How young is too young to be taking a bellydancing class?

Question:

How young is too young to be taking a bellydancing class?

Is 13 too young? Because I know someone who wants to take a class. It is just for their own personal strength. I think it is fine and is a beautiful art, I just wanted an opinion.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Under 5 is to young to take a bellydancing class! Children under 5 are not able to pay attention long enough to an organized class structure. Children between 5 and 10 often do better in a bellydance class geared specifically towards children or a mother-daughter format in which the emphasis is more on bonding between parent and child through dancing. Children 10 - 15 are a little tricky to place. They often resent going to a bellydance class for children yet lack the patience for the traditional adult learner format that most bellydance classes are offered at. They pick up moves much quicker than the average adult learner and often become a distraction to the other participants who cannot reach the same level of proficiency at that rate. However those who are dedicated enough and can wait through the sometimes slow learning sessions of an adult learner class are usually quite welcome. Some instructors do not allow anyone under 15 or 16 (depends on instructor) to join their classes because of that. However, if they talk to the instructor they may make an exception. Private lessons are another way to go but I think it's best if a mother and daughter do it together at that age because that way the instructor feels like the parent can keep their child in-line when the class gets slow. Any age is acceptable to learn bellydance but certain ages require different training and therefore different class formats.