You know you are a bellydancer when....
- Thread starter miss_shimmy
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Farasha Hanem
New member
When your regular classes end and you aren't sure who you are anymore.
*hugshugshugshugs* Have you thought of online classes?...when you sleep every night with your collection of zills... >.>;;;
I can't believe I just admitted to that! >.>;;;
Zorba
"The Veiled Male"
Uh, no refunds... :lol:
Aniseteph
New member
Aww, thanks Farasha. I'm going to give a fusion class a go - not really my thing but the teacher is very good and I think the technique and drills and change will be useful. It's not like I can't tell what I'm looking at these days; with luck I will be able to avoid getting stylistically mixed up.
Now that's unusual. And rather uncomfy, surely? I have visions of you waking up with weird circular imprints.
Farasha Hanem
New member
I have all my little zill bags in one big zill bag that I stick under my pillow at night! ^^ Of course, some mornings I wake up with a headache and a ringing in my ears, and an ayoob rhythm throbbing in my brain! @___@ :lol:
khanjar
New member
You know and everyone else knows or at least everyone else questions when ones posture when not in class is a belly dancer's posture and one's movement is fluid where the latest observation was one is getting in touch with their feminine side, no one isn't, one is just applying fluid movement because it feels comfortable and one has less issues with lumbar pain when using fluid motion.
khanjar
New member
Ha ha, that's well known to many an activity where I remember it at least when going to battle re enactment gigs, in the back of the mini bus everyone was at it sewing their kit and wearing various parts.
You see it is as I fully expect you know one does not have enough time to prepare for what we like to do most after the humdrum of normal life demands or is it we are just lazy and leave everything to the last minute, where stuff always takes longer than originally thought.
LadyLoba
New member
...you violate your "frugal" rules for belly dance.
I need to start dancing again...I must be a bellydancer at heart. I am very frugal. I have strict rules for myself about spending. I will splurge if it is for somebody else, but for me....I use only gift cards I got for presents or won to buy books, music, and movies for myself. I only buy clothes once a year unless something gets ruined...and when I do..I make a list, go for thrift stores, wholesale warehouses, then discount stores..with coupons. I have a strict $40 limit for shoes, $30 limit for pants, and $25 limit for tops and sweaters when I do buy.
But that's for everyday stuff. I'm just starting back into bellydancing again, and I am wanting $70 bra and belt sets, $40 skirts...$140 bra and belt sets....costumes that cost $100 that can't be mixed and matched...accessories.
I need to start dancing again...I must be a bellydancer at heart. I am very frugal. I have strict rules for myself about spending. I will splurge if it is for somebody else, but for me....I use only gift cards I got for presents or won to buy books, music, and movies for myself. I only buy clothes once a year unless something gets ruined...and when I do..I make a list, go for thrift stores, wholesale warehouses, then discount stores..with coupons. I have a strict $40 limit for shoes, $30 limit for pants, and $25 limit for tops and sweaters when I do buy.
But that's for everyday stuff. I'm just starting back into bellydancing again, and I am wanting $70 bra and belt sets, $40 skirts...$140 bra and belt sets....costumes that cost $100 that can't be mixed and matched...accessories.
Roshanna
New member
Ohhh believe me when I say that's cheap for costumes
I also get all jumpy about spending money on street clothes (I resent having to pay £40, which is about $60, for a pair of trousers in my length, and get a lot of my other clothes second hand), but will then happily pay an alarming sum for pro-quality costumes...
LadyLoba
New member
Yes, you're right, that is still really frugal for costumes. I have seen some that cost hundreds and well over a thousand dollars. I normally manage to convince myself those would look terrible on me.
Sometimes it's even true. I have the type of figure that tends to look best in solid colors and simple shapes..
Sometimes it's even true. I have the type of figure that tends to look best in solid colors and simple shapes..
Yame
New member
Ohhh believe me when I say that's cheap for costumes
I also get all jumpy about spending money on street clothes (I resent having to pay £40, which is about $60, for a pair of trousers in my length, and get a lot of my other clothes second hand), but will then happily pay an alarming sum for pro-quality costumes...
Same here. I spend very little on my regular clothes, even my work clothes or practice clothes. But I'm willing to spend large amounts of money (comparatively) on belly dance costumes because, well, they are simply worth more. The materials are more expensive and they take a lot more work and more fabric. Also, you get what you pay for! And plus, if I spent all my money on regular clothes, I'd have no money for costumes
So I won't pay more than $20 for a cute dress, or more than $30 for a pair of shoes... but I'll easily pay $400 for a good costume!
