Motivations to start bellydancing

[walladah]

I have always bellydanced, since it is traditional

in my village. Nevertheless, the styles we dance are local.

Many years ago, i saw live Arabic bellydance by friends in a party. The dance was traditional to them, so they encouraged me to dance with them even if i did not really know what i was dancing. Then they gave me music and they taught me some things so that i can follow their dance... and they told me (very politely) that i need to practice more... i did practice more...

However, i decided to get serious about it and have lessons, as well as extend my dancing to styles of other geographical areas than my own, some years later. My doctor said that my health had been deteriorating because of stress... then i said: i am going to do something that is completely different! the first thing that came to my mind was bellydance lessons...

 

[Nejmeh]

I was in a bad place at that time and needed a chance. I always wanted to learn, since me(3/4) and my grandma tied scarfes around our hips and hizzied away! My mom has a big passion for arab movies and so I grew up watching the grand ladies quite often! So one day, I looked up bd and my town, came unto the site of my teacher and the week after that I was standing in class

 

[seona]

I fell in love with the music and wanted (needed) to know how to move to it.

Ditto!
My musical journey started way before my dance journey. In the early '90's I was introduced to Cheb Khaled (Rai) and from there I've never looked back! My collection grew to all different styles of North African music and more. I had also travelled around Morocco and didn't even go and see bdancers! shock! I thought it seemed corny and put on for the tourists. Around the same time world fusion music was massive in the underground dance scene. Then I saw Natacha Atlas in about '94(?) - she blew me away! Her voice and her dance - she made a massive impression on me.
Not too long after that I thought that I want to bdance. I was grooving around in my house to some Egyptian precussion and I thought 'I want to know how to dance to this properly' lol! So I finally found a class in about 2003/04, and even though I had a small break a few years ago from dancing - I've never looked back! The best journey of my life

 

[gisela]

When I get a chance to hunt down the other thread, I will combine them. Thanks for the suggestion, Ariadne.

I tried to find it but I can't remember what it was called and the search terms I could come up with are too general to give a good result: "bellydance" "begin" "how" start" etc :lol:

If anyone finds the old thread then just post a link here and I can merge them.

 

[Amanda (was Aziyade)]

Ditto!

Ditto here too, although my musical introduction was more along the lines of Hakki Obadia and Freddie Elias, thanks to my Dad's collection of "Hookah Lounge" style LPs.

Once I left ballet I went looking for something else, remembered that old music, found a bellydance class and that was it!

 

[LadyLoba]

Shakira...

I started studying belly dance because I've been a fan of Shakira for a few years. Her videos got me interested in belly dance, but I wanted to actually study it and learn the dance, not just watch videos and pick out moves..so I started researching it and found belly dance forums, DVDs....and classes, though that's not an option for me at this time for a few reasons, none of which I can get around. (Private reasons)

But I guess that isn't really a "motivation"...I think I was motivated by a lot of things.

1) I have body image and appearance self esteem problems so severe I meet the diagnostic criteria for body dysmorphic disorder, and I thought belly dance would help me with that a bit (it has)

2) I needed a form of exercise I could do alone and have not ever been able to stick to any "exercise" videos

3) I wanted to do something...even if just as a hobby...that was not in the Language arts field. My academic background is a BA in Theatre with my independent study taken in playwrighting and most of my electives "scripts as literature" type classes and an MA in Literature and Writing, my job is as a writer for a non-profit organization, and my hobbies/things I'd like to add on to my paid work some day are fiction writing and language learning/linguistics. (Previous paid work has included news writing, leading writing workshops, and language and writing tutoring). I do love Language Arts as a field...but...play writing, fiction writing, literature, non-fiction writing, languages....I think we're all "sensing a theme" here...:lol:....so I thought it would be nice to develop an interest outside of my field. I suppose I could have gone for acting...but honestly...most of our required courses for my BA were acting courses...and I'm not very good.

4) In addition to BDD, I also have depression.. I got serious about belly dancing when I was in an especially harsh patch on that...I had just lost my last 3 friends to misunderstandings or flat out horrible fights, lost a bad but necessary backup job I'd been doing to make ends meet, lost a writing job and a business I co-owned...and got nowhere seeking any form of help. So, like many others on here...I needed something to distract me from all the bad that was going on...

I'm still new to it, but I've found it really can be a lot of different things to a lot of people. Of course it's not a magical solution to any one serious problem, but it has helped me in all those areas....and I'm not planning on doing this, but I know a lot of people find a whole new career or a second career with it.

 

[Imeera]

I grew up in the Fujairah, UAE and as a child of nine to a not so child of sixteen I was effected, though not realising how much until recently, by the cultures that I came into contact with. Belly dance has now become a way back to that link with that other world and life which I miss greatly. Also when I was ten I saw a red headed belly dancer on a buffet boat in Egypt by the name (I have just discovered thanks to Daimona) Majken. She was enchanting, I was too young to realise how stunning she was unfortunatly but years later when I realised I had a deep interest for culture, including belly dance these experiences deepened my love of Arab culture, as well as other cultures. So I have wanted to try it for years since I moved back to the UK, it has only been recently because of a video of Sadie; YouTube - Sadie BellyDance to actually inspire me to start, I wanted so much to learn how to move my body like she did and dance because the music has put a bounce in my step. Since I can't go to classes I have tried to keep it up. Since I have started I have seen an increase in confidence in myself, and its been good for me overall its one of the best things I have done for myself since starting yoga and breathing haha =D Its hard not having a class to make myself go to, I stopped over the Winter holiday and I have been ill with a cold this week so I feel like I have been slacking. But I am determed to start again once I get over this cold (which hopefully is soon!) and start dancing again which I am looking forward to.

