Make Your Own Belly Rings

Series Summary

What comes to mind when you think of belly dancing? Hootchy-kootchy? Shimmy and shake? With a debated origin, modern belly dancing has been adapted from several different historic folk dances. The term itself is westernized, but generally refers to a traditional Middle Eastern dance form. Known as raqs sharqi in Arabic, belly dancing is based on one of the oldest social dances in the world, though its modern theatrics and costume are merely adaptations. In addition to its entertainment value, belly dancing actually possesses some physical and mental health benefits. Dancing in general is not only a good cardiovascular workout, but it also emphasizes muscular isolations. Originally developed for the female body, it is an art that has been perfected for thousands of years. In this free video series, learn about belly-dancing moves and costumes from a professional belly dance instructor. Johanna Krynytzky begins by describing different parts of a belly-dancing costume. Learn how to select coin belts, hip wraps, scarves, earrings and more. Find out how to assemble a belly-dancing costume. Also, discover how to take belly-dancing classes. Krynytzky explains what to expect from a belly-dancing class, and she also demonstrates some simple belly-dancing moves. Using her example, find out to do basic footwork and hip circles in belly dancing. In addition, discover how to stay in shape for belly dancing. So, take a moment, and learn more about belly dancing with these tips.

Video Transcript

"You want to add a little sparkle to your belly dance costume? Hi I'm Johanna Krynytzky from Hip Expressions Belly Dance Studio, and I I'm here to talk about how to make your own belly ring. So if you're not quite ready to take the plunge to get your belly button pierced, there a couple different options you can do. You can take a jewel from your Michael's or Joanne's local craft store and put it in your belly. You don't want to attach it with super glue. You want to use spirit gum or there are different types of body glue. So what you can do is you can get the look of having a little sparkly something in your navel without actually having to go to get your belly pierced. Now if you do want to look for a belly piercing, there are many different kinds. What I'm wearing here is not a ring. It's actually a post, but it's got a little sparkle to it. Now when you go to shop for one. You want to make sure that you don't get one that's not very good quality metal because your body might have an allergic reaction to it. So you want to get a good piece of quality metal, and then sometimes they'll have things that dangle dangle off of them or different formats that you can go with. You also want to make sure that it's not going to dangle down to your hip belt here 'cause you don't want to get caught on it. Alright. So look around for what kind of color you want, what kind of style you want. You know, think about what costume you're wearing, what color that might be. If you want to match, if you want to do something contrasting. Or you can opt to just go with a belly jewel. And take a jewel, a little bit of spirit gum or body glue, and put that in your navel. And then before you go practice with that, make sure you or before you perform with it, make sure you practice with it so it doesn't fall off in the middle. I'm Johanna Krynytzky from Hip Expressions Belly Dance Studio helping you pick out your belly jewelry."