Ventures into belly dancing

This week, I took a break from my normal Wednesday yoga class; my friend had told me about a belly dancing class that was offered downtown, so we decided to check it out. We're both former dancers, but neither of us has entered a studio in over a year, and I'm used to swirling my arms and legs around while dancing. I use dance as a form of letting go and showing a somewhat silly side. Belly dancing, however, is contained, controlled, and a little bit flirty. Also, you get to wear things that jingle on your hips.
The warmup was familiar and comforting--kind if in the same way you'd visit an elementary school classroom and let the memories flood back. My jazz and modern dance days suddenly didn't seem so far away. And like yoga, belly dance is very grounded; surprisingly, it requires a lot of strength in your legs and glutes. Unlike yoga, you can say things like glutes without being looked at as superficial and vain. But as soon as we went into the choreography, everyone's hips looked like they were separated from the rest of their body, and my head was bobbing up and down like there was a massive cup of coffee on the ceiling. The mirror informed me I looked like I'd seen a boggart (yay Harry Potter references!) through the entire class. For such small movement, it's hard to make your hips look like they could take flight at any second. I felt about as sexy as an oversized cardigan.
Still, for a first class, it went well. I only partly made a fool of myself, and where's the fun in going dancing with friends when you can't laugh about how much of a doofus you looked like? I enjoyed breaking out of peace and serenity mode to shake my hips for a bit. College is all about new experiences, so hey, I may as well get a head start. I definitely plan on keeping yoga in my life, so I don't bite people's heads off from stress, but I'll make room to add in belly dancing as well. Maybe I can incorporate the two into one art--if you see me shaking my hips in downward facing dog pose, now you'll know why.