Belly Dancing

Just over 2 hours ago I finished my last belly dancing class of the year. You read that right - belly dancing!

The school I work for organizes events and classes for students and staff throughout the academic year. There's an art club that Darren attends most Tuesdays, aerobics classes three times a week, monthly movie nights on campus, an introductory Arabic course...all free to those affiliated with the college and their families. It's a pretty nice perk.

So for the past 5 Mondays, I've been attending my first ever belly dancing class. I've learned first and foremost that belly dancing is not about the belly; it's all about the hips. The belly isn't even the second most important part - that's the arms! I've also learned that isolating a particular muscle is very difficult! I watch the instructor slide her shoulders without moving her torso or break out in a full hip shimmy without moving her legs and stand amazed.

The women who attended the class were of all ages, shapes and sizes. The ad that was circulated inviting us to join the class included this paragraph under "description":

Before belly dance became a cabaret type of entertainment, it was a celebration of femininity expressed solely by women in the exclusive company of women. The art of belly dance has evolved, but the benefits of the dance persist. Belly dance is a low impact aerobic activity that works various muscles in the body, increasing flexibility and endurance while learning to appreciate the female body, regardless of size and weight.

It was really lovely for us as women of literally all body types to learn to shake our bottoms together.

From the first class we've been working on the choreography for a particular dance. Each class we would review the steps we had learned the week before and then learn a few more. Eventually we put the whole song together and tonight was our big performance. What I mean by that is that half the class did the dance while the other half watched, and vice versa. But it was the first time we had an audience, so it was exciting!

I will never become a professional belly dancer; I simply cannot coordinate the hips, arms, shoulders and neck at the same time! But I will be there each week in January when the class starts up again...with hip scarf on!!