Other styles of dance?

akjstyles

Does anyone else regularly do a different style of dance, anything other then belly dance? I tried zumba, since everyone raves about it, but I just can't seem to get into it. That could be because I have very little rhythm though. lol I have just done the wii zumba and still plan to try taking a real class. I have also been looking into ballroom dance classes, something that my husband and I can do together.

violet_sphinx

I do flamenco as well. I find it's great for certain styles of belly dance (especially ATS/tribal fusion) to have at least a little exposure to flamenco. It helps with posture, strong arms with nicely lifted elbows, wrist curls, and powerful, intense, sudden bursts of movement. Likewise, belly dance helps me look more sinuous and flowing when necessary in flamenco.

An interesting side note, I'm also doing roller derby at the moment and I'm finding doing that helps both styles of dance a lot, giving me stronger thighs and ankles than dancing alone could give me. I've found that if you perform a diverse selection of activities, each one helps the others in really interesting and surprising ways.

Great question - sorry to have rambled on a bit!

akjstyles

I love rambling so no apologies! lol I try to mix is up fitness wise with lots of different activities, but I just feel so un-coordinated when it comes to dance. I am really hoping with daily practice that I start to get better and really am wanting to try a new style of dance as well.

Awesome on the roller derby! I have another friend that does that and not only is it an amazing cardio workout but I can definitely see how it would help strengthen the legs.

nobeardthepirate

I can't afford to take many dance classes, so I devote all my money to belly dance...but I've done Zumba at the Y, and I found it really fun. I also loooooove doing Bollywood/Bhangra DVDs. Indian dance is cardioriffic, to boot. I really want to take a class sometime.

irridia

zumba's kind of weird, and the belly dance section isn't very, I should try the latin dvds I bought before the zumba again to see if I can do them better now. I encorporate popping into belly dance. Bangarah is a coordination, stamina, aerobic nightmare! But I still would like to do some of it. I also find that veil (type of bd for those uninitiated) is crazy areobic!

Izanami66

I am planning on taking some modern dance classes sometime this summer as they're free to everyone who performed in a community dance concert where one of my troupes performed. So, I'm looking forward to that! My other troupe leader has experience in lots of styles, and that troupe is fusion, so she incorporates quite a few different styles, including Flamenco, into our numbers. I studied Shotokan Karate for almost 10 years before beginning belly dance, and though you wouldn't think it, it's definitely helped me get the sharp isolated movements involved in belly dance. I think a previous poster is absolutely right that studying different kinds of dance (and even non-dance activities like Karate, roller derby, or gymnastics) can positively impact belly dance and vice versa!! Awesome stuff!! :happy: