Thread: where Zumba and bellydance collide

Originally Posted by raqFariha

it makes it even more terrifying that the "oh my too! i use fit tv's shimmy" response to "im a bellydancer" has been being replaced by "oh we did bellydance in zumba last week"
thank you for sharing, now i can say for certain that they are confused.
i think im gonna cry..... : (

I am crying...
Zumba seems that an attractive way to keep fit and maybe more interesting than jumping on and off boxes (which I did for more years than I care to remember) as you might be listening to interesting music.
Belly Dance I presume to be a dance performed in the ME to ME music and beloved by some Westerners but then I am a simple soul.

Originally Posted by Mahsima

I just smiled and said something like "Well...I suppose everyone is entitled to an opinion, I spend many hours a day studying and practicing, but I am glad to know your Zumba class is so thorough.."

ZING!!! Good one!

I just got evaluated at the gym after my Zumba class & got a nice compliment about my choreography. I will say that the shimmy drill is going very well with the members but as far as I know, no one is leaving claiming to be a real bellydancer.

But c'mon, almost any fitness class can run that risk when you bring a skill over to the gym. We are not special that way.

F'rinstance I shudder to think how many inept participants leave a Body Combat class thinking they can go head to head with capoeiristas in a roda when all they know is a basic jinga & a modified esquiva or that they can throw down in a ring with Muay Thai fighters! LOL.

Haha, LiesaB - I just saw your post, "Curious - Not Yellow" - Just to let you know your reference to the (scandalous at the time!) Kier Dullea movie was not completely overlooked!

-Devora

Hi!
I look Zumba certification myself! You can't learn all the moves if you never took ballroom, samba, flamenco, tango ou bellydance.
I am fortunate to had bon in Brazil and learn African and Brazilian style dance there, plus most of the other latin rythms.... I do respect other people's choice, but you can't say you are this or that because you have zumba certification, is one full day workshop and after that all depend on the instructor to get the moves down and right...
I take other dance style weekly and i'm always learn., and always respect dance style that does not come from my home country...
For the user that said you do not need Brazilian style trianing, yes we do need it! Every single state has it own style and folckloric dance style and if you want call yourself an instrucotor, you should get prepared, no matter which style you choose to pursue....

As a Latina who has salsa and merengue in her blood, and being damn proud that Zumba was created by Beto Perez (a Colombian fitness instructor), i'm old school when it comes to what this hybrid of dance and aerobics is: a high energy latin workout. period. I personally see no need for there to be bellydance included because you can't possibly get enough elementary building blocks down to correctly bellydance and unless you're doing intense bellydance classes, its not a fierce workout like Zumba.

On the flipside, my biggest pet peeze is when someone says "I zumba" no you don't Zumba, you TAKE zumba classes.
Zumba is an aerobic workout based on different styles of dance, as of now with so many instructors, it has no original base but has morphed into whatever the instructor finds intriguing to them.

So (now that i've ranted) if you take or teach Zumba (I myself am getting certified) make sure you appreciate the other forms of dance that you're borrowing moves and choreographing routines to and have respect for them. I know as bellydancers we hate being compared to strippers because it's insulting, it cheapens our art, the long hours of practice and the pride we take in performing. It's the same with salsa (for example) if your only reference to salsa and how you learned it was through Zumba, to me that's insulting because it has its own origins and those of us that actually do salsa find Zumba an irrevelant comparison.

If you can teach your students that value of these dance forms, you just perpetuate knowledge and it's contagious and positive.

(Thank you for indulging)