Learning To Belly Dance - Tips & Ideas

If you are new to belly dancing and would like to try for the first time, you may be wondering where you should start from. The advice is to start learning belly dance from a teacher because, although there are many good instructional DVDs around and books about belly dancing, it is always better to get direct feedback from a teacher to make sure that the movements you are doing are correct. You can easily look online to find a belly dance class close to you. Also, belly dance classes can be advertised on local press or through leaflets in the local area.

In order to start belly dancing, you do not need much: just comfortable clothes, such as a long and wide skirt or stretch jazz pants; a short top with good support and a scarf to tie around your hips. There are a lot of belly dance hip scarves with coins or beads around for sale, but if you are just starting, any light scarf tied around your hips will do. Also, belly dancing is done barefooted, so you will not need to buy any type of dance shoes. If your feet are cold, you can use soft ballet shoes or non-slippery socks.

Some types of exercise you can integrate with belly dance are Pilates, as it helps to strengthen the core muscles and it helps with body isolations, or yoga for strength and balance. So why not try now this entertaining and beautiful art form. Belly dance is good for fitness, it improves self confidence and most important of all is fun! (www.worldbellydancer.org)

Floor Work Exercises

If you have taken up dancing, having never done it before, you will find yourself using muscles you are unaccustomed to. These will ache at first, however after time and exercise, you wil grow used to using them and build them up over time. Here are four exercises designed to strengthen these muscles.

1. Weight training - Dancers are incredibly strong and they need to be able to perform all the moves they do. Ballerinas for example, need strong arms and legs in order to be able to hold positions and poses for long periods of time. In order to build up your limb strength, it is an idea to do some basic weight training. Now we are not talking about massive dumb-bells here, but light weights that will gradually tone your legs, arms and back.

2. Yoga/Pilates - Your muscular core is used extensively in dance, and as such many dancers do pilates and or yoga to strengthen these muscles. By doing so, dancers are able to hold their bodies in positions longer as well as minimising risk of injury. Yoga and pilates also allow you to build up muscles you might not otherwise use.

3. Go swimming - Dancing not only works your muscles but also your cardio-vascular system. It is therefore important to make sure you regularly work your heart. Jogging or running are good options, but swimming is probably the best as it not only exercises every muscle, but is an excellent way to keep fit.

4. Stretching - Once you have worked all these muscles, the only way to improve your flexibility is to stretch these muscles. You can do this in every day life by taking longer strides, holding your stomach in and reaching out your arms as far as they go. By doing a series of stretching exercises before and after dance, you will reduce the chance of injury. (Article republished with kind permission of www.worldbellydancer.org)

Dance Your Way To Good Health

Which are the cardio activities that blast fat the fastest? According to a recent article in shine.yahoo.com, which listed the top seven metabolic rate enhancing activities, dancing comes in at number six. Here are the top seven fat and calorie burners, from Los Angeles, USA based celebrity trainer Ramona Braganza who has helped shape the amazing bodies of stars like Jessica Alba, Halle Berry and Anne Hathaway.

1. Inline skating

Burns 425 calories in 30 minutes

2. Running

Burns 374 calories in 30 minutes

3. Jumping rope

Burns 340 minutes in 30 minutes

4. Hula hooping

Burns 300 minutes in 30 minutes

5. Tennis

Burns 274 minutes in 30 minutes

6. Dancing

Burns 221 calories in 30 minutes

7. Walking vigorously

Burns 170 calories in 30 minutes

While the article says that dancing may not be the biggest calorie-burner in the bunch, it is still an excellent and fun metabolism booster. (Just look at Kelly Osbourne who jump-started her amazing 42-pound loss with Dancing With The Stars.) The key is to keep the tempo high, choosing songs with fast rhythms like Latin or Bollywood, and don't rest between songs. To boost your burn, use your arms. Raise them in the air and move them to the beat.

Zumba Fitness - Dance For Charity

A "Zumba Fitness - Dance For Charity" event will be held on November 7 at HGH Convention Centre, Sentul, Kuala Lumpur to help raise funds for charity. Proceeds from the sale of tickets will be channeled to Kiwanis Club of Bangsar, Kiwanis Club of Bukit Bandaraya and Hospis Malaysia. Zumba instructor and license holder, Jason Ooi says he expects more than 3000 participants to attend this two-hour dance fitness programme which will kick off at 11.00 am. Tickets are sold at RM18 each. For more information, call 013-3672001, 016-6839666 or 016-9042008 or visit www.zumbaforcharity.blogspot.com.

