Thread: To those who teach gym/fitness type BD classes

Aside from the regular BD classes I teach two hours of BD workout a week, one evening class and one daytime class.
At the same time, I see Zumba classes popping up EVERYWHERE. I'm on summer recess now, starting again in September... along with loads and loads of new Zumba classes.

Are any of you that teach BD-based fitness classes experiencing major competition from the Zumba craze? I expect the hype to fade eventually but it does make me slightly nervous .w.:

our regular bellydance classes are suffering from it too...zumba sure is the latest biggest hit around here. it's crazee.

I'm not too worried- I think it's a fad, just like the last one- can't even remember the name of the last one, my brain isn't awake yet. it all cycles through- but BD has been here through jazzercise & the opening of curves & whatever that mid-90's world dance fitness thing was & the dance/fitness ball craze & hot yoga, etc. If you get the newsletters from the fitness agencies that certify personal trainers, etc, you can see the waves go through in the classes they teach. I give it another 2-3 years before it fades- probably not completely, but the fitness trainers will need a new gimmick soon. sure, hot yoga is still around, but there is less hype about it now, & most folks here are back to some of the more traditional forms & it is not in such competition with traditional yoga classes as it was. BTW- I am a certified fitness trainer, so I am not making fun of *them*- I just don't take the fads coming through too terribly seriously. If I think it will benefit my clients, I'll use it, but I don't see it as a real threat to an entrenched dance form like BD.

This is mildly on topic but how to you plan what to teach at BD fitness. I have been to jazzercise and hip-hop step. Do you just do the sort of add on fast combos methods that these classes use?

I ask because I am moving soon and will start teaching regular classes and I think there would be some demand so BD fitness but I am afriad I will teach it just like regular beginner class.

Originally Posted by ScarletDancer

This is mildly on topic but how to you plan what to teach at BD fitness. I have been to jazzercise and hip-hop step. Do you just do the sort of add on fast combos methods that these classes use?

I ask because I am moving soon and will start teaching regular classes and I think there would be some demand so BD fitness but I am afriad I will teach it just like regular beginner class.

nothing wrong with having both 'regular' and 'fitness' bd classes looking similar- the main difference for me is that I have to make sure & save my history speeches for after- I think my fitness training has helped me develop a good warm up routine, for one thing, that is targeted at what we will be working on that day- then for a fitness class, we have to keep heart rate up for the rest of class until cool down. No waiting for your turn to go across the floor, everyone needs to be moving. you have to work on drills & instruction that keep everyone moving- so I've gotten better at correcting while we are dancing rather than stopping everyone to explain. I think it is harder to progress to intermediate levels using this style, & just about impossible to do anything but very basic choreography (as in a jazzercise routine is not a performance worthy jazz piece, frex) but often the folks in the strictly fitness classes aren't all that interested in performing or going on to advanced levels, or if they are, I can refer them to a more in depth class. I think a 'bellyrobics' class can be beneficial to dancers who want to do more than a once weekly instructional class, but if they really want to progress, that more in depth, technique driven class is required- so consider what you want to put *your* time into. & be very clear in distinguishing which is your work out class & which is your technique class.

I teach belly dance fitness classes at my local Y.

I actually don't deviate too much from my regular classes, other than my regular classes get a lot more discussion time of dance-related topics and we practice zills weekly in some of my classes.

But I do a warm-up, drill and technique sections (that rotates different types of drills), 2 real dance combos, and then a stretching cool down.

My drill section may focus on different areas of the body or different skill sets, like shimmy drills, tummy work, hand & arm work and grace building, etc.

As a dance fitness instructor, I think it's important to remember why people come and continue to come to my classes. They come because belly dance fitness classes are not like other classes out there. They aren't just sweating and trying to keep up. They are taking control of their bodies and learning a REAL beautiful dance form.

There are many teachers at other YMCAs in the Houston area. Most of them aren't "dancers", most aren't "qualified", but some I think have certified through Oreet's Sharqui cert program. I'm not sure what all that entails. Oreet's an excellent dancer, but I have a hard time believing that any jane can get this cert and teach an interesting and evolving dance fitness class.

