My bum is significantly sore after 6 days under Sabah’s instruction. Experiencing bellydance from the perspective of a professional ballerina is both unique and, I believe, essential.

Despite spinach being a very healthy & delicious food, a diet based on spinach alone, will leave a lot of gaps in the wide range of nutrition we need to be healthy. I might wake up every morning and do 100 pushups, but if that is all I do all day, I will never achieve my optimal level of fitness. The same comparison can be made with dance. If all we do is bellydance, our bodies will never get all the training, strength and coordination they need to be the best bellydancers we can be.

Enter Sabah. This woman is both a fantastic bellydancer and an amazing ballerina. This statement may seem impossible. Bellydance is usually thought of as being more loose and grounded, while ballet is usually thought of as stiff, with a higher center of gravity. How can one person benefit from training in each style? There are many differences between these dance forms, but these differences, and their similarities, make ballet a perfect method of cross training for bellydancers.

Each day of Sabah’s intensive we began with a floor-barre session: basically core strengthening exercises, reminded me of pilates. The moves were all very simple, not too exhausting, but focused on lengthening and strengthening the legs, and developing the core muscles; both essential for dance of any style.

We then moved on to the barre portion of class, tendus and plies and battement, OH MY! Sabah delivered all her instruction thoughtfully, teaching us how to strengthen areas of the body often overlooked in your typical bellydance class, but still areas that certainly add to bellydance technique and performance.

We finished the morning session with some dance in the center of the room and across the floor focusing on turns. As I discovered, turns are just as much about finding your center, utilizing the muscles of the torso, chest, back and arms as they are about spotting avoiding dizzy spells. All techniques that are essential for dance of any style.

After lunch, it was time to bellydance. We reviewed technique, looking at it from our new found perspective. Initiating movements from our newly found and developed center, layering different types of shimmies, attacking and ridding our selves of any bad habits we may have picked up along our bellydance careers. I believe I gained a lot from this all too short week of training.

Sabah’s bellydance style is strong and precise. Her movements are bold when they need to be and soft when they need to be. Her arms are fine tuned and perfectly frame her movements. She is an amazing talent and a generous teacher. A precious & unique gem in the bellydance community.

and I am not just saying this because she is my roommate on tour ;P