00:00Hey guys, it's Lucy. Welcome back to Try Living with Lucy, Dance Edition.
00:04Any guesses what today's dance style is? Here, let me give you a hint.
00:09Woo! Okay, you probably know the dance style just from the title of the video, so I'm gonna stop.
00:15Belly dancing.
00:17Before today, I was entirely unfamiliar with belly dancing.
00:21Its origins, its history, its traditions, but after meeting with Salit, everything changed.
00:26Salit is a belly dancing and fitness instructor in New York City who's been performing for over a decade.
00:32I love the self-expression, I love the movement, I love the music and the whole culture around it.
00:38She started with the basics for me by explaining that belly dancing was originally a Middle Eastern folk dance.
00:44And actually belly dance is not the correct term for this type of dance.
00:48It's a Western term. We call it Raks Sharqi, which in Arabic means Eastern dance or Oriental dance or Middle
00:55Eastern dance.
00:56Because it originates from different countries around the Middle East.
00:59Today we met on a New York City rooftop for our private lesson and she taught me a more modern
01:04version of belly dancing that involves a ton of popping to the beat.
01:08We're gonna do light stretching just to warm up our body and get it moving.
01:13Excellent. Waking up our hips. Hips opening.
01:16Woo!
01:17Good. So work from your hip.
01:19This dance style is a lot harder than it looks.
01:22It had some similarities to salsa with the hip-popping elements.
01:25I have a cramp.
01:27But for some reason I felt extremely uncoordinated doing this one.
01:31I was popping my hip out of rhythm.
01:33Kick, drop, kick, step, hip. Keep your balance. Stay up.
01:38Tripping over my own feet, moving in the wrong direction.
01:41Are you breathing?
01:42Yeah, I think so.
01:43At one point I actually thought, you know, I don't have enough going on here and here to really do
01:50this dance properly the way it's meant to be done.
01:53A little bit faster. One, two, one, two, forward, forward.
01:56Yes, I could use some bigger breasts for this.
01:59But Salit assured me that Middle Eastern dance or belly dance is for everyone.
02:03That's the thing about this dance. It doesn't matter what kind of body type you have. Everything works.
02:07Woo!
02:08Yeah.
02:08And that brought my confidence right back up.
02:12Hip, step, hip. Yes, Lucy. Good.
02:16Belly dancing is not only about the belly. It's a full body dance.
02:19So sure, you're moving your hips and your belly, but there are also arm movements and leg movements
02:24and curving, slinking hand motions.
02:27So these are our waves and we can take them here. You can cross in front of you.
02:32As Salit explained to me, belly dancing began as a folkloric dance.
02:35Danced in homes and very simple and repetitive movements that were not suitable for the stage.
02:43It wasn't until Hollywood was introduced to Egypt that the glamorous costume styles arose
02:48and the dance style evolved to appeal to Western visitors.
02:51Then it was time for the costume.
02:54How do I look?
02:57Woo!
02:58Salit put me in a bedla, which is the costume most commonly associated with belly dancing.
03:03There was a skirt with a hip belt attachment and a bra top, and it was very revealing.
03:09And it was just strapped on there by some hooks, so it was a little precarious at times.
03:14But putting on the outfit, I was like, okay, wow.
03:18Now I'm in the groove and I'm ready to take this dance to the stage.
03:47I have to say, I did not find this dance style to be easy.
03:52There was even a full section in the music for improvisational dancing, which was a little bit scary
03:57at first, but ultimately very freeing.
03:59I mainly just mimicked what Salit was doing next to me.
04:02In order to do this dance properly, you really need to let loose.
04:06Yes!
04:07Yes!
04:08That was my best time yet.
04:09But just like when I did my hip hop dance class on the rooftop, I had no mirror.
04:14So having no mirror makes it so much easier for you to forget about what you look like
04:18and just move based on what feels right.
04:21You can't see yourself, so you can't judge yourself.
04:23I learned this in like half an hour, and it's really fast moves, pretty complex,
04:27and she picked it up like that.
04:28At the end of the lesson, I was reminded how much fun it is to break out of the mold
04:32of what's ordinary for you.
04:34A belly dancing class is something I never thought to try before.
04:37All I know is that I had a great day, and honestly, who's to say,
04:40but maybe belly dancing will become my new after work activity.
