Need Help Putting a Training Schedule Together please!

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saira

New member
Dear beautiful belly dancers!

Sorry I accidentally posted in wrong place, so hence re-posting here...

This is my first thread, so a warm hello to all and an upfront apology if this has been already asked before.

I did 4 months of bellydance instruction with a teacher in a private setting who taught me egyption, so have a very basic level understanding of the moves.

I've just subscribed to Datura online and have the following DVD's at home:

Rachel Brice Serpentine
Sadie's Ultimate Bellydance
Irina's Diamond Cut Bellydance
Michelle Joyce Belly dance crash course

Now here's the problem - I no longer can afford lessons and so my instruction will only come from the DVD's. I have a LOT of material and no idea how to structure a training plan to really learn everything.

I also don't have a lot of time - so at most I can do 45 minutes at a time, with most days around 30 minutes. Can anyone help me devise a plan where I am not only learning and sharpening technique, but also including moving forward with my dancing.

I just rented out the Sinuous and smoky phrases with Rachel Brice from Datura Online which is excellent - and because I have it only for 30 days, I am working on this daily for 30 days and not looking at anything else. (TO be honest, I think I would get more confused looking at other stuff!)

I am totally overwhelmed with the material I have, no idea how to create a schedule that will help me sharpen technique, drill, learn new stuff and do it all in shorter daily practices.

I'm so serious about learning this art - after the split from my husband, my self-esteem was rock bottom and discovering this beautiful art has taught me to appreciate my self again. I still have a LONG way to go regarding my own emotional issues, but bellydance gives me joy and I guess what I am looking for is a timetable that I can create and print off, stick to my wall and know its going to get me results.

Any help or advice would be SO appreciated thank you!
 
Daimona

Daimona

Moderator
Hi and welcome to bellydanceforums.net saira!

Don't worry about posting in the wrong sections, the moderators are here to help and move threads if necessary.

Do remember to present yourself in the Meet and Greet section as well, as not everybody read all the subforums and we would very much like to get to know you a bit as well. :)



From the DVDs you've got, I suppose you want to move towards Tribal Fusion and American oriental rather than Egyptian, right?


As for your original question, this is a question that people ask from time to time. Have you tried searching this forum (particularly Dance Training and Beauty and Fitness) for words as study plans, schedule etc. ?
Have you also searched other sites for information? Shira.net have some articles on how to structure your home practice etc. How to Structure a Belly Dance Study / Practice Session at Home
 
Kashmir

Kashmir

New member
I don't know these DVDs well - I only know the of the teachers. But it doesn't look to me like a selection for a 4 month beginner - especially one interested in Egyptian!

In general, don't over do drilling. Don't try any learn as many "moves" as possible (the best dancers can express themselves in a very small number of moves - done well) Do watch good dancers - in styles that interest you.

Do take time to dance - ie improvise to music. Start small - just short chunks. And again, don't throw everything and the kitchen sink in. Even a choreographed beginner dance might have only half a dozen combinations drawing only from the safe isolations.

With short bites at the cherry, I'd suggest a cardio-vascular warmup (NOT stretches) then alternate between working on technique one day and dancing the next. Then cool down (where you can add stretches if you really want to or need to - but if your time is limited stick to stretches you actually need targetng specific muscle groups)

I'd also recommend you book in a private lesson every few months to ensure you are on target. With as little experience as you have it is easy to think you are doing it right but wander off either with poor or unsafe technqiue - or even wander right out of genre without realizing.
 
Darshiva

Darshiva

Moderator
I've been back & forth reading this thread on & off since it was posted trying to figure out how to reply without sounding all pompous & weird. So here goes (and apologies if I do sound like a jerk, I don't intend to!)

I'd stick to what your teacher taught you for the moment. Continue drilling what you have learned and as Kashmir said, dance in small chunks to ME music. You don't need to be learning new moves to be advancing, just continue to hone & refine what you already know.
 
