Bellydancing... Help! Thank You!?

Question

Ok, Me and my girl friend would love to learn how to bellydance!

My question is/are:

What is a great website that can teach us how to belly dance for FEMALES AND/OR MALES??

Please Help Me Out! Thanks.

Answer 1

I would advise anyone who wants to learn belly dance to take at least a few classes with an instructor.  Many belly dance teachers accept male students.  

There is so much you can get from a class that you can't get through a video/DVD. Posture and body alignment are important in dance, and it's possible to injure yourself if it's not correct. It's good to have feedback about how you're executing movements, so you know whether or not you're doing them properly. You learn so much in a class, not only from the instructor, but from the other students. It's definitely nice to have other dancers to learn with (and learn from).  Plus, you can usually get information about dance workshops, performances, events in the area from others. There are cultural nuances between various Middle Eastern cultures that DVD's won't usually cover. Once you have a good foundation, then working with DVD's is a great way to supplement your dance practices.  You may be able to find DVD's at your public library that you can borrow.  

I haven't gone through alot of the online instruction videos.  Of the online videos that I have seen, some are okay, but rather short and limited in scope.  Others can be confusing, especially for a beginner.  And some that just aren't very good.  

I have the DVD "BellyDance: Basics and Beyond" by Jenna.

http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/p...

I really like how she describes the movements that she does in the video. Even though I've been in belly dance for awhile, I like to keep my basic movements solid and execute them correctly.

I also like Yasmina Ramzy's videos. She goes into great detail of each movement.

http://www.arabesquedance.ca/boutique-02...

http://www.bellydanceshoppe.com/index.ph...

You might want to start by checking with a gym or recreation center in your area. Sometimes they have dance classes, and those teachers may also do private lessons.

You can look on Shira's website.

http://www.shira.net/

http://www.shira.net/directory.htm

other websites where you can look for teachers

http://www.middleeasterndance.net/

http://www.middleeasterndance.net/Dancer...

http://www.bhuz.com/

http://zaghareet.freeservers.com/

http://www.bdancer.com/med-guide/

You can e-mail or call some of the dance instructors to find out what ages they teach in their classes, more about their background, their style of instruction, what they expect from students, and fees they charge for classes. If you don't find a

teacher listed for your area, you might want to contact one from the websites and find out if they may know of an instructor who may live closer to you.

I hope you find a teacher that you like. If one teacher's style doesn't suit your learning style, try another. I've known some dancers to take awhile finding a setting that worked for them.

Good luck!!

Answer 2

I loved Neena and Veena's discover belly dance which teachs you basic, beyond basic and mystic (figure 8's and veils) they also have weight loss and one if your pregnant as well as a book.. You can get their stuff on ebay or bellytwins.com they are really good at what they do and have been dancing since they were 3 and started lessons at 14.  I dont know about males though