Congratulations! You’re taking your first bellydance class. You may have had to overcome some obstacles to get here (shyness, busy-ness or odd perceptions about bellydance). Here are answers to the questions we get asked the most.
- What to wear? Stretchy pants like you’d wear to yoga—preferably hip hugging (a restricted waistline and/or zippers aren’t comfortable). Wear any sort of top. You don’t have to expose your belly. But if you want to, great! That can be a helpful visual. A longer body-hugging shirt is fine, too. Big old t-shirts, however, don’t set the right mood.
A scarf tied at your hips accentuates your movements and sensitivity. We have loaners and many beautiful ones in the boutique for sale.
We dance barefoot. But if you have an issue with your feet, go ahead and wear shoes.
- Bellydance is a workout. Yes, you can get fit doing it—with cardio and muscle-conditioning benefits. No, it won’t make your belly muscles fat. It will tone them up! And your posture will improve.
- At first the moves might feel awkward and unfamiliar. But keep coming back and gradually your body will accept them as natural. It can take up to a year to be proficient, depending on how often you come, if you have experience with other dance styles or how quickly you learn. But you’ll start to feel familiar with the moves after just a few classes.
- If you have knee issues, bellydance will strengthen the muscles around your knees since most of the moves require that you bend your legs.
- If you have lower back problems, the belly toning and massage-like motions of bellydance should both soothe and strengthen your back.
- Think you’re too old to bellydance? Think again. This is a dance form you can do your whole life. It’s NON-IMPACT yet rejuvenating and it doesn’t matter how old you are when you start. As the owners of WorldDance, we’re in our 50’s and 60’s and as long we can walk, we’ll be dancing!