Children’s Bellydance Classes at Down Hips Dance Studio
Bellydance is a fun way for children to get active, build confidence and get moving! Children will learn bellydance movements and a routine in a low pressure, non competitive atmosphere that is welcoming and supportive to all girls despite their size, shape or background. Classes are geared towards getting children active, not turning them into professional dancers!
An easy way to introduce movement and dance into their lives without focusing on faults, precision or competition. We do NOT teach sultry or “sexy” moves in any of our bellydance classes.. especially children’s. Kid’s are asked not to expose their belly in class or in performances.
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Kid’s Bellydance : Mix Level
In this mixed Level class, new dancers will learn the basics, and those who have experience with bellydance will firm up their technique with bellydance while being given some added challenges. Each session differs from the last and children will learn additional bellydance movements including use of bellydance props like veils or canes. Classes are kept fun, but encourage the group to still pay attention and work hard! A fun dance choreography is learned by the girls to perform at the student recital (optional).
Unlike other forms of dance for kids, bellydance classes to not involve much additional costs at all. The studio will always provide props and coin belts on loan for children, and we never ask parents to purchase them. Parents have the option of purchasing props (like veils), coin belts or costume pieces should they want to take them home and keep them.
Classes run in 10 week sessions with Jenn Comacchio
Visit our SCHEDULE page for more details on class times
Watch videos of the Mix age-level Children’s Dance performance at the Student Recital in May 2011
Watch videos of the Mix age-level Children’s Dance performance at the Student Recital in December 2010
Down Hips Dance Studio on CTV news: Health & Lifestyle, Children’s Bellydance
October 2009
CTV came in to Down Hips Dance Studio in Kitchener, to tape a children’s bellydance class for the Health & Lifestyle segment. Down Hips would like to thank all the children & parents who participated as well as our Children’s Bellydance instructor Lisa Manary.
http://www.shira.net
Is Belly Dancing Good For Girls?
Belly dancing can be a great activity for a girl, for many reasons:
- Fun. It’s fun to learn how to do things your friends can’t do,or that your mom or friends can! Learning to dance while playing games and having fun.
- Exercise Benefits. Belly dance is a form of exercise, and exercise is very healthy for the human body. Exercise promotes strong muscles, flexibility, and strong cardio-vascular health. It also releases endorphins into the brain, which generate a feeling of well-being. Done regularly, it helps prevent obesity.
- Mental Well-Being. Belly dancing provides a girl with an environment that teaches appreciation for her own body, whatever it may look like. It offers her a way to feel beautiful without dieting herself to malnutrition or enriching big corporations with her spending money.
- Social Opportunities. Dance offers a girl another group of people to meet, outside the usual settings of school. A girl who feels shy and awkward in school may find that dance class provides a more comfortable place to meet people and make friends.
- Cultural Awareness. Learning a dance from another country can bring new life to how she thinks about that culture. Instead of thinking about boring history books, terrorists, oil profits, or wars when she hears a country mentioned, she’ll think of its music, clothing, and folk traditions.
- Public Appearance. In the adult world, people who are skilled at public speaking have many great job opportunities open to them. Learning how to be comfortable in front of an audience as a child will equip a girl with a valuable job skill for her future.
But What About The Negatives?
It’s true that there can be a dark side to encouraging a girl to belly dance. A smart parent will consider these issues, and exercise good judgment in making decisions:
- That Seduction Thing. A good belly dance teacher will make sure her students realize that it did not originate as a dance of seduction. She will encourage them to use the dance to explore moods such as joy, introspection, cuteness, and fun. A parent may want to ask the teacher questions, watch her teach, or watch her perform to evaluate what kind of behavior the teacher encourages in her students before enrolling the child in the class. At Down Hips Dance Studio we encourage parents to sit in at the classes and see waht is being taught. We also implement a “no exposing bellies” policy.
- Negative Reactions Of The Public. Many people who are not familiar with belly dancing assume it’s some kind of strip show, and they may fiercely disapprove of having “that sort of thing” in their family-oriented community. One way to prevent this is to refer to the girl’s dance as “Oriental” or “Middle Eastern” dance instead of the more provocative term “belly” dance. Another is to select folkloric costumes for her with covered midriffs instead of the glitzy bead-and-sequin midriff-baring confections. It is important to be part of the solution to let the public know that bellydance is not the same dance as it reputation. In fact, Bellydance has less provocative or adult gestures than other forms of dance like Hip hop and modern dance for children. With expose from the media like our CTV clip, Down Hips actively urges the community to embrace the fun and supportive nature of Bellydance for both adults and kids!
In Conclusion
Belly dancing can be a fulfilling activity for a girl if her parents approach it with the right attitude and take sensible precautions to protect her from the bad behavior of adults (including her own parents!) She may discover that this activity is one she’ll enjoy for the rest of her life. Or she may decide she’d rather play the tuba.