Zumba is a fitness programme that has become a worldwide craze. The fitness programme combines Latin rhythm with cardiovascular exercises to create an aerobics routine that is fun and easy to follow. Participants often comment that it is so much fun that they don't think of it as a workout. There are presently more than 20,000 Zumba trained instructors in over 35 countries, and millions of Zumba DVDs have been sold worldwide. Zumba enthusiasts all over the world are discovering the joy of dancing and the benefits to their health all at the same time.

Colombian fitness trainer Beto Perez stumbled upon the concept of Latin-inspired fitness in his native country of Colombia in the mid-1990s. He introduced a fitness programme which he called Zumba and which soon became very popular in his class. The word Zumba is Spanish slang for "to move fast and have fun". The fun workout comprises of approximately 70% Latin dances (eg cha cha cha, samba, mambo) and 30% of other dances from around the world (eg flamenco, calypso, hip hop). Zumba utilizes the principles of fitness interval training and resistance training to maximize caloric output, fat burning and total body burning.

Mating Dance

Men who wish to attract women on the dance floor would be better advised to learn a few moves that answer the female mating drive rather than bother with the moonwalk. Psychologists have identified the key male dance movements that most arouse female interest - and all are to do with the central body motions which send out primal signals of health, vigour and strength. A team led by Nick Neave of Northumbria University in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England filmed 109 men aged 18 to 35 in a lab as they danced to a standard disco beat.

The men, none of whom was a professional dancer, wore reflective markers that studded their bodies and were filmed by a battery of twelve 3D cameras. The footage was used to create a dancing avatar, or animated figure, that was faceless and genderless. Thirty-seven young heterosexual women were then shown 15-second clips of the avatars and were asked to judge which of the dance movements were the most attractive. Eight "movement variables" emerged which distinguished the trolls from the Travoltas.

"Good" dancers did wider and bigger movements of the head, neck and torso, and did faster bending and twisting movements of their right knee (greater movements of the right knee rather than the left were to be expected, as 80% of the dancers favoured their right leg). In contrast, "bad" dancers tended to be stiff and plod - and throwing their arms around was no substitute for fast, variable movement of the central body region. "Men all over the world will be interested to know what moves they can throw to attract a woman" says Neave. (Source: AFP) ........

Jazzercise Your Way To Health And Fitness

Judi Sheppard Misset, who turned her love of jazz dance into a worldwide dance phenomenon, founded the Jazzercise dance fitness programme in 1969. Jazzercise, which offers a fusion of jazz dance, resistance training, Pilates, stretch, and kick boxing movements, has positively affected millions of people around the world through a host network of 7500 instructors teaching more than 32,000 classes weekly in 32 countries. Jazzercise Inc. presently has its headquarters in Carlsbad, California, USA.

Each 60-minute Jazzercise workout class blends dance and muscle toning movements choreographed to the latest music, including the Top 40, jazz, country, funk, and classics. Every class includes a gentle warm-up, 30 minutes aerobics workout, muscle toning and strengthening segment with weights and Xertubes and a stretch finale. Benefits include increased cardiovascular endurance, strength, and flexibility as well as an overall "feel good" factor.

Jazzercise Malaysia recently showcased its fitness programme at the Youth '09 Carnival which was held at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur from January 9 to 11. The crew put on an hour of non-stop performances which depicted a typical Jazzercise class and challenged the youths present to complete it. Everybody had a great time and the youths were surprised that they actually enjoyed a fitness program that is 40 years old!

Jazzercise classes are currently being conducted at the Kuala Lumpur Dancers' Association (KLDA) at Level 2, Wisma OCM, Jalan Hang Jebat, 50150 Kuala Lumpur (diagonally opposite Stadium Negara) every Wednesdays from 8.00 pm to 9.00 pm. The fees are RM60 per month or RM20 for individual walk-in classes. To learn more about Jazzercise, please contact Grace Chan at 012-3255380, Janet Camillus at 019-3873193, email: jnetcg@yahoo.com or visit www.jazzercise.com.

