Belly dancin' away

I cannot stop dancing! We turn on music at home, and I just start twirling and kicking and letting my groove out. I don't really know what it was. I think Laura inspired me a little bit, dancing whenever she hears music (I've always felt that way, but have always felt a little conservative about dancing wildly by myself with other people watching me.) We've also watched a few episodes of So You Think You Can Dance for the first time, so I suppose that's also part of it.

But anyway, I've felt interested in maybe getting some lessons, or learning about different dances. I was in ballet when I was pretty young, and tap dancing. I was also in Just for Kicks for a couple months, but that never spanned out. I didn't like the competitive nature to it.

We visited the Haworth's for the 4th of July! Mindy is a Tribal belly-dancing teacher. I was finally able to ask her the questions that had been burning inside me about belly dancing, and other dances. She taught me so much about it! From the idea of belly dancing, drills and moves, to isolation and the strict discipline required to perfect each lift, drop, and twirl.

I've been doing pilates for the last several months, so I already have the core strength needed to do basic undulations and belly rolls. I've been really excited about getting better at it. The style I'd be doing is just solo work. I may have to just teach myself, or practice by myself until I meet up with Mindy again, because as far as we've searched, there are no belly dancing teachers in our area.

Unfortunately we also don't have any full-length mirrors in our house, which makes it difficult to watch myself perform; it's important for me to be able to see my hips, knees, and where my feet are placed, so I can correct my posture, experiment with different contractions, etc. We are planning to buy a big sheet mirror to put down on one of the basement walls from Home Depot (or some place like that) though, so that should work well.

I've also been looking up some YouTube videos about belly dancing, to see what the professional solo workers look like when they're doing it. This woman, Sadie (whose last name remains a mystery to me) blows me away, every time I see her. She is absolutely incredible.

Maybe some day I may look forward to being able to perform at least somewhat as well as her!