I agree with LaraL about zumba being "fad-ish" (I still have my original zumba VHS tapes from the early 90's!:)) before the gyms got hold of the "zumba wave"; I believe it's just as she mentioned an ebb & flow kinda thing, even if it's not going anywhere (won't disappear--b/c I think everyone wants to "spice up" get a variety into their workouts w/a cross-training mentality).

On Mondays, I teach a Level 1 class for an hour, with huge emphasis on technique and drills. But afterwards is a 1/2 hour "Belly Shapers" class that has gotten some really good interest, attendance & results, I feel--esp. those w/an eye on enhancing their fitness regimen). While drop-ins are allowed I do, however, require they've had at least 2 6-week sessions of Level 1 to know the proper poster, moves, technique, etc. so they "hit the ground running" with the combos for the night. To start we do a quick warm and into a consistently-moving low-impact aerobics yet mind-body connection challenging combinations kind of workout & drilling.

I have noticed that some students (usually the ones who consider the BD classes as just an hour of exercice) are more tempted to switch to Zumba.
We have lost a couple and I know some of our students do both.

But I can imagine that BDfitness would have strong competition from Zumba!
I hope the hype fades soon though, lately you can't look over your shoulder or you see some kind of Zumba ad somewhere....

I know I'm in the majority when I say I think zumba will not fade. But I also believe that bellydancing will be more accepted as a "real" dance by the GP and get more respect on such shows as "SYTYCD." Some would say I must believe in Santa Claus too!

(Actually, I do. . .)

This was one of the reasons why I felt a little bit disenchanted by teaching. The studio I worked at tended to draw a lot of moms who seemed more interested in BD classes for the "trendy" appeal than for any of the cultural, technical or artistic value. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, but they didn't seem to like the fact that *gasp* belly dance is actually hard .w.: And they weren't keen on the fact that I spent a good chunk of time warming them up, doing drills, and addressing posture. Eyes glazed over whenever I'd give fun tidbits about the drumbeats or what region that move came from.

Perhaps, I wouldn't have had this problem if I billed it as belly-fitness and taught upbeat combos instead of solid basic technique? Then again, I wouldn't want to ignore the basics, only for the students to go to another dancer's class, mess up some basic move, and say, "Pfff, Carrara taught me to do it this way!"

But yes, right after I left the studio, I was immediately replaced with Zumba. They have Zumba fliers all over the town. Was I annoyed? Just a smidge. Was it a good marketing move on the studio director's part? Of course. Guess I can't really blame her for that.

Dance (and its fitness permutations) is so highly subjectable to trends in pop culture. We need a Belly Dancing With the Stars reality show, or the next Shakira to come along ,r:;

It's at my gym too. In fact my BD fitness class was canceled this summer and replaced with... you guessed it... Zumba. *sigh*

We had a bellydance fitness class at my gym too. When the instructor couldn't give them anymore, they too replaced it with zumba.

I was approached with the option of teaching a BD fitness class. But the last class was more focused on aerobics and less on the artistic end, not to mention technique. While taking it, for me, was fun as far as a workout goes, I was pretty disillusioned with the fact that the instructor did not focus more on learning the moves RIGHT. I was afraid other people were going to hurt themselves because they were not taught how to do the moves correctly.

I told the gym that if I did teach a BD fitness class that it would be very different from the one that was there before. Not to take anything away from the previous instructor, but she told me herself that they wanted her to teach it this way. So that is why I told them I would not do it the previous way.

We have never been successful at marketing dance exercise classes to non-dancers; most of the exercise students are dancers who are trying to build strength and flexibility; and sometimes (like summertime) we don't bother holding the classes at all. But then, we are specifically a belly dance studio; I think the fitness customer would be more likely to think s/he'd get a better workout at the YMCA.

You know what's so funny about this? Out of all the exercises that I have ever done (with the exception of bike training), I have lost the most in pounds and inches from bellydance without even trying. And that was from learning it correctly and with some good instructors who knew how to give a real kicka** class.

Exactly, Fotia. You can lose weight and tone up from BD, but not by taking some BD-lite class once a week and not practicing at home.

My students would kvetch and complain when we drilled - "ohhhh it's sooooooo inteeeeeense" - and I'd always want to say, "But I thought you were doing this for fitness." ..g.:

For some reason, many people think the best way to get toned is by prancing around for an hour. What can I say? Every generation has its Jane Fonda ,r:;

Pole Fitness is another Really Big Thing in my area that I just don't really "get."

