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Had my third bellydance class today, which is going ok. The movements are much like horseback riding, both actually (ie the muscle groups they use), and in that they're counter-intuitive at first, but should become second nature with practice (I used to ride, years ago, so I figure I've got a head start there).
As for rhythm - I can manage the drills ok as long as I don't think too hard and trip myself up, but I freeze when asked to improvise. Mostly I worry about flexibility, which I have very little of. I don't know if a lifelong tendency to walk on my toes has shortened my hamstrings, or if I always had short hamstrings and it caused me to walk on my toes - certainly I was if anything less flexible as a kid (I can sit cross-legged now, which was more than I could do as a six-year-old).
It also occurs to me, though I'm not sure it's worth bringing up in class, that I have proportionately longer arms and legs than the instructor, who is short and muscular, and that even if I were as bendy as she, I might not fit in those positions, any more than an action figure can fold up like a transformer robot toy. However, the more extreme positions don't seem to get used in the actual dancing, so I don't suppose it matters that much that I make Jack Pumpkinhead look like Jackie Chan.
As for rhythm - I can manage the drills ok as long as I don't think too hard and trip myself up, but I freeze when asked to improvise. Mostly I worry about flexibility, which I have very little of. I don't know if a lifelong tendency to walk on my toes has shortened my hamstrings, or if I always had short hamstrings and it caused me to walk on my toes - certainly I was if anything less flexible as a kid (I can sit cross-legged now, which was more than I could do as a six-year-old).
It also occurs to me, though I'm not sure it's worth bringing up in class, that I have proportionately longer arms and legs than the instructor, who is short and muscular, and that even if I were as bendy as she, I might not fit in those positions, any more than an action figure can fold up like a transformer robot toy. However, the more extreme positions don't seem to get used in the actual dancing, so I don't suppose it matters that much that I make Jack Pumpkinhead look like Jackie Chan.
