“In response to the first time taking a new form of dance- In college I was required to take a class called "Latin Dance, African Roots", which went through all the timelines of popular latin dances all the way back to Africa, so it was super interesting (AND HARD) to learn these dances. It may not be a recognized form of dance (at least in North America) but Capoeria is one heck of a workout, and after your first time you feel it!”
-leahkmiller
That’s really neat! I took an “African Dance & Diaspora” dance history class in college (my university allowed you to major in African Dance) and it was really neat learning about traditional West African dances (from a dancer who was born and raised in Sierra Leone) and seeing how slaves brought their culture with them wherever they went. From praise houses being built on a small empty floor to serve as a drum for their feet to the way young men courted young women. It was fascinating.
“Circle of death is pretty much self explanatory. I think it's something the teacher came up with. We all get in a circle and do a bunch of exercises (jumping jacks, planks, push-ups, etc.) and I do jazz, ballet, and modern. But I really want to stick with ballet and hopefully be able to try out (and get into) the Royal. (:”
-Anonymous
That. Is. Awesome.
I wish you all the luck in the world!
“Wow thanks for that reference! I didn't think to look up any Muslim dancers... Wow you're helping me tons today! Thanks a lot! :) I will definitely take your advice ^^ I LOVE YOU <3”
-Anonymous
“Is it okay if I haven't worked out for the past 2 days? I just started my period (tmi) and I either want to eat everything or sleep all the time and there is no inbetween. I am doing the 30 day shred. Is it okay if I havent worked out for the past 48 hours?”
-imaginationisaddictive
I haven’t worked out since Wednesday, and that was just some dance and stretch class. Take as much time as you want/need off, especially if you’re feeling tired or grumpy or whatnot. Maybe try starting back into 30DS on a lower level for a day when you restart, just to give your body a slow start back after the days off, but you won’t have any negative side effects from relaxing for a while.
“Does doing hula hoops around the waist, arms, feet/legs and jump roping with it help you lose weight? Like, is it a good workout?”
-Anonymous
Yes! (In fact, I was at Target hula-hooping in an aisle when you sent this to me). It’s all really good low-impact cardio, and the hooping 9around your waist, arms, etc.) is a great gentle strength workout.
“Ah! Okay. So I started dance in the beginning of the school year, but last June we had a freshman week for all the incoming freshman. For the dance part of that we did 'circle of death'. It was brutal. Especially since I didn't dance or exercise before that. But now it's the end of the school year and I absolutely love dance and want to actually pursue it as a career now. Yay!”
-Anonymous
What’s “circle of death”?
And that’s awesome! What sort of dance do you do? What do you hope to do with it as a career?
“Thank you so much! Now I'm definitely going to enroll. Thank you and to the other blogger for reassuring me :) I'll be excited to you about my experiences! I've been wanting to be a "real" dancer (as a hobby) for a long time now. I'm so glad that I'm finally going to try it out!! Also, I might have a problem with the knee exposing thing.. because I'm a Muslim. I suppose this would pose a few problems wouldn't it? :/”
-Anonymous
Yay! And no, you can be totally covered. You just don’t want something that’s super baggy around the knees. I’m not sure how much you cover, but you shouldn’t have to worry about it too much. And yes, Muslim ballet dancers exist! Talk to your instructor on the first day (or e-mail them about it before the class starts) to make sure they understand, and feel free to go above their head if you’re given trouble about it.
“For your anon worried about being "too fat" for their college ballet class, I was too, for the longest time! I'm finally taking it this fall, and I couldn't be more excited. I'm 250, and idgaf about my size anymore because I let it hold me back for too long from doing what I love, and I'm not letting this be one of them, especially while it's still free! :)”
-one-little-did
That’s a great attitude to have about it! :D
Hey readers of mine: I know a lot of you write to me about taking your first dance class ever. Well, if you do actually take the plunge, I’d love it if you wrote about it and sent the link to me. It’s been a long time since I’ve tried a new type of dance, and I want to share first-time-dancer stories. What did you like? What did you hate? What did you do? What did you learn? What did you wear? How was the studio decorated? Anything!
I am not on Pinterest!
