Welcome to Gaia! ::

ouch. if this is the career you want, i recommend saving your hard earned bucks and get your tushie to a suahila salimpour certification course. The tough part is that the dedicated dancers have impressive resumes: they've competed in Cairo, done dance years in the middle east (not recommended in these troubled times) done dance workshops EVERYWHERE in the states and abroad, danced with troupes, the list goes on....

also, i got into meetup.com and they have alot of different belly dance groups all over the U.S. they all get together once a month and do dinner shows at a restaurant in addition to different dance promoters doing shows and workshops at community centers.

I've quit calling it belly dancing. I prefer to say middle eastern dance or raks sharqi. Where do you live? I'm 2 hours away form the big east florida coast where they have things going on all the time. i hate to say it, but the Big City anywhere is the place to be for outlets to dance at.

Also, how old are you? dancing as a career, from what i have heard from other dancers, is not very lucrative. UNLESS you open your own studio/shop. for references check out (online) The Goddess Store in Hollywood Florida, Lotus Dance Studio (in Hollywood Florida), and Moondance and Spa (www.moondanceandspa.com).

I've learned from the professional teachers that you cannot limit yourself to one style of dance. I know of a few gals that will dance cabaret (the bread and butter money)in the greek and turkish restaurants thought they personally prefer tribal or guedra. In other words, be prepared to diversify. The masses for the most part do not understand the difference between lebanes, turkish, Khaleegy, guedra, tunisian, (gothic is a little obvious) tribal, etc.

You may have to take a break from those that would nay-say your chosen career path. Meet up with them after you have made a success of yourself. and if they still dis you, give them your love and blessings as you walk away. Everyone must walk (in our case dance!) the path they have chosen, be it a yoga master, LL Bean soccer mom, corporate cog, amish farmer. Is like ice cream: most are vanilla, there's a few chocolate lovers, and then there's the cherry Garcia/ Chunky monkeys! rofl

I suspect that if you had told your boyfriends buddies you were going to be a video game designer, they would be all over happy at your decision! xd Oh, and tell your parents you're gonna be a dental hygenist! rofl
there are some folks tha understand only their own language. i'm so there with ya, sista! heart heart heart

OH i know what you mean. but thats delrico. if its not hispanic related, its considered evil or foreign. I gave up on having a troope. I'm def. going solo.

I give you props for telling your mom, (mine thinks its for skiny people) but we all know the true meaning. As long as you know why your dancing, and you feel that connection, who are they to judge you?

about the boyfriend, mine's the same way. I think they need to see a belly dance convention or workshop where there are performers to see what it really is about.

lol. i told him but he says he's not that in touch with his girly side. lol. ( i try to convence him of some men that aren't gay that do it, but he won't give in, yet.)

As others have said, congrats on trying to explain it to them. My boyfriend's always been supportive of it, as have my family, but then they are very familiar with the culture.

Why don't you do a little show for your friends and explain the history of it to them. Also, you could mention that most women do not bare their stomachs to dance at all.

Dance is a form of art imo.

As for becoming a teacher...Mine seems to be doing pretty well. XD

wow he is huge! but my guy like almost any guy thinks he's macho. lol. i'll tell him. we'll see. anyone seen pin? she's gone missing... sweatdrop

no worries, lil sista! it's just their jealous ignorance showing like spinach between their teeth!

I have the same problem. I recorded a vid of me dancing once and showed it to a couple of friends and a few of them actually thought that I was some type of whore or something. Ah, the ignorant mind. My ex was the same way also, he didn't think much of it. I get really irritated when people compare belly dance to something vulgar. rolleyes
My best friend has gypsy ancestry so she knows how to belly dance. But she gets tired very fast, thus, I can't dance for too long with her. I would love to know more girls around the area that enjoy belly dance and Arabic culture.

@ SmithPresea
What city in Florida do you live in? I live in Miami. Maybe you can let me know if there are any cool events going on around here. I have gone to a few festivals, but that's because my Arab acquaintances have let me know about them, otherwise I wouldn't have been aware.