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Jazz It Up At Jazzercise Team Dance Challenge 2009

Jazzercise, Remix and Youth Malaysia will jointly be organizing the Jazzercise Team Dance Challenge 2009. Further information are as follows:-

Date: January 9 - 11, 2009

Venue: Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur

Prizes: 1st - RM3000, 2nd - RM2000, 3rd - RM1000, 5 consolation prizes of RM500 each

Registration Fee: RM100 per team

The salient Rules and Regulations (please refer to the organizers for the full Rules and Regulations) are:-

1) Each team must have a minimum of 5 and up to a maximum of 20 participants.

2) Participants must be between 15 - 30 years old.

3) Performances must be a minimum of 3 minutes and not longer than 5 minutes.

4) Each choreography must feature at least 6 movements as shown in the website http://www.jazzercise.com/.

- 2 Basic Aerobic Moves
- 1 Power Legs Move

- 3 Fancy Footwork or Side-To-Side Movements (3 of each category or a mix of both)

(Check out their website to learn the moves)

Basic Aerobics Movements
Jazz Stretch
Attitude Lift
Diagonal Toe Touches
Flick-Kick
Heel Hop
Knee Lift
Pendulum Lift
Hip Rock

Power Legs
Lunges
Plies
Rock Lunge

Fancy Footwork
Jazz Square
Kick Ball Change
Triplet
Turned-Out Triplet

Side-To-Side Movements
Chasse
Grapevine
Half Step Grapevine

5) If props are used, only those that are hand held or worn are allowed (eg. canes, fans, hats & boas).

This event is held in conjunction with the Youth '09 Festival which will be held on January 9 - 11, 2009 at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur. For enquiries, please contact the YouthMalaysia.com crew at 03-80233352. For more information and online registration, please log on to http://www.youthmalaysia.com/.

Best Wishes As Usual,

Dance Aficionado
Dancesport Malaysia

Zumba - A Fusion Of Dance And Aerobics That Is Taking The World By Storm

Zumba is a fitness programme that is fast becoming a worldwide craze. The fitness programme combines Latin rhythms with cardiovascular exercises to create an aerobics routine that is fun and easy to follow. Participants often comment that it is so much fun that they don't think of it as a workout. There are presently more than 20,000 Zumba trained instructors in 35 countries and millions of Zumba Fitness DVDs have been sold worldwide. Zumba enthusiasts all over the world are discovering the joy of dancing and the benefits to their health all at the same time.

Colombian fitness trainer Beto Perez stumbled upon the concept of Latin inspired fitness in his native country of Colombia in the mid 1990s. He introduced a fitness programme which he called Zumba and which soon became very popular in his class. The word Zumba is Spanish slang for "to move fast and have fun". In 1999 Perez brought the class to the United States where he was approached by Alberto Perlman and Alberto Aghion to create a global company based on the Zumba fitness philosophy. The three young entrepreneurs then set a goal to offer Zumba classes all over the world. In 2007, Zumba was introduced to Mexico, Japan, China, Britain, Italy and Spain.

The fun workout comprises of approximately 70% Latin dances (eg. cha cha cha, samba, mambo) and 30% of other dances from around the world (eg. flamenco, calypso, hip hop). "We utilize the the principles of fitness interval training and resistance training to maximize caloric output, fat burning and total body burning. It's a way of mixing body sculpting movements and easy-to-follow dance steps" says Perez. "It's fun and addictive. It's wonderful to see so many people having fun while getting fit. I think the terrific Latin rhythms in the programme have taken the 'work' out of "working out" he added.

Perez was here in Kuala Lumpur in March 2008 to help lay down the groundwork for starting the Zumba Fitness programme in Malaysia. He, along with fellow fitness trainer Tanya Beardsley gave a series of master classes to other fitness trainers at California Fitness which is currently offering Zumba classes at its fitness centres. California Fitness presently has 4 fitness centres in the Klang Valley - Menara Standard Chartered, Lot 10 Shopping Centre, Mid Valley Megamall all in Kuala Lumpur and Sunway Pyramid in Petaling Jaya.

