Dancing.

Dang, DA, I'd love to be able to do all that! As of now, I can only stumble through the waltz and shuffle my way through a little bit of cha-cha, haha.

A lot of those rhythms are related. For example, if you can cha-cha, you can mambo! A familiarity with dance steps helps you pick up a new style especially with a solid leader. With a good leader you don't really think about the steps, you're just kind of guided into them. Knowing the dance makes you feel more confident about how to position yourself and what may be coming next. If you've never danced with a very experienced partner I suggest trying it!

I really love using steps from the other dances and sub-styles to spice up Zumba. I might mix in some tango and flamenco but use a regional step that a friend has shown me. Or for salsa I'll add in some Puerto Rican flavor. Hip hop, flamenco, tango, salsa and several others are fabulous crosses with bellydance too.
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Yeah, I can definitely see how they would be similar.

We're going to a Zumba class tonight, I'm pretty excited for this too, lol. Been a long time since I did it.

And I found out the name for a dance I really want to learn: Polka! Looks exhausting but so much fun!

I'm not sure I could ever do belly dancing. I don't have that much control of my torso, nor do I really feel the need to draw attention to it. It's a little pudgy, haha.
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Actually, a little pudgy is preferred for belly dancing. You WANT to see a bit of jiggle! The super thin girls actually have to add on things to their costumes because their bodies don't show enough movement. One girl I know doesn't have much in the way of hips so adds more to her waistbelt so that you can see waist motion. Another girl is a bit small in the boob area and just adds more decor to her top. Most of the women in my troupe are on the heavier side (200+ lbs).

The control of the torso and body parts comes with time. I couldn't do belly rolls when I started, that's for sure! I also couldn't do more than 2 things at once. Now I can move my feet, move my upper body, my arms, fling my hair and play the zills (finger cymbals) - while maintaining rhythm. It comes with time and practice. Bellydance is one of those things that -anyone- can learn.
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I guess that makes sense, I got plenty of things to jiggle, haha. We really want to try, although I think it'll take me awhile to isolate, haha.
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I'm NOT the dancer that Dancing Arabian is, but I did take ballet, tap and acrobatics as a youngster, then went back for ballet and tap post HS. DH pulled me into 3 years of ballroom dancing, too, but health concerns (his) put that on hold. Our instructor, also owner of the place, was a Chinese acrobat, now US citizen, so he understands physical workouts. I trusted him, and the teachers he trained.
The point is that any structured dancing is a way to teach you balance. If you think that you have 2 left feet, you really have a problem balancing your weight. You can learn to do so. Unless you are young--under 25 imho--ballet would be difficult bc those dancers stretch and hyperflex before, during and after class. An older, stiff person could really strain muscles and do harm to their backs. So is hip-hop. Tap is more forgiving. Ballroom dancing can be learned at any age. We had a guy in his 80's in our classes doing very well.
DA, I still have my book on belly dancing, and I've dabbled in it over the years. THAT really loosens up your spine.
I HIGHLY recommend that riders learn to dance, especially ballroom dancing bc as you learn to follow your partner's cues you gain a better understanding as to what your horse goes through trying to figure out how to follow YOUR cues.
You also benefit bc you become more limber as you ride. When you ride a horse you contract your thigh muscles. It becomes more difficult to stretch your thighs, but it makes them stronger when you do both. Happy dancing, all!! =D

I'm 23 and I would be hard pressed to do ballet. Some of us youngins are already broken, lol. After 2.5 hours, my low back was already starting to ache. Stupid pain.

Other than that, entirely agree with everything. I think it's great for riders, it will benefit you so much! It also teaches you to be quick on your feet. =P
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I love it.. My mom and Nana had me in every dance class they could find when I was younger. Clogging, jazz, tap, ballet, ballroom, hip hop.. Everything. I would LOVE to learn to belly dance though, I'd even considered going to a few of the "pole dancing" classes, just for fun.

My Nana was/is a dance instructor so she really pushed me into it... I clog, still do today but not as much. I've done a ton of competitions, pageants, and exhibitions in my "career" but put clogging on the back burner when I started to really compete on my horses. Nana was not happy about it..

Pole dancing is fun but HARD! I wouldn't mind picking that up again but we rent so I can't put in my own pole. If I ever got my own dance space a pole is so being a part of it!
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See, now you're making me want to try it even more.. *runs off to find dance studio that offers classes*