What is the appropriate age to start learning belly dance?
i’m indian and i want my daughter to learn about her culture. she will be going to a middle eastern dance teacher to learn raqs sharqi (the artistic style of belly dance). i started dancing at 12 but she’s almost 15 now.
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I think it would be better, the younger she is. Only because as she gets older she would want to advance on what she has to become better and if you start her young than she can already have experience. Hope this helps.
THINK about just WHAT the purpose of belly dancing IS… she needs to be old enough to be SEXUALLY ALLURING and PROVOCATIVE.. and that doesn’t come off to well at 10 years of age.
barco, don’t be ignorant. Belly dancing is primarily artistic, and while it can be *sensual*, there is a vast difference between sensual and sexual.
I think that the earlier the better – learning dance will help her understand her body better, become more coordinated, give her a focus (something better to do than just “hanging out”), and will probably be good for her self-esteem, too!
While I am not a great dancer by any stretch of the imagination, I’ll still put on Tarkan or some Turkish music the woman leaves out and dance with my 1 1/2 year old daughter… its never too early to dance or sing – pretty cheap hobbies, too! =)
So I think its a great idea – she’ll learn about her culture, she’ll have an artistic outlet, and its something that she can take with her for the rest of her life if she becomes interested in it.
When my daughter is old enough (6? 8? 10? 12?), if I have the means and ability to do it, I completely support her taking belly-dancing classes… she is only one-quarter Turkish, but it is an important part of her heritage, and I firmly intend for her to understand where she’s come from and to be proud of who she is!
Saul
I would wait until age 16 or 17. Most beginning classes will focus on movement technique, so it will be best if her body is almost completely developed, especially the hips, so that she can learn how to do isolations properly.