Thread: Where are all the Belly Dancers at?

Hi All,

Just signed up today. There's not much discussion happening in this section. Would love to chat with other belly dancers/enthusiasts/hobbyists etc. I fell in love with this dance form over three years ago and still love it. What made you become a Belly dance fan?

Welcome to the forum. Discussions in various sub forums come & go. If you do a search on dance styles you are bound to find a few threads.

I wanted some outside activity - hated the gym and running etc. Decided to try BD - fell head over heels in love with the first class and have been at it ever since (8yrs & counting)
~Mosaic

I used to spend over 40 hours a week playing World of Warcraft, on top of going to school full time and having a part-time job. When I stopped playing, I didn't know what to do with my time.

Since I don't watch TV, this meant I started spending a lot of time on youtube watching videos, or listening to music and dancing to it. Then I started looking up dance videos on youtube. I'd always been a bit fascinated by belly dance, so once I started watching videos on youtube it became an obsession. I decided I HAD to learn it...

I first started ten years ago, but the way the classes were structured didin't fit me and I often felt frustrated bcause I wasn't given enough time to learn the steps before the teacher moved on to choreographies. (Yes, I didn't realize that I should practise at home.) When a course that had been advertised to be about technique turned to choreo, I stopped. I was sad, but I just tought these classes aren't for me. Just this year I realised that there is a huge amount of resources on Youtube and I'm smart enough to choose from it and work with it. Now I'm really passionate about dancing and I'm happy I'm in charge of my learning. I'm looking for a private teacher (with little luck...), but at this stage I feel I'm doing fine by myself. (But I still would like to work with a teacher.)

What brought me to melly dancing the first time, I can't remember. The second time it was the combination of watching Britains got talent and all the self taught dancers there and Zoe Jakes dancing. I just finally realised that if I ever want to dance, I'd better start now and do it.

I was introduced to belly dance by an article in Cosmopolitan magazine (which I was NOT supposed to be reading at the age of eleven) in 1966. I was fascinated and followed the written instructions to the best of my ability. Saw my first live belly dancer when I was at college about ten years later and switched from ballet to belly dance as soon as I found an instructor. I never looked back and am still teaching and occasionally dancing several decades later.

I started belly dancing after I finished high school. A friend suggested it and I took a few lessons in a small hall with approx 10 students. Then I moved and found a studio that teaches from beginner to professional levels.

What made me start? I love the ancient Egyptians and I am currently working towards a degree in Egyptology. I just gave it a go, no real stand out reason other than it appealed to me to give it a go.

Outside BD. I am the receptionist, secretary, mother, wife, book keeper, lacky, everything for my husbands business. I also have an 8 month old son call Johnathan.
And I will be dressing him up in costumes... 21st pictures hehehe

I was living in Denver at the time and there was an article on bellydancing in the newspaper. A dear friend of mine called the dancer featured in the newspaper and if my friend wanted to take lessons, she had to find 7 more people to make a full class. She dragged me along and I got hooked. I've been doing it around 12 years now.

I've always enjoyed almost every kind of music and dance, and used to hunt for music from around the world long before the term "world music" was used. Did a term of bellydance classes when I was in college, which I loved, but got too busy with studying and being young to continue. Almost of all my adult life has been spent living in places too small and remote to have dance classes. In the last few years I've been in a regional town that supports a bit of leisure and cultural activities, but I was initially busy with other things.Then at a quiz night the table I was on won a prize pack which included a term's bellydance classes. I tried to be polite and not rip the voucher out of another woman's hands Some persuasion, and it was mine! That teacher giving the generous prize has moved on, but several years and teachers later, I'm still dancing.

I was dragged to a class by a friend (Selena Madden) who was a dancer. She kept bugging me, so I went to shut her up. It was an intermediate class and I hid in the back because I was terribly lost during the choreos everyone else already knew.

I was taking physical therapy after a back injury and my therapist recommended yoga or belly dance to increase my core strength. Bellydance sounded way more fun!