I don't know much about pole dancing, but I don't think there's any real dancing involved, just a lot of improv undulations. Then again, outside of a fitness routine, I really don't respect it very much, mostly because of what it is used for.

My morbid curiosity got the best of me and I enrolled in the pole class just for something different and fun. I couldn't even get through 2 classes before I dropped out.

All we did was stretch for an hour - and the teacher would encourage all this really dangrous, forced hyperextension of the lower back, all while encouraging us to "touch those luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuscious cuuuuuuuuuuuuuurves!" and "let the sexy out and play." Then, we'd practice walking reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally slow. Then, we'd spin around the pole for 15 minutes with the lights dimmed. We did a lot of duck butt posturing, too.

It was great for investigative journalism. Any other benefit, fitness or otherwise? Not so much. And I'm sure my boyfriend was a little bummed that I didn't come back begging him to mount a stripper pole in the basement.

Yeah, well I can do that kind of stuff at home without paying an instructor!

Yes. It's the type of thing you share at home with one very special person

I think if I was in a room with a bunch of other people doing that I would burst out laughing and have to leave the room!!

And yes, SatinWorship, it is a very one-on-one kind of workout ..g.:

I almost did. I was definitely the problem child in that class .w.:

The instructor had a peculiar way of draaaaaaaaaawing out eeeeeeeeeeeevery voooooooooooooooowel while giving instructions. This was especially amusing during the stretches, when she'd order the group to caress the curve of their breasts .w.:

Scary thing is, I think it works. That studio's been on local TV more times than I can possibly keep track of. Would I have been a more successful teacher if I encouraged full-throttle stretchabitionism and gave belly dance instructions in a fully, drawn-out voice? I may never know, nor do I really wanna find out...

Yeah, if you displayed it in a Suzy Nippleteasers sort of way!!!

I went through the SharQui program (for instructing the beginner level) this past April. I highly recommend it for dancers who want to instruct in fitness centers because
a) it's certified by AFAA and ACE (makes it easier for fitness centers to "understand" it)
b) you are required to have AFAA, ACE, or other approved fitness certification to be able to teach it (very desirable, sometimes required, by fitness centers)
c) you really learn how to pace a class to deliver a continuous workout that focuses on safe bellydance posture and basic BD movements
d) Oreet is great! Everything was so organized, our time was maximized, and I learned so much in the preparation (lots of studying and practicing involved) and, of course, in the training itself. (By the way, not everyone passes the course. There is a written test and a practical test, similar to AFAA certification.)

I was skeptical at first, too, about non-dancers who were taking the course, but I have to say they really impressed me. There were two fitness professionals in my session who had not taken regular BD classes, but they were able to deliver safe, accurate instruction at this level. (And were actually better than many of us, initially at least, at leading a continuous class with safe warm-ups and great cuing.)

One of the reasons I decided to take the SharQui certification is because so many beginners take their first class because they "want a good workout". The SharQui classes can deliver the workout and be a springboard for those who want something more, inspiring them to seek out a dance-focused class. Oreet also stressed the importance of understanding what "fitness" people want when they take your class. I feel that I my classes will have a much, much higher success rate at fitness centers now compared to if I had not taken this course.

Now that I have my AFAA, SharQui, and CPR certs taken care of, I'm preparing materials for approaching local fitness centers. I'm interested and excited to see how it all works out!

Originally Posted by AnnaTX

There are many teachers at other YMCAs in the Houston area. Most of them aren't "dancers", most aren't "qualified", but some I think have certified through Oreet's Sharqui cert program. I'm not sure what all that entails. Oreet's an excellent dancer, but I have a hard time believing that any jane can get this cert and teach an interesting and evolving dance fitness class.

I just started attending Zumba classes. They won't replace my dance classes but they are more aerobic oriented. Plus I am familiar with many of the basic steps so I can follow along really well.

Zumba is a fitness class, geared towards high energy make ya sweat stuff, without having to "learn" lots of combos.

Bellydance is...a dance form, that can be used as a workout certainly, but doesn't provide the same "ra-ra let's GO" aerobic aspect, at least I don't think it should.

I like both though I can see why Zumba will hedge out dance class for the fitness locations.

