Belly Dance Performance

The school where I take my flute lessons each week had an advertisement for an interesting show -- belly dancing. A friend of mine is a fan of this dance, so I mentioned it to her and we went together. The show was held in Yokohama.

Dancers with scarves:

Strike a pose:

It was interesting to see the dancers using different props -- scarves, canes and swords. Below,  a group of dancers used canes-- twirling, tapping,and even balancing them on their heads!

Cane dance:

Belly dancing is quite popular in Japan; it is promoted here as "body toning/ women's fitness". I really enjoy the music. As a lover of global sounds, there is something about Turkish and Arabic music that makes me want to move.

Video of dancers:

My friend and I both enjoyed this performance. The following week, I signed up for Belly Dancing lessons. My first lesson was yesterday and featured stretches, basic movements and a dance routine. It's a lot more difficult than it looks. Although I go to the gym 2~3 times a week, for 2 hours each time, the Belly Dance class made me sweat! You have to be quite flexible and able to isolate many parts of the body while keeping your head still. Balance is also a key point. The class reminded me of Pilates -- it featured many core fitness techniques.

Interested in learning Belly Dancing? There are a number of schools in Japan. See HERE for info. 

You Tube also has a number of videos where you can practice at home. See samples HERE. 

CNNGo Tokyo ran an article on Belly Dancing in Japan in 2010. See the article HERE.