How long does it take to fully master the art of belly dancing??

Question:

How long does it take to fully master the art of belly dancing??

I went to a two hour workshop on bellydancing this weekend. I thought it was the most beautiful dance I have ever seen. I am now really wanting to learn it. It is so expressive and it makes you feel amazing. It is a good workout for your abs too. Just wondering if anyone who has learned it can share the best ways to learn this dance.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Bellydance is a very beautiful and intriguing art. It has many layers of complexity. There is no exact time it takes to fully master the art. It varies greatly with each individual. For some the movements seem to come naturally and flow as if an extension of the self. For others it requires a great deal of practice and work. As a community us professionals have somewhat agreed across the board that to perform as aprofessional you should have at least two years of fairly continuous weekly lessons under your belt. This is also considered the minimum requiremnet for teaching the dance as well although many of us think instructors should have to undergo advanced training to become a teacher and many feel that there should be a five year minimum in learning plus two years performance (That could be as little as five years if someone is performing and taking lessons at the same time). However, this is far from a hard and steadfast rule. I know some women who just "get" it and are able to achieve such a high level of ability in such a short amount of time that they could be ready to perform professionally in less than a year and ready teach in as few as two. Having some standard about this is a big debate amongst bellydancers but will likely not be resolved any time soon if at all.

Bellydance is a great cardio workout so you could expect similar physical health results to a cardio workout from a gym. However, it will not give you a "washboard" stomach. "Six packs" are not common among bellydancers. Bellydance does not utilzed the stomach muscles in isolation for most moves and the ones it does utilize the stomach muscles for are done for short periods of time in one dance here or there. It would take excessive ab work to achive the kind of tone and definition you are probably thinking about. Your abs are much better of with crunches and exercises that focus on that area. Thoses exercises used to warm up and stretch out will be the workout for the abs. The best way to learn is of course by taking lessons. Lessons are the optimal learning tool. I also suggest supplementing your lessons as much as you can to fully take everything in. Reading about a move, writing a definition/description of a move, doing a move, hearing someone describe a move, etc... all act in different ways to allow you to learn the movements and the more ways you utilize to learn the better you will learn and the more you will retain. If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me.