Is there an age when a bellydancer should hang up her finger cymbals?

--Two weeks after death!!-----( a Morocco paraphrase)--

My dance "mama" is 57. She is more beautiful, in her dancing and just in general, than ever.

Hey I'm turning 40 in 20 days, and I've only been dancing 3 years..... I have no intension of dancing for anything less than 30 years! (cause that might be how long it takes me to learn to do some of the totally cool stuff I see other dancers doing!)

The only dancing consideration I think is affected by age, is perhaps costuming. Just like a young skinny size 0 with a flat chest does not look great wearing a bedlah designed to display cleavage, there are styles that don't look as attractive on older women. Let's face it - just like polar bears (whose faces get wider as they age), human beings of different ages have different shapes. At age 42 and after 5 kids, my body is not the same shape as at age 20.

I find the tribal style costumes flatter my mature hips and bosum (40F for gods sake :-o because I swear they got bigger with each pregnancy) much better than the cabaret style costumes. Of course, anyone can dance wearing anything they like. :-)

Nope. If you can still move, keep on dancing! Last year I saw a 94 year old dance at a local hafla...she had a shoulder shimmy that brought the house down.

One of my teachers is 60++ She is fabulous! I hope to be dancing for a very long time.....even in my walker or wheel chair decked out with bling! When I get the old lady shakes, it will just enhance my shimmies!

Must put in Will.....want hafla for funeral.

At 61, I'm still dancing! It keeps me from getting stiff lol lol lol . I've seen folks my age, or younger that don't do anything active, and they can barely get around. It keeps us youthful.

I'll keep bellydancing until I can no longer stand, and even THEN l'll be there with zills, zagareets and maybe my drum. I'm 63 and started bellydancing at 59. I had done alot of ballet, jazz and disco off and on - and finally got the chance to bellydance! I just started a Flamenco class once a week too. when I see all the photos of us beeeautiful 'older' women, it makes me proud. So what if I can't bend or use my knees like before? and that I sometimes find it hard to remember a choreography -- ( for that I just started taking Ginko biloba) ---- He he. My 42 yr old daughter and my husband are prould of me dancing. I try and encourage other women to start dancing, and I run into alot of low self esteem statements, like "I'm too fat" or " I could never move like that", and so on--- and its really frustrating - but I just keep on trying to spread the joy anyway ------ So when IS too old ---- I say whenever my blood ceases to flow and my breathing stops. Even then, my remaining friends and family can be inspired and remember what an old fireball Marianna was ------ Yeah !

I don't think so. I wish i would have discovered belly dance at a younger age, but I am happy to have found it now, as iI feel that it is good for my body and my soul.

in a word, no.

in three words --- never, never, never.

:)

happy dancing,
kitt

My Mom (67) and I (42) just started dancing last fall!! We are having so much fun and don't plan on stopping any time soon!!! If you enjoy it why should age matter??