HAHAHAHAHA! You thought that link was gonna take you to a real good belly dance site, huh? Well it didn't! It's just my crappy little page that is all about ME, of course. Isn't that what this whole stupid site is about? Anyways, I like belly dancing, even though I'm not really that good at it. *SIGH* This is my story:
It all started a while back when I was living at someone else's house while my parents were away. They had a book called something like The Ladies Almenac and it had all sorts of stuff in it. In the very back there was a couple pages about basic belly dancing. I read the preface and was immediatly hooked. That whole weekend I locked myself in that room and practiced the shimmy and hip lift over and over - I'm sure the people wondered what the heck I was doing in there - but I had a blast.
Then, later on, me and some of my friends were deciding who had the most attractive body parts. Don't get kinky on me now, people, we weren't doing THOSE parts! I told you I was crazy, remember? Anyway, they all agreed that I had the prettiest midsection & general belly area. Oh really, I thought, perfect, since I was interested in belly dancing anyway. So off I went the next day to the public library. All the movies were checked out so I got a nice book, which I highly recommend, called The Compleat Belly Dancer. It's kinda old, but gives you some good basic moves and costume ideas. I had a wonderful time, kept the book until it was long overdue before finally turning it in, and vowed to get better at my chosen dance form.
~*~ UPDATE!~*~
I recently got a video checked out - yay! It is Neena & Veena (kindy corny names, I know, but the girls have got the moves!) Not the excersive-focused tapes, which are also good if you wanna lose weight, but the ones entitled Basic Moves, Beyond Basic Dance, and Mystic Dance. All are excellent; I expanded my few belly dancing moves, got a real workout, and had an excellent time. Their movies are highly entertaining and educational - try them!
I don't know that much about the origins of belly dancing, but I read somewhere that it was used by ladies in harems to entertain each other, keep their bodies in shape for childbearing, and perhaps to entice the man of the house to choose her over one of her friends. Heh, that's my goal! Just kidding. :) In a different book I read that that was most definitaly NOT the case (and this next bit is the general consensus). In fact it is something done by Middle Eastern women even today, just as a get-together and for fun. Everybody does it at parties, wedding receptions, etc. etc. Also historically - girls were sent from desert tribal families to earn money by dancing in the big cities. Therefore the birth of a girl was celebrated because they were the ones who made money for the family. Go girls! Anyway, here are the real reasons that I do dance:
1) It's HELLA FUN!
2) I like wearing the showy costume.
3) It's cool to pretend I can be seductive, even though I probably couldn't be if I tried.
4) My friends have something to laugh at me about.
5) It makes me look more curvy. Not that I'm not already, of course...
6) Somehow I need to make money for my horse breeding business that I will eventually run. Why not get the extra cash belly dancing and writing trashy novels?
So those are the reasons, and here's how I do it. Since I've yet to find some Middle Eastern music I just dance to whatever comes on the radio, trying various stations. Some music works better than others. Country, in my experience, has a great variety of beats, some slow and some fast, so long as you don't get caught up in the words. :) I wear this neat little costume I made. It is a wide cotton circle skirt, kinda dark gold colored with a Navajo-patterned ribbon along the bottem, a deep reddish chiffon veil (to do all those fun little swishy twirly veil dances), and an old bra that I converted into a mass of jingly aluminum coins. Could be worse, right? Whenever I get spare time and am feeling energetic I dance, get a real workout, and generally have a wonderful time. Now that you know why I dance it's time to learn how. These are a few moves I got from the books I read and a few other sources. Don't jump on me if they're not authentic or anything, but this is what I do when I dance!
Alright, this is one of the easiest and hardest ones to get. It's easy because once you get going it just kinda repeats itself and you don't have to think about it. It's hard because, well, just try it and you'll see why it's hard. :) The first thing you do is take basic stance, which is with your feet a few inches apart, knees slightly bent, back straight, head up, and arms up and out a bit. Got that? Alright, here's the shimmy. Slowly shift your weight onto one foot and let that hip slide over the foot. Then do it the same on the other side. Your knees will move foreward and back as you do this - that's good. Once you've got a bit of a nice slide going you can pick up the pace, move your knees back and forth faster and faster and feel it shake your whole midsection. FUN!!
This one is really simple. Start in basic position, weight centered. Then slide one hip out to the side. Do it again with the opposite hip. Try to move only your hips as you do this. Think of a wave rolling against the sand, try to make it as smooth as that. Keep repeating the sway, side to side, no up and down movement, until it flows. Once you have that down you can do fun things with it, like bend you knees and go down low or stand on your tippy toes. You can make it a reall big sway or barely a tremor. Play around!
This has to be one of my favorites! You start in basic position, as usual. Then stick one hip as far out to the side as it will go. After that move both hips to the back and lift up. Now bring the hip to your other side. Finally, complete the circle by moving pelvis foreward and up. Work on making that smooth, then you can speed up. When you get good it looks like an undulating snake - much fun!
There are two different ways to do this one, so here's the first: from basic position push one hip as far forward - NOT up or down - as it will go. Then push the opposite hip as far forward as it will go. Repeat this however fast or slow you like. Now here's the next one - it's a bit more complicated. You start in basic, then shift your weight to one leg, lifting onto the ball of your other foot. This brings your hip up somewhat. Now straighten the lifted leg rhythmicly, making hte hip go straight up, NOT side to side. A variation is to circle your foot so your hip makes a little circle while it's up. I like using this one in a circle, moving my foot a bit and doing a hip thrust after each baby step. Funfunfunfunfun!
With those moves you can put together a decent dance routine. Use whatever music you like. Middle Eastern is best, of course, but I havn't go any of that so I just dance to whatever makes me want to move. The radio, usually. I've managed to belly dance to country, pop, and oldies so far. Hmm, maybe next time I'll do a celtic tune... Anyway, that's just how me - the teacherless beginner - likes to dance. You really can't get GOOD without more information, namely a teacher. That's what these wonderful web sites are for! Please check em out if you have the least interest in this wonderful dance form, they have the real belly dancing lowdown!
Okay, THESE Are the REAL cool Belly Dance Links:
My Personal Favorite *cough cough* It has everything I could ever want to know - well, almost everything... ;)
A Very Nice Big One, With Lotsa Stuff On it
