Have you guys notice that most belly dancers have a big belly? is there a reason for this?

Question

don't mean to offend anyone but it's kinda weird. I would think with all that belly movement it would help that area.....

Answer 1

It is a very good question. I am a belly dancer, so I know what I am talking about. yes, the dancing and all the movement in that area does tone the abs. But much of what makes belly dancing what it is is that when some of the moves are done, a person can actually see the belly muscles move. I'm not talking about wiggling And jiggling, it is more of a wave like motion created by contracting and releasing the muscles in that area. But you have to have something there in order for something to move....someone who has a completely flat belly cannot get the motion in that area that someone with a little bit more to her can. Also belly dancing celebrates the sensuality of a woman's body, which is naturally curved. hope that answers your question.

Answer 2

There is a lot of confusion out there about what bellydance is and isn't and what it does and doesn't do. Bellydance is a cardio workout and does utilize muscle isolation. This does require strength and pratcice to be able to isolate the muscles you use. However it doesn't really do anything to make a person's stomach flat. This requires not only cardio but also targeted exercise to work the abdominal muscles. Dancers that do have sixpacks often do a lot of exercise focusing on the abs. This is seperate from their dancing. It seems people are also confused about what a natural healthy body looks like. Look at any classical greek sculpture and you will see women with a softly rounded stomach. They do not have six packs. Besides the above mentioned bellydancers are often average women who fall in love with bellydance and do it as a side job, most of us don't do it as a full time profession. This means that the amount of time we put into it may only be 1-2 times a week for 1-2 hours which is not really enough to achieve a six pack. Another reason why they are not usually sporting "flat" abs is that bellydancers actually find a soft rounded stomach more appealing for bellydance. It allows movements to get a little extra "jiggle" which really helps to move the fringe/coins. There isn't really all that much bellymovement that is involved in bellydance either. This is a common misperception based on the misnomer "belly" dance. It was a term given to challenge the taboos of conservative victorian society. Movements are more focused on the hips and torso with only a few movements focusing on the "belly". Most dance routinges to not feature much ab work unless that is the dancers specialty. Although professionals work to gain control over the abdominal muscles this does not garuntee flat abs. Look more at wheter the person is healthy and has good isolations not so much at their belly size. I think another reason that you may see this is that most dance styles are not very welcoming to normal and larger sized women, while bellydance welcomes and works for all body types, shapes, sizes, ages, and colors. There is no norm, no unspoken restriction. You can be huge but have incredible muscle control and be a beautiful bellydancer. Most countries in the wolrd prefer a little meat on women. It's mostly western society that for some reason can't stand a little fat yet produces some of the worlds fattest people. What can you expect?

Answer 3

I am definitely backing up the previous posts in stating that it is not "weird". I have only been belly dancing for a year and it is not about getting skinny. It is about embracing oneself and appreciating the beauty that is associated with the female body, curves included. I am truly happiest when I belly dance, most women are. That's why we don't care if we have more curves than the ballet dancers because we are celebrating the beauty of our bodies inside and out.

My teacher tells us everytime that the only reason she has incredibly defined abs is because she teaches belly dancing as a full time job so she is doing 8 hours a day 5 days a week. It's a beautiful dance and art and should be recognized as that. Not the dance that the "fat" girls do. Truthfully belly dancers have amazing bodies. I would like to see the typical "skinny" girl get up and dance a performance doing the moves that belly dancers do. It's hard work that comes from love and dedication. I don't mean to rag on skinny women, but bigger women should be doing what they love and not be thought of as "weird" for doing it well.

Answer 4

In part, like some others answered, is because you do need some tummy there for the movements to be visible. Another reason is alot of people who have been attracted to belly-dancing in recent years are people who are bigger and this is a way for them to feel athletic and sexy (as a sort of backlash against the super-skinny folks in Hollywood.)

Answer 5

I went to a dance fusion class the other day and the instructor is affectionately known as "the Belly" and she is!!

The thing is when you do belly dancing some of the moves require you to stick your belly out and therfore your muscles are working in opposite directions so you would never achieve that sucked-in six-pack look. Thats my theory anyway!

Answer 6

I don't think they have "big" bellies, but I know what you mean. I think having a bigger belly would make the movements more noticeable and prominent. And it takes more than movement to actually lose weight and sculpt in the stomach area..

Answer 7

They have average bodies. You don't see average non-dancing people exposing their midsection so much, and you don't see non-dancers jiggle because they just don't move like that. This is just a matter of what you notice.

For bellydancers, a little bit of jiggle is considered a big plus. Other dance styles that favor thinner bodies allow to hide "a little extra" by using less-exposing costume.

Most recent trend in fitness says that there is no such thing as targeting certain areas with exersise in order to make them thinner. All you achieve is build and condition the muscle in that area, but fat will remain unchanged unless you do overall cardio. They say that in order to get thinner you just need to lose weight overall.

Answer 8

I don't know why but I think it's kind of weird too. We had belly dancers come to our school for a multi-cultural assembly and it was just odd to see their stomachs hanging out. This will probably sound really mean, but it was kind of distracting; I barely watched the dance because all I could stare at were their stomachs.

Answer 9

I would very respectfully object, as I think they would as well, to the phrasing "big belly". They often do seem to be more curvaceous than the average "beautiful" woman today, which I feel is a good thing. As to why they have the body shape they do, your guess is as good as mine.

Answer 10

That reminds me of a little song my father used to sing. He was a young man during ww2. " It must be jelly cause jam don't shake like that."
So I guess the reason for the bigger bellies, is b/c they shake more. Just my opinon. Best wishes.