Belly Dance Classes In Mumbai
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Belly Dance Institute Mumbai by Ritambhara Sahni
- the leading and the first ever belly dance classes in Mumbai [ since 2005]
- Bombay Times Article
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| Belly Dance Classes in Mumbai by Ritambhara Sahni |
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| Ritambhara Sahni's quote in Bombay Times |
BOMBAY TIMES CAME TO OUR BELLY DANCECLASSES IN MUMBAI AT MARINE DRIVE to shoot with our director Ritambhara Sahni and her students
Watch our class and and students in the video below
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Watch our class and and students in the video below
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Mumbaikars try belly dancing to bust stress
For Bhairavi Ahuja, FYBA student from Jai Hind College, a few months ago even talking to family and friends meant a tough task, let alone taking part in any group activity. “I’m a really shy person, in fact I was a complete introvert — I could not talk at all,” she admits. Cut to the present, she can shimmy and shake on the floor and is able to take the lead in her belly dance class. “It is this dance that has changed me. It’s helped me feel self-assured and I’m no longer that shy,” she smiles. Ritika Motivala, another student from Grant Road was on a similar crossroad. “I wanted to take up an activity, but being an introvert, I was never confident that I could do so. Belly dancing has changed that. Everyone needs a distraction in order to alter their lives, this is mine; it’s my happy place,” she adds. Like these two, for so many other women in the city, taking up a belly dance class equals to therapy that is helping them in more ways than one...
It’s getting people to feel comfortable in their own skin
On a peppy weekday morning, a one-hour belly dance class at Chowpatty is already in full swing. The group — students, home makers and professionals — are doing shimmys, undulations and hip locks to the slow strains of Arabian music. The packed class is a telling statement about how differently people are looking at belly dance as an art form, versus even a few years ago. Says belly dance expert, Ritambhara Sahni, “It’s a big jump from the usual few students we had a few years ago to now. Belly dancing is not just about doing a few movements, it’s about getting people to feel comfortable in their own skin. That very acceptability of the self has become a therapy for so many people,” she says.
If you too, only looked at belly dancing as something exotic, it’s clearly way more than that. The dance form has helped women get toned, sculpt the core, build flexibility, channel their sensuality and bust stress.
Third-year-law student from Mumbai University, Arpeeta Panvalkar, who makes time for her class between her academic work, says. “I have a crazy amount of studying, but belly dancing has helped me. When I do those graceful horizontal figure 8s, I suddenly I feel like the balance is restored to my own hectic day.”
Yes, she does face the typical reaction as well. “When I mention that I do belly dancing, some people still look at me in surprise. They think it’s exotic, but actually it’s one of the best workouts,” she smiles.
Peddar-Road based interior designer Nirmi Shah says belly dancing brings out her feminine side. “That’s why I never miss a class — it makes me feel attractive. It’s a beautiful dance form that makes you love yourself even more. At home, my family wants me to perform in front of them,” she says. Sheetal Oza, from Ulhasnagar who comes all the way across town for her class, says she had never danced before this. “Six months ago, I had no idea of belly dancing. And now, I can do shimmies; it’s definitely built my confidence,” she says.
Yes, anyone can learn
Mumbai has several belly dancing classes. From doing basic steps like ‘side hip locks’ and ‘hip drops’ to complicated movements like ‘mayas’ (vertical 8, a la pop star Shakira) and ‘reverse camel’, these moves can be picked up in just a month. The class is also for anyone, in any shape or size. Says Ritambhara, “Most often, girls ask, ‘I’m fat, can I do this? Or, ‘I don’t have a flat stomach, will it look bad?’ They feel they need a perfect body for belly dancing, but that is absolutely not the case. I tell them, ‘Don’t change a thing about yourself. Belly dancing can make anyone attractive, curvy or not.”
Guess what? In Mumbai, men have been signing up for the class as well! “In Mumbai, over the last one year, men have been showing an interest in learning belly dancing. These are men who have a passion for dance and they make time for the classes after work hours. Did you know, that in a few steps like pelvic circles and making snake arm movements, they can do these moves more gracefully than women? They seem to have more grace, so to speak,” she reveals. She has also taken the dance form to few corporates in the city. “It’s different from the usual yoga fitness class and helps people to completely relax the mind and body,” she says.