With that said, I don't buy costumes nearly as often as other people (I buy 2-5 per year, and I try to sell older ones to make up for the costs), and I can not afford very expensive costumes, nor do I think that as of now I have earned them as a dancer. I neither gig enough nor am skilled enough to justify the extremely fancy, high end stuff. Plus, I spend a lot of money on dance classes and workshops to better my dancing... those things are a huge priority over costumes.
I will reward myself with a $600 costume when I am gigging more and/or dancing better. I will reward myself with an $800 if I ever become awesome. I'll only pay for a $1000 costume if I ever become a world-class dancer or a touring instructor. The way I see it, the costume needs to match my dancing not just in style but in quality and prestige as well.
Yame
New member
Yes, you're right, that is still really frugal for costumes. I have seen some that cost hundreds and well over a thousand dollars. I normally manage to convince myself those would look terrible on me.
Sometimes it's even true. I have the type of figure that tends to look best in solid colors and simple shapes..
Yes, definitely anything less than $200 is *very cheap* for a belly dance costume, although you can find some very good bra/belt or bra/skirt sets in the $150-$300 price range if you know where to look. Lots of dancers sell used costumes and sometimes ordering from other countries you can get a good deal on a great costume.
For less than $150 you can probably make something very basic. Sadly making your own costumes isn't as cheap as many would think. I find that making my own, I spend almost as much as I would if I were buying it, AND I have to find the time to do the work. However if you do something really basic that is just the fabric (use a fabric that "speaks for itself" so that it doesn't require much decorating) and put a couple of motifs here and there, you can get something on the cheap.
For professional costumes, even $400 is on the low end. I would say the average price for a belly dance costume is around $500-$600. Some costumes are indeed over $1000... sometimes due to the designer's name (like Sahar Okasha), sometimes due to the materials and amount of work. It's becoming very popular to wear costumes encrusted with jewels, like this https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...07123661.98240.429334370457468&type=1&theater
They are truly gorgeous, but the materials alone are enormously expensive. It has got to be impossible to get one, at least in the US, for less than $900.
That's a lot of money, but it could be worse. Ballroom costumes start at around $1000, sometimes even for a basic costume, and they use much less fabric and take way less work to make. We are actually lucky to be able to costume ourselves for less than $300 if we want to!
But sadly even that's a lot of money for many of us. The way I personally manage it is by selling the costumes I no longer wear, and by reminding myself that it's okay not to have a super fancy costume. In fact, my dancing should always be up to par with my costume (as detailed in the post above). I would recommend doing the same thing. Keep working on your dancing, and when you achieve a big milestone, reward yourself with your first, low-budget yet still versatile costume. Reward yourself with your next costume only when you've achieved another goal. Go up in budget only when you visibly go up in level/skill (if your wallet allows). Start selling old costumes once you have a few to choose from, if you perform.
Sophia Maria
New member
It's all about priorities! I've been using the same purse for years and my coworkers tease me about it sometimes, but hey--I just bought myself a weekend workshop package in September! (And my dancing paraphernalia is going along in this purse)...
Yame
New member
It's a faux pas to use the same purse for years? I buy a basic black purse and use it until it starts to get ragged. This usually takes about 3 years... only then do I buy a new one.
Shanazel
Moderator
secnd
Tsk. One purse for years? Ladies, ladies. :naghty: I change mine regularly and own more than I need.
Of course, I got them all for a couple dollars each at second hand shops, including the brand name ones. :lol:
I like to think I'm a credit to my Scots-Irish blood but I know that a truly thrifty person of my lineage would sell all the extras back to the shops and own just one at a time.
I make costumes and have shelves of the loveliest fabrics though I don't need much in the way of costumes for myself anymore.
Tsk. One purse for years? Ladies, ladies. :naghty: I change mine regularly and own more than I need.
Of course, I got them all for a couple dollars each at second hand shops, including the brand name ones. :lol:
I like to think I'm a credit to my Scots-Irish blood but I know that a truly thrifty person of my lineage would sell all the extras back to the shops and own just one at a time.
I make costumes and have shelves of the loveliest fabrics though I don't need much in the way of costumes for myself anymore.
Farasha Hanem
New member
Same here. I spend very little on my regular clothes, even my work clothes or practice clothes. But I'm willing to spend large amounts of money (comparatively) on belly dance costumes because, well, they are simply worth more. The materials are more expensive and they take a lot more work and more fabric. Also, you get what you pay for! And plus, if I spent all my money on regular clothes, I'd have no money for costumes
So I won't pay more than $20 for a cute dress, or more than $30 for a pair of shoes...
I get by REALLY cheap on shoes, because I can't wear grown-up shoes... >.>;;;; *scuffs floor embarrassingly with the toe of her pre-mismatched kids' tennis shoes* ._.