Belly dancing: Class v. DVD

Well, I decided to try another DVD instead of attending a class last week. Here is how it went.

I bought Jillina's Instructional Bellydance Volume 1. I was surprised when I put it into my DVD player that I was going to be given an actual breakdown of the various body parts and how to move them. I found this to be very helpful. The first section of the DVD was Stretching. This was a basic stretch that was fairly easy. The next part was broken down into Technique. Here the sub categories were head and neck, shoulders, chest, hips, and arms and hands were the last.

The DVD also allowed you to pick a choreographed full length routine at the end to practice. The DVD was great, because you could watch whatever parts you were having difficulty with more than once and it was nice to feel like you practiced something enough to feel comfortable before moving on.

I liked this DVD more than the previous one I had purchased for these reasons, but not more than attending a real class. I look forward to going back to class and learning new things!

"Hips Don't Lie"

When I thought of taking dance classes in Tucson it occurred to me that I wanted to try a type of dance that would make me feel sexy, confident, and most of all help me get my body more defined. I had purchased a DVD set called Dolphina's Goddess Workout at BestBuy last semester and really never got into a repetitive routine. I felt if I had a class to attend, and a real person giving me instruction I would have better results. I went on the internet and started researching belly dancing in Tucson. I found that there are tribes or groups of belly dancers that are made up of instructors, performers, and students.

I called 13 instructors and heard back from 4. Some were out of town, some only were available to do private lessons, and others commuted only once a month from various parts of Arizona. The first class I was able to attend was on Thursday, September 14, 2006. I went to Xanadu Studio. The owner is Kathryn Ferguson and she was actually out of town, but called me back and told me that she had a substitute teacher and she would be returning next week. The classes that are available as of 9/15/06 are:
Monday at 7:45 p.m.
Thursday 5:45 p.m.
Saturday at 10 and 11 a.m.

The first time attending is free. Class is $50 per month and includes students coming to 2 classes per week.

My experience at Xanadu Studio began when the teacher, Kate Pitroff welcomed me and my friend and invited us to come in, grab a mat, and find a spot. The room was bright, clean, and had hard wood floors with mirrors everywhere. White lights adorned a beautiful fireplace along the wall closest to the stereo that was playing music that one would imagine would be playing if you were staring at a snakecharmer.

Women of all ages, I would say 10 to 60 were among me and my friend who were told to begin sitting, stretching our necks to each side and then down to our chest. At the beginning, the pace was slow and gradually sped up until we were standing with our knees bent, with our feet solid, firmly planted into the ground, not behind our hips but directly underneath us. Our shoulders were supposed to be drawn down, (this was difficult, because I am always on the computer and have stiff shoulders) and have a relaxed chest.

The rest of class was spent working on twisting and shimmying our hips. Arms, shoulders, and hands were given a devoted amount of time in order for the teacher to come over and work with each woman on an individual basis. My favorite part was that the atmosphere made you feel calm, yet the dance itself was exciting and created a balance that I have never felt in another type of exercise setting so far. I was sore the next day in my quads, abs, and in between my shoulders, but it went away after a couple days. I feel like this is something every woman should try at least once!

This week I plan on attending another class, because I can't wait to practice what I learned on Thursday again and to check out new moves.

For more information about bellydancing in Tucson, check out this site.