GertieShould Have Shimmied When I Shak(ed)
I dragged my friend Ginnie and my older sister along with me to a drop-in Belly Dance class tonight. It was a beginner class, but there had been one the week before so we were the “new kids” a few steps behind.
First we had to take off our shoes, only barefeet allowed in class. I’m quite comfortable being barefoot, and don’t mind my toes being looked at (thank gawd I’ve had a recent pedicure) but I had to squash the momentary “ew” that rose up when I thought of the many feet that had been on that there floor.
Anti-bacterial wipes are a good thing.
Second order of business was selecting a coin belt or, in my fluffy-assed case, a hip scarf. This is a piece of material, decorated with thin coins and beads, that you tie around your waist to make happy noise when you shimmy your hips.
As we were drop-ins, there were not enough items to cover the 3rd step: Cymbols. We had to improvise and just tap our fingers as if we had the symbols, and I have to say that even though I caught on to this quickly I was quite happy not to have those loud noisemakers any closer to my ears.
Next we warmed up, learned some steps and performed some moves. Aaaaaaand I discovered I really don’t have too much in the way of rhythm. See the pic I posted with the entry? She’s way more flexible than I.
At first, because our instructor was a complete frickin’ ditz, I wasn’t into the class, but I’m really enjoying anything that gets my hips moving these days (grin). It is one hell of a work out, so I’m gonna see if I can find a class to join after I get home. 4 years ago