S

saira

New member
Wow thank you so much ladies - this certainly is helpful :)

Daimona, thank you for your warm welcome and some awesome links and suggestions on how to go about this :) Really useful and I will most certainly post an introduction :)

Kasmir thank you for the tip - I don't think I had even considered alternating between dance and practise - my sister recently got married and myself and my younger sister did a dance to a darbuka beat - we included bellydance and non-bellydance moves, it was fun but on such a basic level - we included hip drops, undulations, shimmies, camel walks and hip circles as well as snake arms. Because we had a month to come up with something, we just focused on dance, not technique - but your suggestion certainly makes sense.

Darshiva - you most certainly are not sounding weird at all - I really appreciate your insights and what you are saying makes a lot of sense, so thank you!
 
Kashmir

Kashmir

New member
saira said:
I just found this online which I thought was excellent and has exactly what I was looking for!

It's based on Rachel Brice's Serpentine video which I have, but I would imagine it could easily be modified to suit your needs!

http://rachelbrice.com/sampleweeklyschedule.pdf

enjoy :)
Click to expand...
If you are interested in Rachel Brice's style - which is heavy on fusion and yoga and light on belly dance this looks good. If you just want to do belly dance then you do not have to yoga! If you do want to go the yoga route make sure you know EXACTLY what you are doing - ie unless you've had a year or so with a teacher sign up to a yoga class - don't do it on your own. Oh, and by the way, it is not true that anyone can do what she does with enough application - flexibility has a number of components which are generic which cannot be changed - such as ligament length and bone configuration - or are limited by life - such as aging and injuries.
 
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S

saira

New member
Hi Kashmir,

Thank you for the advice and the pointers - I've been doing yoga on and off for a while now and more recently discovered Vinyasa flow which I really love. Years ago when I was a student at university, I spent 4 years doing martial arts - Chinese Kickboxing and spent around 7-9 hours a week training (Oh those where the days!) and we spent a large proportion of our training doing yoga to increase flexibility and strength and to help get the body prepared for many of the high-power moves that kickboxing requires.

It's sad really, I have 5 belts and could almost do the splits. I'm only 5ft 5" tall, my then husband was 6ft 2" and I could very easily do a roundhouse kick to his head and hold it there ...alas no more, babies, life, work all got in the way. I'd be lucky if I could kick to my ex's waist now lol.

The groundwork is there, I currently do Jillian Micheal's yoga meltdown which I really love and have found that it is really helping with my strength and flexibility. I also as part of my martial arts training, did a lot of pilates which I used to take as a supplementary class with a teacher.

I think I did mention that my sister recently got married - in an attempt to tone up and lose weight for her big day, I hired a personal trainer who came to my home 3 times a week for 2 months - she is a gymnast, has a martial arts background and is training as a contortionist - so our workouts always focused on yoga conditioning and interval training. Sadly, I can't afford her any more, but working with her re-ignited the spark to want to work out. When you fall into depression, it's really hard to motivate yourself and pick yourself up to do anything - especially when its for yourself. At least having my trainer work with me one on one got me back into the frame of mind where I now WANT to change myself and get back to the way I used to be.

So much of my current workout routine is focused on yoga, pilates, cycling for cardio and fat loss and of course adding in the bellydancing too, which is for me one of the most enjoyable things I have ever done.

I know I have a really long road ahead of me, a LOT of weight to lose (around 70lbs) and a lot of sweating it out and pushing myself mentally and physically. I have been diagnosed with PCOS and am pre-diabetic...I never really gave either much thought until I started sprouting facial hair which REALLY shook me and upset me like you wouldn't believe.

Believe it or not, it was the facial fuzz coupled with extreme fatigue due to my poor lifestyle that has forced me to re-evaluate my life and start taking action. I am as I write, sipping on fresh green juice (spinach, broccoli, rocket, cucumber, apple) and am spending around 40 minutes daily on working out - whether that is bellydance, cardio, yoga or pilates.

Years of sitting at a desk and munching rubbish has made my muscles stiff, given me really bad posture, killed my stamina and given me a spare tyre that could be mistaken for a 7 month pregnant belly :shok:

But I am determined to really get the weight off. I am due to appear on a television show in March, so my goal is to lose around 40lbs by then. I'm positive that it can be done :)
 
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