Damn!

[dancerjodi]

The Paula Abdul DVD workout that I bought a while back kicks major butt. One should have a good amount of dance experience though (they don't advertise this on Amazon, but it says that its "intermediate" level on the back of the box). I sweat a lot, I learned a neat Paula-esque routine (the last two little steps were really difficult for me to pick up that quickly, I can't imagine how a beginner to dance could do it). Its followed by a good stretching workout with lots of plies - all total its about an hour workout.

Man is she hot and in such amazing shape! She's small but she's healthy too, something I'm so glad people are appreciating nowadays (versus the aerobicized fake boobs image of the 80's). It really was inspiring doing the workout - today I'll head to the gym to use the weight machines and if its nice later tonight perhaps convince the hubby to go for a walk with me or something.

I miss having 'the dancer's body'. I never really had the ballet dancer's body, I was way too fat for that (read - I weighed more than 100 pounds). But though the scale hasn't changed much things aren't aligned as they used to be.

As much as I love bellydance and as much as its easier on the mind (no crazy memorization of routines, no push to perfect something for performance, no drilling over and over again of fast-paced choreography) I need to get back to tap or jazz, its where my heart is. I'll have to see if I can find a class in the fall on the same night that I'm at Umass so as to give myself full nights at home to do homework and see my B.

"Shut up and Dance" ;)

Comments

[nepenthedreams]

I've been to more strenuous and exacting belly dance classes. In fact, the one I took in Seattle had us sweating up a storm. I just don't think Goddess Dancing is geared towards that, but other local classes may be.

[innocenti.livejournal.com]

that icon, if i might say, is gorgeous!

[nepenthedreams]

Thanks! Alli is an awesome photographer! I don't know what I'd have for LJ pics if it weren't for her.

Dancing

[dancer.livejournal.com]

"I've been to more strenuous and exacting belly dance classes. In fact, the one I took in Seattle had us sweating up a storm. I just don't think Goddess Dancing is geared towards that, but other local classes may be."

I'm finally getting to replying to this :)

I'm not taking the class to sweat or workout, I'm taking it to learn a new dance form. From what I've heard from talking to people in the Boston-area Middle Eastern Dance scene the Goddess Dancing is very well respected and 'really know their stuff'.

I'd be concerned about people doing intense bellydance workouts when they don't have much experience with it - its too easy to hurt oneself (kind of like, doing a tour-jete in a ballet class after only taking 5 lessons would be a death wish).

I've learned a lot from them and I think it was important for me to step back from the crazy perfection of my past teachers and just move for the sake of moving. I've also learned a bit more about ways I can move my body that I hadn't before. I think it will help me in *any* dance that I do.

But my feet just aren't moving enough in these classes. I'll play next semester by ear because I don't know if I'd be able to deal mentally with 2 classes and a traditional tap or jazz class (why I ended up in the bellydance classes again in the first place) . . . but I'll see. Basically, its not about sweating or getting fit as much as it is about continuing to expand my art. I've learned a great deal from them and gained more of an appreciation of movement so I think its time to get really moving again :)

Re: Dancing

[nepenthedreams]

From what I've heard from talking to people in the Boston-area Middle Eastern Dance scene the Goddess Dancing is very well respected and 'really know their stuff'.

Maybe I came across wrong. I think Goddess Dancing is wonderful, but the other day, Karen said to me that most people that take their classes have never moved before in their life. I have had a few different instructors now, and they all have different styles. I was merely suggesting that perhaps there is a teacher whose style better suits you. I don't get all the politics of middle-eastern dance, perhaps, but I wouldn't feel it was wrong to take a class with different instructors as each teacher has something different to bring to the class.

I guess I've heard you complain before about how belly-dancing isn't really a workout, thus my sweating comment. But I think the footwork and the faster movements that we did in the Seattle class I took were both a better workout (if one wanted that), but also more challenging from a dance perspective. I'm really glad I was exposed to it and I incorporate those movements when I practice at home. Since you're already a skilled dancer, a class like that with more moving and more complicated footwork would be more fun for you - and that's why I suggested that you might be able to find something more challenging.

You sounded like you weren't so sure that you wanted to go back to tap & jazz, but I think I read that wrong. I think you said that you needed some time away from that but now you're happy to go back to that because you have a new perspective. Is that right?

On Goddess Dancing...
I enjoyed the class because the instructors are great and I definitely learned a lot, but I still felt like it moved at an extraordinarily slow pace, and I was frustrated by some of the people in my class that didn't seem to 'get' it....ever.[1] So I think next time I am going to take the advanced beginner class - even if it will be a little challenging at first. One, I hope that I'll be more interested because it will be more new material and Two, it will avoid the people who skip weeks of classes at a time, only to come back to slow everyone else down with the stuff they haven't learned.

[1] One person in particular I felt was just not trying at all to even pay attention to what was being taught, but realistically, she could have the same problems with dance that I have with math and maybe she really is trying her heart out.

[nazier.livejournal.com]

I have found myself missing dance a lot as of late. I miss the sensual driving feel of tango, and the softer feeling of a waltz. I have been thinking about finding somewhere to take ballroom and salsa again or even teaching it part time. I miss you guys and hope to see you soon.

[snowwand.livejournal.com]

My sister never had a "dancer's" body either...she's 5'7" and has a lot of muscle. But they always needed her when they were doing lifts.

[dragonvpm.livejournal.com]

But though the scale hasn't changed much things aren't aligned as they used to be.

I think this is one of those cruel things we all have to deal with as we start hitting late 20s and 30s.

[nepenthedreams]

Oh, something else funny I found out - the "Veena and Neena" belly dancing tapes - turns out that they are actually Indian Temple dancers, not belly-dancers at all! *sigh* Well, I was only doing the videos because I didn't have classes available to me and there is a huge difference.

The other thing I was going to say is that the other dance form that looks like fun and complimentary to what you've done in bellydancing is flamenco. My friend Devon in Seattle just started taking flamenco lessons. Of course, I realize that it sounds like I'm trying to give you advice, when really, I'm more curious to hear about what other dance forms you've thought about and your opinion on them.

Dance types

[dancer.livejournal.com]

"I'm more curious to hear about what other dance forms you've thought about and your opinion on them."

I don't know much about Flamenco, I had assumed it was almost like latin ballroom dancing (like the pasa doble or something). At some point I'd like to get back to ballroom dance - I had a lot of fun with the latin dances and the swing and disco (and those definitely get you moving).

I've always wanted to do Irish Step dancing - its similar footwork wise to tap but the upper body is totally different (as in, you're arms don't really do anything). I've done some Irish dancing with Tiggerette and had fun with it.

I guess lastly the type I haven't done that I'd like to try out is modern. When I was in college and started up a dance club our Faculty Advisor set up a class with his wife, who used to dance with the Alvin Ailey troop. This was a jazz class (which I took), and she came up to me after and said she thought I'd be great at modern since I was "very expressive" or something like that.

But my true love really is tap and jazz - the other types of dance are just things I'm doing until I'm not in grad school anymore and can have the free time to find a studio again and take 2 or 3 classes a week (a ballet class to round things out would be good . . . ballet is really the base for many other types of dance and its wonderful in terms of stretching and flexibility). I've found they've given me the most opportunity to perform (most dance auditions I've seen have been for musicals) and its probably my favorite kind of music to move to. Cheezy I know, but since that's what the teacher that I had forever was good in that's what we did most of the time (so that's how I developed as a dancer). I've been doing this since I was 2, so its really weird to *not* be doing it right now :)