Learn to belly dance at home from videos and online courses
Dancing is said to be a form of expression and for some, a strong passion. Since the beginning of time, dancing has been part of society. Together with the evolution and change of times, dancing also evolved. Today, there are more forms of dances compared to a hundred years ago. However, some dance forms practiced in ancient times remain to have a strong presence in modern society. Among the most notable kinds of dancing is the belly dance.
Belly Dance has become popular in present society. However, did you know that this form of dance dates back many years ago? It is one of the dances that have remained popular despite its ancient roots. Belly dancing is said to have had an extensive history in the Middle East. Not just in the Middle East, reliable evidence also connects the dance to Egypt, Spain and Turkey.
What is belly dance? “Belly dance” is actually a Western terminology for a category of dance from the Middle Eastern region. It comes from “Dansu du ventre” meaning “dance of the stomach”. Originally, belly dance is defined to be a “solo, spontaneous dance which involves torso articulation”. Belly dance is considered to be a social dance and entertainment since its origins dating back to about 6,000 years ago.
Today, not just as a form of social dance, belly dancing is also considered as a form of exercise. Belly dance has many differing variations depending on the place of origin. There are varying costume styles and dance movements too. Today, new styles have developed in the West due to its rising popularity across the globe.
Belly Dancing as an Exercise
Using belly dance as an exercise routine is ideal for people of all ages. Not only is it useful to keep your body fit and as a method to lose weight, belly dancing has many health benefits. It is a useful exercise to prevent osteoporosis in older people and, in general, helps you to further strengthen your upper body. The dance moves utilized in belly dancing is helpful for the spine and abdominal muscles. The hip movements involved in the dance are beneficial to your legs and back muscles. There is even research that states how belly dancing has a good effect on women having problems with menstruation.
Where and how can I learn belly dancing?
- “I’m very interested in belly dancing, can I learn it online?”
- “I would love to learn how to belly dance but I have limited funds. Is it possible to go to the internet to learn?”
- “I’m just a student and only receive a small allowance. Can I use the internet to learn belly dancing?”
- “Going to belly dancing classes is quite costly. Is it okay to watch videos to learn the dance?”
These questions are very common. But thanks to technology, anything is possible.
Learning Belly Dancing Today
It is true that with the advancement of today’s technology, one can do almost anything he/ she desires. Also with belly dancing, it is possible to use videos instead of enrolling or hiring a local teacher. Yet, these video tutorials have advantages and disadvantages. A positive side if you learn using these videos is you will be able to save money. You do not need to pay for transportation or gas, enrollment fee, meals, etc. You can stay inside your home and choose your own time depending on your availability! Another benefit is you can rewind and replay as much as you want.
You can choose your own pace in a dance routine. You won’t feel self-conscious if you are a bit embarrassed dancing with many people in a class. However, there are a few disadvantages as well. It is hard to learn on your own. Nobody will correct you or help you with a difficult move. Especially with first timers, learning from videos is very difficult. In this article, I will share what I know about learning belly dance from videos.
Belly Dancing: Learning from Videos & online courses
Before you start, remember that it is very important that you know how to choose a video. Here are three tips in choosing a good belly dance video:
- A video that teaches basic movements.
- A video that enhances basic movements to help with complex routines.
- A video that contains belly dance routines performed by professional belly dancers.
These three tips will surely help you choose the best video so you can start learning belly dancing. You don’t necessarily have to buy all at once; you can start off with a video about basic belly dancing moves.
If you want to learn the dance as quickly as possible, it is important that you make a structure or schedule for your belly dancing session. The structure should be able to ensure that you are able to maximize your time and efforts effectively.
Here is a general belly dance structure: warm-up, practice and review movements, work on new movements, and cool-down.
Video Tutorial vs. Classroom Instruction
A very imperative concept that you must understand fully is the difference between learning through video tutorials versus learning in class. You have to keep in mind that video tutorials (not only belly dancing videos) are very different from classroom instruction. As an experienced video tutorial user myself, I strongly suggest to never run the entire video tutorial straight from start to finish.
Despite how tempting it may do so, this is not the best method to really learn the dance. In belly dancing, dancers who make an instructional video make the most out of the time they have. They consider budget costs and how long the whole video will run. Take for example the dancer will produce a two hour video belly dancing tutorial. The whole two hours will contain a lot of material that would roughly be equivalent to a week’s lesson in real-life belly dance classes.
Or even more! The belly dance instructor is faced with squeezing as much input as she can in two hours. Naturally, what happens is that for every movement, the dancer might only be limited to show the move in just a few different views or angles while explaining how to perform it. After that, she immediately moves on to the next step. When you compare it to learning in class, the instructor allows time for you to digest and learn the move. She lets you practice it until you are able to get the movement.
Belly Dancing Video Tutorials: Learning New Moves
Once you are done with the first and second steps, (warming up and reviewing the moves you already know), then it is time to learn new movements! Learning new moves is exciting. However, it can be quite the feat! Belly dancing might seem easy for some but generally speaking, it is a challenging dance form not just for newbies but for professional belly dancers too.
Belly dance classes usually entail about four to five new moves per hour. Learning through video tutorials does not mean you can just learn and master a lot of new moves right away. You have to understand that there is a limit as to how much information you can take in. The best way to really learn is to take the lessons slowly but surely. This way, you are really learning.
Keep in mind that it would not do you good to speed up in learning the steps and moves especially when you’re learning new material. Generally, each move would take more or less five minutes to digest and practice. Since you are learning through video, you can conveniently rewind four or five times. Make sure you pay careful attention to all details that you might have missed.