Thank you Andrea for another wonderful term of Bellydance Fitness!

I really love how you have been including a pop/shaabi song near the end of the class where we can just improvise and integrate some of the moves that we drill into our dancing. It's fun and helps connect the dots as to why we are drilling those particular moves. Please keep that up, plus, I always love the songs you pick!

It has been great having repetition, for example: having the belly-pops/flutters section every week, or the oblique workout. It makes me feel like we are super badass and disciplined-- doing the bellydance equivalent of what ballet dancers do to get excellent technique. I feel so accomplished by the end of term because I feel like I've improved those moves.

Because this is a fitness class, I expect and appreciate having super simple exercises without complex footwork/musicality, so I can just focus on my body awareness.

Thank you for being a sweet, encouraging and motivating teacher. I always laugh and have fun doing your classes!

Shimmies,

~ Siobhán

I've studied bellydance a long time, and live in a place where it's very hard for me to find classes in the styles I like in my town. Being able to study bellydance and folkloric classes via Zoom in Sydney from the comfort of my living room has been a fantastic way to keep going - and I get to study with people I respect, who I already knew were skilled dancers, geeky learners like me, and great teachers.

A live Zoom class works better for me than prerecorded downloads or my DVD collection because, just like any other live dance class, I've made a commitment to turn up - so I don't put it off or come up with excuses to do it "later". Unlike a live in-person class, though, I don't have to stay out after work or travel to get to my class. I can make better use of my time at home before class starts.

I love that the online classes I've taken with Inspire teachers over the past year have both challenged and reinforced my skill base. Some have been hard! Others, soothing and so good for my body. I really enjoy Johara's wonderful warmup, which combines cardio and strength work with a really nice method of mobilising joints and warming up the torso. As a desk worker who sits or stands, very still, most of the day, I find it as good as a massage.

I come back because of the convenience, price point, quality teaching and access to ongoing learning that I can't get anywhere else.

~ Zumarrad

… dancing Folklore dances with wonderful teacher Laura Stefani. The fact that every week we dance different dance blew my mind because I have always strived for such dance course, which is impossible to find in my city. Dance styles taught through this course have broadened my perspective and are excellent to know many world cultures a bit better. Diversity is the top priority, which I like a lot.

And a few words about the teacher. LAURA RULESSSSS! She is so optimistic and full of the most positive energy. I like her concept that she first explaines us a theory of dance, then we practice it, and is a very skilled dancer.

~ Miljenka

Zagreb, Croatia

My only real fear was that I was joining a class that was too hard for me. But I soon realised I was ok and loved the class. However, I was also worried about how to join the class and how it would work.

Using a laptop is good, but I found that attaching a large monitor to my laptop just makes it really easy to see what the teacher is doing as I dance around the room.

I had realistic expectations about the classes, and as I have a good grounding in dance and movement, the explanations were easy to follow. But I was surprised how much fun the classes were, entirely due to the quality of the teachers! I know the teachers probably worry that they are not getting much feedback from the online students but to me, the directions and work is clear and easy to follow.

Also good is the teachers posting practice videos to use during the week.

I did 3 terms of technique, but then changed to choreography, but both classes were so enjoyable and I have learned so much. I have really improved in my dance far more that I expected.

~ Ingrid

You don't have to rush home, change, drive, park... just turn it on and away you go!

The speaker view allows you to see teachers' moves and footwork clearly. The sound is usually quite good and you can alter your own volume.

You don't feel as concerned about making mistakes or not picking up the steps.

There's time for questions or review of steps, and all 3 teachers I've had are patient and helpful.

~ Dana

One of the very first thoughts in joining the first zoom class was “how will I see my own moves to improve?”, but connecting laptop to TV screens makes it as good as in the studio. Also it's very convenient to get sweaty and have a shower just a second away :)

It's awesome if you are a busy mum too. Doing bellydance class once a week for me is not enough, so having one more day to practice the moves and keep on finding new muscles I think helped me a lot.

~ Anastasia

I realised today it’s 5 years since I started dancing with Inspire Bellydance and Dance Fitness!!

I moved to Sydney in 2017 and started in Term 4.

I am enjoying the fitness and social connection especially during covid.

I almost pulled out a few times this past 2 years as life was tough, but so glad I’ve stayed connected to this Inspiring dance community.

~ Tasha