Beginner Belly Dance

You finally did it! You've been thinking of taking belly dance lessons for ages . . . what finally made you do it? I'm glad you took the plunge. Belly Dance can be a very powerful thing. First of all, let me tell you that it is unlike any other dance form (if you've ever taken any other kind of dance before) It is all about YOU. It's a dance by women, for women, and you do not need anyone else to dance with. (but it can be lots of fun to dance in groups!) It's creative, it's intuitive, it's all feeling, all feminine essence, all feminine power, softness, strength and beauty. You decide what to communicate.

In Belly Dance, you learn to love yourself (more) and love how you move (more). And that can be a real big deal. I remember the first time I took a class and came home astonished and told my partner: "Now I know why I have these hips! I have found a destiny for my hips!" It changed my life, seriously. It changed how I perceived myself and how I saw things.

It's normal to find it very challenging at first - if you feel like a total clutz then rest assured: you're normal. Your brain will take some time to get used to making your body move in ways it never thought of. Your body will take some time listening to your brain. Practise is key. I promise, if you work at it, one day you will just execute a move you've been struggling with for weeks, in a natural, comfortable way without even thinking about it. Then you'll start to get really excited! Like anything, it's progressive and we all don't have an innate natural ability. Remember learning to ride a bike or taking driving lessons? You had to really focus on all your movements - your mind was full!

Now, you drive to work and don't even remember how you got there! (scary) or when you go for a bike ride, you are not thinking: "push down on the right foot and bring it up while pushing down on the left foot - repeat". You are thinking about how sunny it is, or what kind of bird is that flying by. Right? Exactly. So RELAX and know that you can do anything you put your mind to. There is a dancer in every one of you, just aching to get out!

Please click here to read an excellent essay on the history of belly dance (with some myth busting) written by one of my teachers Jalilah Lorraine Chamas. Also, learn-to-belly-dance.com has a highly subjective and wonderful time line history and section on the different styles of belly dance.

Other intersting articles can be found on

Tips For Beginners:

1. Suspend all judgments about how well or fast you "should" learning.  This dance form is like no other and you can't predict your capabilities. Everyone learns at a different rate, some movements will come easily to you & be difficult for the person beside you and vice versa.  Bellydance is a lifelong journey, it is a process, there are many subtleties, and there is no rushing.

2. Bring your sense of humour! There is a fine line between the ridiculous and the sublime. Sometimes you will feel & maybe even look ridiculous, but the next moment, you will surprise yourself with your own beauty.

3. Remember your bellydance posture! It's the greatest gift this dance will give you. Every time you think of it, tuck your bottom down & under a little bit as you relax your knees, take a breath and lift & open your heart centre - relax the shoulders.

4. Listen to your body first, your teacher second. If something doesn't feel right, ASK. These moves should feel GOOD. However, in the workout part, there's something to be said for pushing through, feeling the burn and getting sweaty - how else can we make physical progress?

5. Practice radical self-care — Need a break or stretch? DO IT ... get a drink, run to the washroom. Be comfortable. ASK QUESTIONS! This means: please interrupt.

6. Play some music: Get some music fast & play it everywhere. If you don't listen to Middle Eastern music, you'll never learn the dance. My advise is to search online. There is so much out there and often there are samples to be listened to before buying. Some libraries may carry Middle Eastern music and if you know what you want, most local music stores can order it in. See my list of favourites at the end of this section.

6. Practise, practise, practise. You don't have to make time to belly dance as an activity separate from your normal life as you might with yoga, pilates, etc. You can do it WHILE you're doing everything else. How? Try some of these:

Shimmy while you're doing the dishes or brushing your teeth

Shoulder shimmy while you're driving – carefully!

Practice hand moves while you're relaxing in bed, it will relax your whole body.

Undulate in the shower

Hip circles while you're talking on the phone

Hip figure 8's while you're putting on your hand lotion or brushing your hair

Shimmy walk down the hallway and up the stairs

What you will learn in Sandrina's Beginner Class

• Full Hip Circle -  standing & walking
• 1/2 Circle – front & back
• One sided hip circle – inwards & outwards
• Loop (1/2 circle, small back circle, 1/2 circle)
• Big Circle/Little Circle
• Backwards horizontal figure 8
• Forwards horizontal figure 8
• Circling figure 8
• Dangling 8
• Hip Glute squeezes
• Hip lifts
• Hip drops
• 3/4 shimmy up
• 3/4 shimmy down
• Egyptian shimmy (using thighs, knees)
• Backward bumps
• Snake arms
• Rib isolations (up, down, left, right)
• Rib circles
• Shoulder shimmies
• Ab work isolations - upper, lower
• Side traveling undulations / FBBB
• Intro to Veil work
• Side Walks (propel off inside leg)  soft or snappy
• Arabic Footwork, 1,2
• Basic Egyptian forward/backward
• Chasee, Arabesque, 3 point turns

Exercises

These will increase strength & manoeuverability in abs & gluts

• Glute clenches / start slow, isolate the gluteus muscle and pulse faster & faster
• Abdominal work / blow out breath & hold, pulse abs in & out
• Round the belly as far as possible. 
• Blow out breath completely, suck in, and isolate big ab muscle outwards.

Download pdf of Beginner's Choreography notes

Download the song for the Beginner's Choreography