Amanda (was Aziyade)
Well-known member
I'ma gonna come out of lurk mode to say one thing. I recently (July) got certified to teach SharQui, Oreet Schwartz's bellydance fitness program. I can't praise it enough, but I want to make a point:
SharQui is not the "bad bellydance fitness fusion" nonsense that we saw in the 90s, with all the hopping and weird movements, and it's not whatever weird Zumba fusion thing is currently taught in some communities. It's certainly not that horrific "Cardio Cabaret" crap in ACE's catalog.
SharQui, the format, IS belly dance. Everything she teaches (and by extension, the people who teach with that format) is what you would learn in a regular dance class.
The difference is how it's put together, and how it's taught in the individual class. For fitness classes you need to pace the class so the participants keep their heart rates at a certain percentage of maximum. You don't want them to stop moving. With SharQui, you teach a constantly moving class, starting with (for example) hip bumps, then adding on footwork, then gradually adding more movements to make a short combination, ultimately leading up to a series of combinations that become the "routine" the participants repeat several times in the class.
These combinations are normal every-day bellydance combinations, but danced a little faster, and with an emphasis on keeping the movement going.
It's bellydance, but taught inside the framework of a floor aerobics class.
Now, one of the things we've lamented on these boards is the decline in class numbers, and dwindling interest for our dance classes. But FITNESS classes, on the other hand, often attract a different kind of student, and those student numbers are growing. It makes sense, from a business standpoint, to shift our marketing efforts over to fitness enthusiasts. The pool of interested people is much larger.
I don't view fitness classes as a threat anymore, because I LOVE tappercize and dance aerobics classes where there is no pressure to perform, and the focus is just zoning out of life and being in the moment in the class. I just want an hour to focus on being physical, and not trying to be an artist or expressing my "self." Sometimes my "self" just needs a break and a good workout.
SharQui is not the "bad bellydance fitness fusion" nonsense that we saw in the 90s, with all the hopping and weird movements, and it's not whatever weird Zumba fusion thing is currently taught in some communities. It's certainly not that horrific "Cardio Cabaret" crap in ACE's catalog.
SharQui, the format, IS belly dance. Everything she teaches (and by extension, the people who teach with that format) is what you would learn in a regular dance class.
The difference is how it's put together, and how it's taught in the individual class. For fitness classes you need to pace the class so the participants keep their heart rates at a certain percentage of maximum. You don't want them to stop moving. With SharQui, you teach a constantly moving class, starting with (for example) hip bumps, then adding on footwork, then gradually adding more movements to make a short combination, ultimately leading up to a series of combinations that become the "routine" the participants repeat several times in the class.
These combinations are normal every-day bellydance combinations, but danced a little faster, and with an emphasis on keeping the movement going.
It's bellydance, but taught inside the framework of a floor aerobics class.
Now, one of the things we've lamented on these boards is the decline in class numbers, and dwindling interest for our dance classes. But FITNESS classes, on the other hand, often attract a different kind of student, and those student numbers are growing. It makes sense, from a business standpoint, to shift our marketing efforts over to fitness enthusiasts. The pool of interested people is much larger.
I don't view fitness classes as a threat anymore, because I LOVE tappercize and dance aerobics classes where there is no pressure to perform, and the focus is just zoning out of life and being in the moment in the class. I just want an hour to focus on being physical, and not trying to be an artist or expressing my "self." Sometimes my "self" just needs a break and a good workout.
