Comment by InnerSpin SharnaRose on November 10, 2009 at 6:33am

Its interesting that you should be discussing this right now Safire. For my birthday I brought myself a belly dance hip hop fusion dvd set, I love it and it makes me ache when I practice it, muscles I have never used before. I felt drawn to it and this is very new for me for I have never ever been interested in learning dance moves before. I have always found the over produced feminine obsessed dance of MTV (this started in my teens and probably because I was raised a hippy child) very disturbing and almost revolting. Its not as if I was pig ugly or have a bizarre attitude to sexual behavior, I was one of the first of my peers to kiss....etc. I guess it made feel uncomfortable that perhaps I was expected to behave like that and if I did not then I was not eligible to be part of the human race. I did not like this female role, like a commodity to attract and accept the gaze of the audience in an unspoken exchange.

As a child, still now, I was very uncoordinated so the dance lessons that I attended briefly were painful and caused me great stress. It was not until my raving period at the start of the 90's when I found my dance, It felt good because I felt so free and followed my own movements (I internalized though because if I met the eye of anyone in this highly connected attractive state it was cling on central :-( 5 rhythms dance practice deepened this and I formed a strong belief that we all dance our own unique set of movement creative expression.

I have always danced my own dance in the hoop. I may not point my toes or arch my back....I have not had the training nor the inclination until recently ....this is despite the fact that perhaps I should since I video myself all the time. I suppose I feel that I have stayed true to myself all this time and not performed...however watch this spot because I have recently tasted the success of a proper performance and like a true addict of success I want more :-)

Comment by Sitara Bird on November 10, 2009 at 9:02am

I've been wanting to learn belly dance for quite some time now. I think fusing the hoop with even basic belly dance moves could potentially be the most beautiful thing. (Or one of the most beautiful things. ;] )
I've never taken any formal dance lessons/classes, I've just done my own thing. I am gracious to have found the Double Moon Project, some of the best dancers I've witnessed live.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/The-Double-Moon-Project/160...

Anyways, I'm rambling. It's nice to know our minds travel on similar wavelengths Sandra. ;]

Comment by InnerSpin SharnaRose on November 10, 2009 at 2:05pm

This is my teacher :-) Her name is Anasma :-)

Comment by SaFire* on November 10, 2009 at 2:14pm

Wow! She's very good!

Comment by Megan on November 10, 2009 at 3:49pm

haha I bought that bellydance fusion dvd set too! ummm but i havent even tried it yet.... oh man..... get it together megan... I am forced to practice twice a week with Vibe Tribe so i guess im kinda off tha hook.

Comment by shimarella* on November 10, 2009 at 5:32pm

I am a bellydancer, and have been studying/performing/teaching for over 10 years now. My style is kind of funky which is the accent I bring to the dance.

I think its great if you are interested in bellydancing. It is a dance form that comes from several great cultures and traditions that are not Western. I would encourage you to take the time to really savor the movement vocabulary, the Arabic music and the culture... let it sink into your body and then see what happens when you pick up the hoop.

I dunno, this is not a conversation restricted to hooping but as a bellydancer it is somewhat problematic to me when folks skip right to the fusion in the name of fusing THAT with whatever their original interest is.

Anasmah is very cool ( her DVD is really great if you are a bellydancer looking to add hip-hop and vice versa.. not sure how useful it is if you don't know much about either) and the original video you linked to, Safire, is really awesome and cute. She has clearly spent time with both styles of dance and it comes across in the quality of the choreography.

As for the other stuff you brought up, I'll have to think on it.. it was very deep :)

Comment by InnerSpin SharnaRose on November 11, 2009 at 6:24am

I'm finding Anasma's DVD fairly tricky but I like the challenge and am really noticing improvement in my arm movement and in my ab control, in all planes....not enough to combine it with the hoop properly yet :-) I have always hid my bear midrift away because of the effects of two childbirths but now at 37 years old I feel braver :-) I think a standard belly dance DVD might be better than Anasma's for learning the movements, I cant afford a real life teacher...would any one recommend a great teacher on disk?

Comment by Kimberly Dawn on May 26, 2010 at 12:27pm

I love belly dancing! I've been doing so for 3 years now? I was in my teacher's troupe for awhile until we disbanded due to everyone going in different directions (school, work, etc). However, I still practice on my own and incorporate it into my hoop dance. I feel like the two compliment each other very well. They just go hand in hand.

Comment by Kimberly Dawn on May 26, 2010 at 12:46pm

p.s. Sharna Rose I would recommend Rachel Brice's Tribal Fusion dvd for basic belly dance moves. It's a great practice dvd I used a lot when I first started. You can find it on Amazon here:

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