Originally Posted by maurazebra

We have never been successful at marketing dance exercise classes to non-dancers; most of the exercise students are dancers who are trying to build strength and flexibility; and sometimes (like summertime) we don't bother holding the classes at all. But then, we are specifically a belly dance studio; I think the fitness customer would be more likely to think s/he'd get a better workout at the YMCA.

The Belly Blast Workout class that DeVilla teaches at DanceGarden (Zahra and Jenna's studio) is jam-packed! I think most of them are dancers...they've been on the floor everytime I'm popped in and I've been afraid to try it out (and then take Zahra's and then teach my class all back-to-back) but those girls generate some serious heat with all the work they're doing!

My Belly Dance Workout class is so popular I had requests to add another one for the next session. It's mixed level, so my intermediates will come for the training/conditioning and then stay for their class, but I have plenty of people who've never taken belly dance before too. We do lots of ab work (standing only), big and small contractions both front and side, and then contractions with knee lifts, lots of lift and hip drops and then one-legged hip drops, goofy-looking arm and upper back exercises before we do 'snake arms' and the like, so they're already sore and tired and can feel where the moves are supposed to come from. Then I do stuff across the floor to keep them moving for 45 min or so, layered for the intermediates, and then a big shimmy section at the end, again layered for the more experienced. We're all sweating buckets by the end of class. :)

They haven't yet caught Zumba fever.

Originally Posted by kiyaana

I went through the SharQui program (for instructing the beginner level) this past April. I highly recommend it for dancers who want to instruct in fitness centers because
a) it's certified by AFAA and ACE (makes it easier for fitness centers to "understand" it)
b) you are required to have AFAA, ACE, or other approved fitness certification to be able to teach it (very desirable, sometimes required, by fitness centers)
c) you really learn how to pace a class to deliver a continuous workout that focuses on safe bellydance posture and basic BD movements
d) Oreet is great! Everything was so organized, our time was maximized, and I learned so much in the preparation (lots of studying and practicing involved) and, of course, in the training itself. (By the way, not everyone passes the course. There is a written test and a practical test, similar to AFAA certification.)

I was skeptical at first, too, about non-dancers who were taking the course, but I have to say they really impressed me. There were two fitness professionals in my session who had not taken regular BD classes, but they were able to deliver safe, accurate instruction at this level. (And were actually better than many of us, initially at least, at leading a continuous class with safe warm-ups and great cuing.)

One of the reasons I decided to take the SharQui certification is because so many beginners take their first class because they "want a good workout". The SharQui classes can deliver the workout and be a springboard for those who want something more, inspiring them to seek out a dance-focused class. Oreet also stressed the importance of understanding what "fitness" people want when they take your class. I feel that I my classes will have a much, much higher success rate at fitness centers now compared to if I had not taken this course.

Now that I have my AFAA, SharQui, and CPR certs taken care of, I'm preparing materials for approaching local fitness centers. I'm interested and excited to see how it all works out!

Kiyaana, thanks for speaking up about Sharqui and your prespective. I love Oreet's dance style and I do respect her and her program, but I must say I am apprehensive about dance fitness certs being taken by "non-dancers" in re: to the artistic side of belly dance.

Let me ask you this, when you get Sharqui certified, I'm assuming participants are given a class "outline" and information on how a class should flow for optimum fitness (as you mentioned), but how much room is there for learning or incorporating new moves and combinations for those instructors, not well versed in the "dancing side" of belly dance versus those instructors learning for the purpose of fitness only?

It makes me wonder too, Anna.

I'm all for the mainstreaming of belly dance. But if a beginner takes a SharQui class and poses some question about culture, history or music, I'd hope that the instructor knows enough to give at least a basic answer. Do they cover any of these topics in Oreet's class?

I mean, we're always talking about teaching more than just the moves, and conveying that there's more to our dance than just wiggling...

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is Zumba? Never heard of it so assume it may not have made it over this side of the pond yet... except maybe London!

It's a specific type of high-energy Latin dance-inspired aerobics that's become insaaaanely popular in the States now. It's actually supposed to be a lot of fun, but it sounds like the trend was kind of a buzzkill for belly-fitness instructors when their students moved from BD to Zumba ..c::

DancingLale, off topic, but your avatar pic is so flippin' hot