Dance
Why dance?
Because it’s the most fun way to get fit! The dance styles I teach are suitable for any age, shape and fitness level, and being low impact are great for toning and strengthening your whole body. You'll find it's fun but challenging, and kind to the body while still giving you a workout.
Remember:
- The focus of all classes is enjoyment
- All shapes are welcome - slim, curvy, tall, small
- All ages are welcome
How will it benefit me?
Overall you’ll look and feel better, and the long-term benefit of that is an increase in self-esteem. Dance will make you realise that your body is beautiful no matter what shape or size you are, but the best thing about it is that it’s 100% fun.
What are the classes like?
My classes are fun and there is no pressure to compete with anyone else but yourself. I work you hard to help you increase your fitness, but you can reduce the intensity to suit you. What you’ll discover quickly is that dance isn’t quite as easy as it looks, but don’t worry if you don’t get it right immediately - like anything new it can be a little daunting at first, but with persistence you will learn. Stay with it and you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see your dancing evolve. And most importantly, please don’t judge yourself during class - you’re there to have fun, not to be perfect.
Fashionably late?
Two words of advice on this: don’t be. This is for two reasons. Firstly, it’s nice to be on time out of courtesy to the teacher and your fellow students. Secondly, being late means that you miss out on some or all of the warm up and that’s not a safe way to exercise. Preparing the body is all-important to reduce the risk of injury, so please do your best to be there for the start of class.
What should I wear?
- For the bottom half: NO to skirts, dresses, jeans, baggy pants. YES to dance pants, fitted track pants, leggings, shorts
- For the top half: NO to anything big and baggy. YES to fitted t-shirts or singlets, tank tops, leotards
- For the feet: NO to regular street shoes including sneakers. YES to flat ballet shoes, jazz shoes, jiffies, socks
NOTE: The preference for fitted clothes is for safety reasons: I can clearly see what you’re doing and fix incorrect technique. And for the feet, wearing some type of dance shoe means you can avoid getting dirty feet and it’s warmer for winter not to be barefoot.
What if I’m uncoordinated?
Nobody expects you to be coordinated as soon as you walk through the door, so don’t worry if you’ve got two left feet - with practice anyone can learn to dance. Your coordination will increase with persistence and patience. Just give yourself a chance, do your best, and you’ll improve as the weeks go by.
What if I’m overweight?
People of all shapes and sizes attend class - some are slim, others are curvy, some are tall, others are small. There are students who are chubby, slender, pear-shaped, ironingboard-shaped, full-figured, slight-figured, and everything in between. So don’t be worried about looking a certain way to be able to come to class - no one will judge you on your body shape. My classes are very friendly and you’ll be greeted with smiles from everyone no matter what you look like.
What if I have an injury?
You can still do Bellydancing – as long as your health professional gives you the go-ahead, you are most welcome to come to class, but please inform me of your injuries. If you have any pain during class, stop what you’re doing and let me know. The reason will probably be that your technique is incorrect and with a few tips, that can promptly be sorted out. Remember that safety always comes first. Even if you don’t have an injury and it hurts to do a particular movement, don’t persist in doing it through the pain. Stop and let me know immediately.
On a similar note, it’s important to comply with any requests I make as your teacher. Dance classes – like any physical pursuit – can involve risk of personal injury and while I take all reasonable care in the conduct of my classes, I can’t accept responsibility for injury caused during classes. You, as the participant, are responsible for ensuring that you are physically and medically fit for the class and during the class you must at all times take care of your own personal safety, including listening carefully to instructions.
What If I’m pregnant?
If you were dancing before you got pregnant and your doctor says you can continue your regular activities, then you should have no problem dancing all the way through your pregnancy.
What you must do, however, is let me know that you are pregnant, as there are some moves that should be done gently if you have a bun in the oven. On the other hand, if you haven’t danced before, it’s probably best to wait until after the baby comes to start classes. Even if you are active in other forms of exercise, starting something completely new is not advisable when you’re in a delicate state such as pregnancy. It’s unlikely that anything bad will happen, but it’s best not to take the risk.
What if I hate exercise?
Dance classes tend to have a dense population of exercise-hating individuals. They find that they enjoy dancing because it doesn’t really feel like exercise - it's that much fun!
And Finally…
I hope to meet you some time soon – see you in class!