The first thing you learn in belly dancing is the difference between up and down.
I went into the classroom at Thrive Fitness in Edgewater not knowing this basic language. Isn't belly dancing where you twist your belly to shake your hips?
But instructor Evanthia Savva (dance name Eve) soon put me right by her example. Standing on her left foot with the right arched onto the ball of the foot, she moved the right hip down on the beat. "Down, down, down, down," she repeated to the rhythm of the music. I quickly tried to imitate her by wiggling my tush.
"Up, up, up, up," she followed in the next sequence. For a second I couldn't figure out what she meant. Wasn't I already pulling my hip up and putting it down?
Controlled moves
Up and down, I realized by watching Savva and my classmates in the classroom's wall of mirrors, were the directions of hip thrusts. Savva didn't pull a Shakira motor-butt move so much as make distinct, controlled moves on the paced beat.
As I began doing it correctly, the metal ornaments on the hip scarf Savva lent me began to jangle pleasantly. We got fancy -- up, down, hip turn, down -- and even added right and left to the vocabulary.
And there it was: The mysterious Middle Eastern dance was as easy as basic cardinal directions.
It's also taking over gyms across North Jersey as a popular workout. "There was a kick back in the early '70s, and it died down," said Savva, who lives in Cliffside Park. "I think this is a bigger kick because it's all over the place in gyms now."
There weren't any men in Savva's class, although male belly dancing does exist, she said. It's a different style, and she directs interested men to different instructors who have a specialty in that area.
But for both men and women, the dance is a fun way to work on core strength. Halfway through the workout, I started to feel very warm, despite my tank top in winter. "It's a non-impact workout like yoga or Pilates," Savva explained.
Even so, beginners may feel it in the lower back if they do the moves with an improper posture. "The hardest part is, both knees have to be bent," said Savva. "People start feeling tired and start standing normal, but they're still doing the movements. ... When people don't bend their knees and push, they put a strain on their lower back and hips."
For some students, it's something that has to be learned over time. Others, especially those with a dance background, will pick it up rapidly through imitation.
Keeping arms loose
The second big challenge takes some time to overcome. "The arms actually take a very long time to learn," said Savva. "The stress and the tenseness show in your hands. Just keeping them up and looking normal is a big struggle."
In her class, Savva simply had us hold our arms "out of the way." The hip and leg movement are more basic and more important for the workout. For more intricate lessons in technique, Savva usually suggests taking a dance class instead.
"I just try to keep it fun," she said of her classes.
It was most certainly fun. Savva built a basic choreographic routine over the course of the hour that included turns, flounces and even some sexy shoulder shaking. In the end, my favorite part was a flute melody interlude that Savva called "the break." We stood on our left feet and did a hip rhythm on the up beat:
Up-down-down up-down-down. Right-left-left right-left-left.
I can now honestly say that I am, in fact, great at following directions.
E-mail: shih@northjersey.com
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