Health benefits
KEY MOVES
It’s getting people to feel comfortable in their own skin
On a peppy weekday morning, a one-hour belly dance class at Chowpatty is already in full swing. The group — students, home makers and professionals — are doing shimmys, undulations and hip locks to the slow strains of Arabian music. The packed class is a telling statement about how differently people are looking at belly dance as an art form, versus even a few years ago. Says belly dance expert, Ritambhara Sahni, “It’s a big jump from the usual few students we had a few years ago to now. Belly dancing is not just about doing a few movements, it’s about getting people to feel comfortable in their own skin. That very acceptability of the self has become a therapy for so many people,” she says.
If you too, only looked at belly dancing as something exotic, it’s clearly way more than that. The dance form has helped women get toned, sculpt the core, build flexibility, channel their sensuality and bust stress.
Third-year-law student from Mumbai University, Arpeeta Panvalkar, who makes time for her class between her academic work, says. “I have a crazy amount of studying, but belly dancing has helped me. When I do those graceful horizontal figure 8s, I suddenly I feel like the balance is restored to my own hectic day.”
Yes, she does face the typical reaction as well. “When I mention that I do belly dancing, some people still look at me in surprise. They think it’s exotic, but actually it’s one of the best workouts,” she smiles.
Peddar-Road based interior designer Nirmi Shah says belly dancing brings out her feminine side. “That’s why I never miss a class — it makes me feel attractive. It’s a beautiful dance form that makes you love yourself even more. At home, my family wants me to perform in front of them,” she says. Sheetal Oza, from Ulhasnagar who comes all the way across town for her class, says she had never danced before this. “Six months ago, I had no idea of belly dancing. And now, I can do shimmies; it’s definitely built my confidence,” she says.
Yes, anyone can learn
Mumbai has several belly dancing classes. From doing basic steps like ‘side hip locks’ and ‘hip drops’ to complicated movements like ‘mayas’ (vertical 8, a la pop star Shakira) and ‘reverse camel’, these moves can be picked up in just a month. The class is also for anyone, in any shape or size. Says Ritambhara, “Most often, girls ask, ‘I’m fat, can I do this? Or, ‘I don’t have a flat stomach, will it look bad?’ They feel they need a perfect body for belly dancing, but that is absolutely not the case. I tell them, ‘Don’t change a thing about yourself. Belly dancing can make anyone attractive, curvy or not.”
Guess what? In Mumbai, men have been signing up for the class as well! “In Mumbai, over the last one year, men have been showing an interest in learning belly dancing. These are men who have a passion for dance and they make time for the classes after work hours. Did you know, that in a few steps like pelvic circles and making snake arm movements, they can do these moves more gracefully than women? They seem to have more grace, so to speak,” she reveals. She has also taken the dance form to few corporates in the city. “It’s different from the usual yoga fitness class and helps people to completely relax the mind and body,” she says.
Health benefits
- Belly dancing tones all the major muscle groups, especially the abs, arms, upper back, hips and thighs.
- It offers cardiovascular benefits as it helps you break into a sweat.
- The repetitive movements such as swaying are meditative and help the mind relax.
- A single 45-minute class can help you lose 300-400 calories.
- Belly dancing is considered a low-impact exercise as the risk of injury to the body is minimal when the movements are done correctly.
- It also boosts confidence and self-esteem as it is about confident sensual expression.
KEY MOVES
- Figures 8s
- Hip locks and drops
- Circles
- Shimmy
- Undulations
- Snake arms
- Shoulder isolation
- Belly roll
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| Ritambhara Sahni's Belly Dance Classes in Mumbai - Bombay Times Article
Belly Dance Institute Mumbai by Ritambhara Sahni is the leading and 1st ever belly dance classes in Mumbai.
To know more on the best belly dance classes in Mumbai click on the following links :
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