Are you trying to decide what is better for you: to find local belly dance studio, or to purchase some video classes and study by yourself?

Are you trying to decide what is better for you: to find local belly dance studio, or to purchase some video classes and study by yourself? Let’s take a look at some pros and cons of practicing via online/pre-recorded classes, so that you can decide what’s better for you!

Advantages:

- Set up your own schedule! Dance on your own time, and fit your practice according to your own schedule, not the schedule of some dance school.

- Learn belly dance even if there are no dance classes available in your city. The Internet opens access to any subject and activity.

- Practice without leaving your home, and save time to spend on more interesting activities rather than waste it in traffic.

- Study from the world’s top teachers! There are so many online video classes from world known dancers, and you can dance with them too.

- You have a visual reference to all movements and combinations, and you can replay it as many times as you need. With every repetition you’ll notice new aspects of the dance that you would have missed if you heard the information only once.

- Save some money! Usually video classes are way cheaper than any in-person training, especially if we consider a per-hour rate, with the added bonus that video classes can be replayed multiple times.

- If you are shy and don’t feel comfortable in a group, studying online can be a great first step for your dance exploration! Start alone at home, and once you have more confidence with unusual dance moves, you may feel more confident in dancing together with peers.

- Online training can be a great addition to your regular classes. Every teacher will always say that for better progress you need to practice on your own beyond the twice-per-week training in the class. But often it’s very confusing and frustrating how exactly to practice without a teacher’s guidance. Following a video class may provide you the necessary guidance, encourage you to practice more time, and accelerate your progress in general.

Learn belly dance online at the Iana Dance Club.

Disadvantages:

- You need to have strong self-discipline and inner motivation. It’s much easier to skip the training session, even if it’s in your schedule, when there is no one waiting for you to show up. We all know this feeling that we might prefer to watch TV and lay on the sofa during our free time, rather that get up and do some physical activity.

- There is no social aspect to the training. Unless you actively decide to connect to other belly dance lovers via online platforms such as forums, groups and pages, you are basically on your own. For some people it works nicely, for other not so much.

Btw, many typical struggles of the online learning were solved by the unique format of the Iana Dance Club training! Check it out yourself. First 7 days are FREE. Find out more HERE.

- Usually the hardest thing is to start, and stop finding excuses why other things are more important in this moment.

- Too easy to find excuses and postpone practice till later since it’s always available and easy to access.

- There is no one to correct you. You need to be your own examiner and constantly pay attention to possible mistakes, as well as make sure that you are using your full potential and don’t slack.

Either online video classes are your main source of dance training, or simply an addition to your regular belly dance classes, but for sure, it provides a lot of opportunities and choices in the 21st century.

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Author: Iana Komarnytska
Photographer: Pedro Bonatto