[Bellydancingcaroline]

I would try not to spend to much money on things, and spend lots of money on lessons instead. Perhaps buy some nice practice wear, so that you feel good doing the lessons. Maybe 1 or 2 really nice hipscarves.

I'm sure everyone here wasted tons of money buying things that they later discovered 1. were not required, 2. were not in the developed version of their style 3. were poor quality

I would experiment with foot coverings until you find one that suits you (foot undeez? those slip on elastic shoes? jaz shoes?).

I would buy a good support bra, like a shock absorber and get it fitted professionally (you are going to need to preserve your natural uplift later on....)

I would do my research on who are the good teachers to go to in my area, and I would shop around and not stick to one teacher.

If it is your first show, or class performance - it's always fun to have a project with the rest of the class, like you all choose the material and the pattern etc.