lot of fun to wear.  I know it tones you all over really well. I took nearly three inches off my waist in the first two months I danced, and have killer legs and strong arms. 

Yes, I love bellydancing! The music, the costumes, the zills, the moves... I'm in love with it. I've been dancing for over three years now, and though I don't have the time to go to classes anymore, I still do it for fun and performances. I don't really consider it as my main form of exercise - it's too fun! :P Somehow, pounding on the elliptical seems like more "work" to me, though I have to admit shimmying for a few solid minutes really gets my buns and thighs working!

Question-

Since I am just starting and haven't decided on how I want to lose weight and begin exercising. I am 5'2 and 220lbs.... Do you think I should start with belly dancing and I do plan to incorporate it with swimming for an hour everyday? A friend of mine thinks I should wait until I develop some stomach muscles so I can actually feel it working when I'm doing the bellydance moves, while I think it's ok and a good way to develop my muscles and tighten my stomach... What do you all think?

As you learn to isolate different muscle groups with bellydancing you will develop plenty of muscle and will definitely be in touch with your abs. Between that and swimming you should be well on your way to getting fit although it certainly doesn't hurt to add in other forms of exercise that you like--its all good. Swimming is my other favourite exericse though I can't do it right now because I am healing brand new tattoos on my feet. It'll be a couple of weeks longer before they are healed enough that I will be past the risk of losing ink through water immersion.

As for ab muscle, I say I have flabs of steel because I have very strong abs undeneath the insulation.  Eventually they'll be vivible for the world to see, but meanwhile, I'vemade friends with the flab because it shimmies like nobody's business. :)

Good for you Qamar!  Shake it baby shake it!