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Line Dancers Converge On Christmas Island For 50th Anniversary Celebrations

Christmas Island is a territory of Australia and lies in the Indian Ocean. It is located about 500 km south of the Indonesian island of Java. With an area of 135 square kilometers, Christmas Island is approximately half the size of Penang Island. Captain William Mynors of the British East India Company gave the island its name when he arrived on the island on December 25 1643. In 1887, phosphate was discovered on the island which led to the annexation of the island by the British Crown on June 6 1888. Phosphate mining began in the 1890s using indentured labour from China and the Malay archipelago. Sovereignty of the island was transferred to Australia in 1958 and Territory Day is celebrated on October 1 every year with much gusto by the islanders.

This year, Christmas Island celebrated its 50th year of being a territory of Australia. The celebrations somehow attracted the attention of a group of more than 100 Malaysians comprising dancers, marathon runners as well as friends and family who cleverly combined the idea of a holiday, anniversary celebrations, dance workshop and half marathon all in one. On Oct 3, the group flew to Christmas Island on a chartered flight. The next day the dancers took part in a line dance workshop conducted by Australian dance instructor Chris Watson who had come to Christmas Island with three of his dancers from Tamworth, New South Wales. Watson belongs to a dance group called Dare To Dance (http://www.dare2dance.org/) which conducts workshops around the world.

The group of line dancers comprised mainly of dancers from two studios in Selangor, namely Jasz Dance and Studio 33 who meet regularly for parties and workshops in the Klang Valley. (For more information on their line dancing activities, contact Jasz Dance at 012-6551164 or Studio 33 at 012-3880315). The runners from Malaysia and their Christmas Island counterparts also took part in a half marathon. The 21 km "JW Flora and Fauna Fun Run" hosted by the CI Cricket and Sporting Club (http://www.cicsc.org.cx/) took the runners through the woods and roads of the beautiful island. Scott Fischer, president of the CICSC said the club hoped to organize a full marathon in future.

The population of Christmas Island stands at about 1000; made up roughly of 70% Chinese, 20% Europeans and 10% Malays. The island is noted for its lush tropical rainforest, amazing flora & fauna, birdlife, beautiful beaches and stunning landscapes. It is also famous for its red crabs and robber crabs, known elsewhere as cocunut crabs. The annual red crab mass migration to the sea to spawn has been called one of the wonders of the natural world and takes place every year around November. More than 60% of the island is now under the protection of the Australian Parks Authority. The park on the island contains the last remaining habitat of the endangered Abott's booby and the only nesting sites of the Christmas Island frigate birds

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Clorets Dark Secret Amateur Pole Dance Competition 2008 Grand Finals To Be Held At Zouk Club, KL on September 5

The Clorets Amateur Pole Dance Competition Grand Finals will be held at Zouk Club, Kuala Lumpur from 6.30 pm onwards on September 5, 2008.

Fifteen finalists have been chosen to take part in the grand finals. The 15 finalists - 13 girls and 2 guys, were shortlisted from among 75 entries based on the clarity, technical and artistic value of video clips submitted.The 75 participants had each submitted a video of themselves performing one of six pre-choreographed pole dance routines as shown on the web site www.cloretspower.com.

Singer songwriter Hannah Tan and Mix FM deejay Pietro Felix have accepted the challenge of performing a pole dance routine at the grand finals.

The grand finalists stand a chance to win the following attractive prizes:-


First prize: RM5000 cash and Celebrity Fitness 1-year gym membership

Second prize: RM3000 cash and Celebrity Fitness 9-months gym membership

Third prize: RM2000 cash and Celebrity Fitness 6-months gym membership.

Pole dancing is a form of dancing/gymnastics that takes muscular endurance and co-ordination as well as sensuality, involving movements with a vertical pole, acrobatic feats of strength, with the polish of a performer. Pole dancing is regarded by many as a performing art. Celebrities who pole dance include Madonna, Paris Hilton, Jolin Tsai, The Pussycat Dolls and The Spice Girls.

Entry to the finals of the Clorets Pole Dance Amateur Competition is open to anyone over the age of 18. Just flash a pack of Clorets Mini Mints at the entrance to gain free admission.

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