Thread: hi new question about shoes

Hi I am a Novice, I am interested in belly dance I have a video but I have hardly any time to practice. There is a group in Lexington but alas I have not the time nor money for that right now.
My question is I am going to a LARP convention in June and a friend of mine is running a game that is based on Arabian Nights, he thought it would be perfect for me since I am interested in belly dancing. I was wondering if the lyrical sandal would be good for that? We will be playing in a conference room but I a afraid to run around barefoot. If not those what would you suggest? The only thing is I am on a limited budget and since I am a novice I would not have a use for them till later.

Thank you

Hi! I use lyrical sandals for class in the dance studio, but at home I dance barefoot or wear semi-ballet flats. Lyrical sandals would be great for classroom wear. You may ask in the ISO forum if anyone has a pair in your size that they want to part with or the other place is eBay if you are on a budget.

The short answer is, yes, belly dancers do sometimes wear lyrical sandals.

But here's the long answer: Someone who has not taken dance classes and who has a dance video she doesn't use much is not a belly dancer. She's a woman in a harem girl costume, and she may as well pick regular street shoes that match the costume, because she's just playing dress up. Many of the people on this site spend years of their lives and thousands of dollars trying to master the art of Middle Eastern Dance, and the fact that this thread has 60+ views and one response is telling. I suspect that people are reading it, rolling their eyes, and walking away. Serious dancers cringe when they read something like this because it goes against all of the hard work being done to convince the public that this dance is more than some chick wiggling around in a genie costume. The world is full of people who think it's a hoot to dress up and play "belly dancer," and it seems harmless to an outsider, but it's not harmless fun to dedicated students of the dance, and it's not harmless fun to Middle Easterners who resent having their culture turned into a sex-fantasy caricature at role-playing conventions. If you're really interested in learning this dance now or in the future, please don't try to pass yourself off as a dancer when you're not. I'm not trying to be harsh. I'm trying to prevent you from doing something you will regret in hindsight, if and when you do undertake a serious study of the dance.

To me, a conference room is the PERFECT place to run around barefoot, but that's just me.

Playing a bellydancer in a LARP is the same as playing a dark elf. Make up a costume that will be comfortable and makes sense to you. Of course, playing a character's not at all the same thing as BEING a dark elf...or a bellydancer...g.:

Keep in mind that there may be some REAL bellydancers at your LARP, and we have a habit of taking our art very seriously. Try to get at least a little bit of practice time in with both the DVD and the mirror, and remember to differentiate your character's art/job from other elements of her position in society (princess? tavern entertainer? farmers' daughter who ran away with a caravan of Gypsies and married one of them?).

Have fun, and don't worry too much about saving costume pieces for future classes. When you go to a real dance class, your teacher will have her own preference for class-wear, and every teacher is different.

If you want to do a lot of twisting moves, ballet slippers, dance paws, or lyrical sandals will allow you to do that on the crappy conference room carpet without hurting the bottoms of your feet, or wrenching your knee or ankle - as long as they fit right. First bellydancer rule - test out your costume at home while dancing, before you wear it to perform in! That way you can be sure that you won't fall out of your top, flash your lady bits, or twist your knee.

I hope you can make time for a dance class sometime soon!