Where and how do I find/search for a Belly dancing teacher/class?
Question:
I live in the Houston, Texas area, and my doctor’s suggest Belly Dancing to help strengthen my mid-section and also work on my posture (my Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (http://www.ednf.com) causes my to inadvertently slouch). I can’t even begin to know where or how to find an instructor for this. How would I search the Yellow Pages? What kind of instructor should I look for? What kind of prices should I expect for these lessons? If not in the Yellow Pages, where else can I search for instruction in this art? I’m dying to learn it as it’s fascinated me for quite some time, and now for my doctor’s to tell me it’s perfect exercise for me I’m even more excited and chomping at the bit to get started! I appreciate any help anyone can offer.
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3 Responses to Where and how do I find/search for a Belly dancing teacher/class?
I think google is one of the best ways to find places but you have to be specific but not too specific. Like, type in "Belly dancing classes in _______ [city or county u live in]" and it should give u answers, or go to any search engine that you think is the best and search there! Also, ask friends or family that you think knows where local dance studios are, but Cincinnati Yellow Pages are your best bet, i am just giving out some secondaries!
You can search the yellow pages under dance (instructional) or search for bellydancing in houston on the web. Some community colleges offer middle eastern dance as a class. Every instructor has their own style of dance, but you should look for someone that is patient and willing to go step by step. The prices of the class very from instructor to instruct but you can expect to pay anywhere from $35-100 per class. It is very well worth the prices for a good teacher. There are also different styles of dance. Middle Eastern is the broad name for the style of dance, but some of the catergories are Egyptian, Assyrian, Turkish, and Lebanese. I would suggest you find someone that knows some of all the styles and break it down to your favorite style from there. I hope I have helped you in some small way. Good Luck with your dance and have alot of fun.
You can start checking with your local recreation center to see if they have classes.
Check on this website. http://www.shira.net/
You can look for performers and teachers on this page
http://www.shira.net/directory.htm
http://www.shira.net/dir-us-t.htm#Texas
other websites where you can look for teachers
http://www.middleeasterndance.net/
http://www.middleeasterndance.net/DancerDirectory.html
http://www.bhuz.com/
http://zaghareet.freeservers.com/
http://zaghareet.freeservers.com/dancer.html
http://www.bdancer.com/med-guide/
http://www.bdancer.com/med-guide/dir/ndirNY-WY.html#TX
Prices of lessons may vary quite a bit, depending on your location, private or group lessons, experience of the instructor, etc.
You can e-mail or call some of the dance instructors to find out more about their background, their style of instruction and what they expect from students. Sometimes you can contact a teacher that is further away than you might want to travel and ask if they know of an instructor who may live closer to you.
I hope you find a teacher that you like. If one teacher’s style doesn’t suit your learning style, try another. I’ve known some dancers to take awhile finding a setting that worked for them. Good luck.