 

[DeterminedJuliet]

When I was a teenager I loved Shakira (and would even go so far as to tape videos of myself trying to emulate her :redface, as I got older my friends and I went clubbing a fair bit and I always liked "hippy" types of dancing.

I recently had my first son and I really wanted to do something for myself after he was born. Belly dancing has been a great way of re-discovering my waistline and making amends with my body as well as getting out my dancing passion! I love it!

 

[NewDancer]

How did everyone start??

Hi,

I'm hope I'm posting in the correct area. Anyway, how did everyone start or get into belly dancing? Do you do it for fun / exercise or do you actually get paid to dance? Are your families supportive?

Like I said in a previous post when I was younger, my mom did / was a belly dancer for a while and I had a slight interest in it, but kind of forgot about it. Recently, I was looking at some exercise videos and it sparked my interest in it again and decided WHY NOT!!

Geoff

 

[Mosaic]

I thought we had a thread about this, but can't find it - It'll be around somewhere OK need to edit because I have already said most of what I had here on the first page of this thread
~Mosaic

 

[Daimona]

I thought we had a thread about this, but can't find it - It'll be around somewhere

Yeah, I think we've had several, but can't find it at them moment myself either.

Ah! Found it!
http://www.bellydanceforums.net/instructors-students/13477-motivations-start-bellydancing.html

 

[Starmouth]

As a child I wanted to be Princess Jasmine. As an adult I still want to be Princess Jasmine. That pretty much sums it up, really.

Ok, but seriously. I started for the usual reasons I suppose - I'd always wanted to dance, I love non-western cultures, love 'ethnic' clothing (whatever that really means), and I finally managed to convince a friend to come with me when I saw a local BD class advertised.

 

[Mosaic]

Clever lady maybe I need new glasses. I think I'll join the threads up. Hope you don't mind Geoff, as the one I am moving this thread too is not that old.
~Mosaic

 

[NewDancer]

Clever lady maybe I need new glasses. I think I'll join the threads up. Hope you don't mind Geoff, as the one I am moving this thread too is not that old.
~Mosaic

Not a problem

 

[Aset-Nuit]

I started belly dancing for three main reasons: I absolutely love anything Egypt (I'm an Egyptologist), I think women look absolutely beautiful when they belly dance and I wanted to increase my confidence and connect to my feminity, and finally I am a follower of the Godess Hathor

 

[Manuela]

Wellll... I'm a physicist, and my working environment is about 90% male.
I seem to think and act somewhat "male" most of the time - for example ignoring my emotions.
For me, bellydance is a way to discover and learn to love my feminine side.

 

[LaVanessa]

So interesting to read the variety of answers here. For me it was just a sort of accident. I had free lunchtime fitness classes through my employer. I've always loved dancing, studied jazz, a bit of tap, tango, so I signed up for the bellydance course with Venus (Vancouver/Montreal) and it was love at first sight, like with yoga. It's been a little over two years now and I'm still such a noob but I'm learning so much and loving it. Last night I even went to my first real bellydance show! :shok: (Saida in Nice, France).

The 'getting in touch with your femininity' aspect is an interesting one. I'm not sure that's what consciously drew me to bellydance, I've been described as a feminine tomboy, I'm pretty low maintenance, but the girly-girl aspect to the dance is growing on me. Seems a good fantasy outlet.

 

[kittie]

Because I used to bellydance a LOT before my eating disorder, so now I'm (mostly) recovered it, I'e taken bellydance up again and really helps my motivation to not to slip back into that way of life.
That and, well, the simplest reason ever... Bellydancing looks so mesmerising and beautiful, I just had to learn how to move my body like that!

 

[astro_girl]

A friend had told me about it - she'd been involved for a number of years prior - and I thought it was too "risque" to try for a mom. It was intriguing, however, and right after my 2nd daughter was born I started attending beginner sessions w/my friend's instructor - which was very close to my home. I brought the baby along w/me for the first several months since she was either always sleeping or very content to sit and watch.

From that I loved the movement, and stuck with it until I gave birth to my 3rd child (I performed in a show 1.5 weeks before he was born), took a several month break from it after my son was born, then after seeing how my then newfound love - Zumba - butchered several belly dance movements, I wanted to come back and thus returned with a vengeance to BD. Going to my classes is also a good motivator to keep in shape.

 

[Fencai]

I have sooo many reasons I could post! I have lots of friends who do it, and always loved dancing with them. I also spin poi and fire fans, and wanted something to add to that. Along with the fact that Im a perfect hourglass figure and love my curves, and thought that belly dance was a great way to show them off!