Beginner Belly Dance
Join the Fun! Belly Dance is for Every Body!
Don't be shy, we love you just the way you are! We were ALL awkward, uncoordinated, balance and posture challenged once... so come and start your journey towards grace.
Learn the most amazingly fun, natural, beautiful, and ancient dance - Belly Dance! At the root of the dance is a celebration of femininity, sensuality, and playfulness. It may feel awkward at first, but as you keep trying out the moves, you'll learn how amazing they make you feel, it just takes practice!
Though the dance is feminine, you do not need to identify as a woman in order to enjoy expressing yourself! Belly Dance is for EVERY body... no one is too fat, too thin, has too big or small of hips, chest, belly, or anything... we are all the right size and shape. Belly dancers come in ALL sizes, genders, shapes, colors, races, and skill levels! We leave everything else outside the door here at Hip Ex, and focus on YOU enjoying exploring belly dance moves in your body.
We believe you are awesome, just as you are. We can't wait to show you new tools to keep you strong, flexible, inspired, engaged, mentally, physically, and at a deep soul level. We connect to ancient movement traditions in a way that is accessible to every body!
What do I take first?
Start with our Beginner Classes, join anytime! We rotate themes every month, and NEVER repeat material, so there's always something to explore! We balance technique with personal expression, so you'll be a beautiful, well balanced, integrated dancer. Yes, it takes time to work on your technique, and it will keep improving... so have fun, wherever you are at!
Here are the fundamental themes...
ROOTS: Foundational rhythms and footwork to ground yourself into your body and the music through the earth
FLOW: Tapping into the energy of air and water to synthesize movements
FLAIR: Exploring how emotions are energy in motion and aid in storytelling - moving with meaning! Bring your attitude!
Be patient with yourself, it takes about 10 classes to start feeling like you're not totally awkward, so give yourself time!
...when's you're ready for the next step, graduate to some of our other belly dance classes, in different styles, where we will continue to fine-tune the fundamentals in a class designed for mixed-level students. With our Trial Membership, you can try out some other great classes, too, unlimited for one month for no obligation.
Beginner Info
We find that students are most successful and see the most progress by planning to attend THREE classes a week, because you know life will happen and you'll miss one, and you'll still attend twice a week. Remember, this is like building any skill - it's just a matter of putting the hours in. The less often you come, the less progress you see, and it's harder to stay motivated!
What's exciting is that the more often you come - you will see the results faster, be more motivated to keep at it, which means that enthusiasm = results = more fun/feeling better = more enthusiasm! It's the best cycle to get into. If you're discouraged, it's just because you're not dancing enough to get the serotonin feel-good chemical that encourages you to keep going!
We recommend the $99 - Trial Membership unlimited classes for one month, includes Beginner's, Basics, Yoga, and all other drop-in classes! You could dance every day, most days for at least 2 classes a row! Plus the yoga to help keep you strong!
Other options are available; check our Pricing Page for details.
Step 1 - Check out our BEGINNER'S WELCOME GUIDE
Step 2 - Decide which times/days are best for you for classes & which Pricing Package will suit your desired schedule
Step 3 - Click on the Class Schedule to sign up! Hint... You can download our Hip Expressions App, which makes it easy to sign up for your next class, reminds you of your schedule, and gives you links to any virtual recorded classes you've taken. We have some free videos in there too to keep practicing. You can even link your account to your Calendar and it will show up there automatically!
Step 4 - Show up 15 min before class to get signed in and settled.
A Hip Scarf is recommended; we know these can be found online, and, we carry a unique selection at the Studio. We would really love your support in purchasing from us: Shop local and support your local belly dance community!
We also have great footwear that will help you dance on whatever surface you have at home and protect the balls of your feet... and a variety of other accessories too!
Join us most 3rd Fridays for our Intro to Belly Dance Class, where you know you're not alone. Come see how little experience you actually need to start having fun with the dance.
Will you feel uncomfortable? Probably, you're trying something new! Can you have fun anyway? Of course! Our friendly community makes it a safe space to be a little vulnerable and explore how it feels to belly dance in YOUR body.
Sign up in advance to save your spot, and bring a friend so you can have fun together.
Keep our Calendar on the Go... Download our Hip Expressions App
...it makes it simple to see what's coming up...
