Too old to become a BellyDancer?

I got an email of a student who was asking few questions, one of the questions was, if she was too old to become a BellyDancer? 

Here is my reply:

About if you are too old to become a BellyDancer, the answer is no, the good thing about BellyDancer is that age is not a problem, what matters is the will to learn and accept corrections, and in your case you are a woman full of energy, specially because you have children, and are growing them up. 

• In 2011, I had a student from Poland, she had 2 kids in their 4 to 6 years old, she was living in the country side of  Costa del Sol, Spain, she was also a busy woman, even so she did study the complete course in just 1 month, I know she had her own classes after the course, but I lost truck on her personal life because she does not have facebook as far i can remember and I went back to Egypt. I think she was already 45 years old when she did the course with me as a private student, and she did a great show test.

• In 2012, I had a student of the course from Malta, she came to me  in Egypt when her 3 kids where already over 25 years old, I think at that moment she was already 50, after the course, she did a long career in Bellydance, she won 2 BellyDance competitions with her own students and herself, also she become a BellyDance teacher at an annual Egyptian Festival, i forgot the name, you can check what I am telling you at my website her artistic name is 'Caramella'. 

• In 2013, I had a student who studied only 20 horus of the formation course, in this case she was an Egyptian farmacist who worked all her life in South Africa, and she is divorced with 2 daughters who grew up with her, she did the training when she was 60 years old, when her training with me ended in Egypt, she went back to South Africa, to go back to her previous job as a farmacist, about two years ago she told me that she was going to start teaching her BellyDance classes with the technique that she learned from me, in a female Gym in South Africa, you can find her feedback in my website too.

These are just 3 examples of students who are over 40 and could achieve their goals, some just as a teacher and some also as a dancer. Even my teacher and mother, Alia Shams, she become a BellyDancer when I was 8 years old, at that moment she was 35 years old and she has a long career as a BellyDancer and even after retirement sometimes teaches, and she doesnt teach more because she dosen't want to, because you are never too old to teach BellyDance.

These are the answers to other questions I got from her by email and hopefully can clarify the questions some other students want to know:

1- I can do one class for 18 h now (and than only that one in 2021) or book the 4 levels together to finish them in a shorter periode of time, right?

Yes.

I will rather recommend you to study and book by levels, before trying to book everything at once and then maybe after you can not do it for any reason. 

To study the course, is fundamental to start with the Level 1, and if you do fine, then book for level 2, then book for level 3, and if at by December 2021, you achieve level 3, then I will send you only the INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATION for LEVEL 3, but if you only achieve up to level 2, then I will send you the INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATION for LEVEL 2. 

I am only allowed to provide one International Certification Level per Academic Year.

And if after achieving level 3, if you want to continuous to Professional Level, then we will see, because probably by that time you prefer to study it travelling with a group of students through Egypt, studying with other teachers which I will organize, I do that once a year. 

2- For me the difference of BBDC and BGBCD is the hours of learning, right? 

The main difference is the dancing style, is not the same to become a high class bellydancer impacting your audience getting bravos, etc.  with unique way of performing (BBDC), that also dancing in a tradittional way, to Golden Era dancing style (BGBDC), which also makes the difference between modern dancers and the Old School of performing bellydance. To achieve the diference yes, you need extra hours with me as a teacher, and following my guidences. And about how many hours, that depends on the student requirements, is a new course originated from the BBDC, so is depending on it, once is completed the BBDC, then you are ready for completing the BGBDC. 

In terms of International Certification, if you achieved the BBDC and you want to complete it until the BGBDC, then you need to tell me, so i dont ask to be issued the International Certification for just as a BellyDancer, I will ask them to issue the International Certification when you complete the BGBDC for a Golden BellyDancer style. 

As I said in previous email, only one International Certificate can be issued from the International Certification process every year, is their system, so I can not do much about it, just follow their rules. 

 3- And for one certficate I need 4 levels?

No, each level has it's own certificate. The course levels are: 

• International BellyDance Certificate Level 1: 
  - The Beginner Level has a Private School Level Certificate of Become a BellyDancer School

• International BellyDance Certificate Level 2: 
  - The Intermediate Level has a Private School Level Certificate of Become a BellyDancer School

• International BellyDance Certificate Level 3: 
  - The Advance Level has a Private School Level Certificate of Become a BellyDancer School

• Professional Level has a Private School Level Certificate of Become a BellyDancer School 
  - Non International Certification, you get just two Private School Certificates: Professional Level Certificate and if you pass the Show Test successfuly then also you will get the Show Test Certificate, which are both Private School Level Certificates. 

There is non limit of Private School Levels per year, the limit is the International System, only one International Certificate per year. When you achieve one level, i will send you the Private School Certificate of that level by post. When i get your International Certificate I send it also by post to your home, but first I keep a scan of it, in case gets lost, i normally send it by certified post.

If I don't see a student ready for the Show Test, I don't let her go on stage, I have a reputation which I like to maintain, I put all my love into this form of dance which i have grown up with, and I teach because I like to see great dancers on stage, not sexy, not erotical, not fake, just soul dancers performing with good techniques, so they can impress public at their fullest expression, technique is the base of a good performance and to achieve difficult movements, you need to have a clear idea of the movement you are doing from it's basement, and of course a good teacher to guide you properly. 

It just came to my mind two examples, 

I am right now teaching two online students who already did the course, well one of them not really, she actually started the course in 2010, she came all the way from China to study from me in Spain, but at the middle way she wanted to learn something else, so she didn't complete it in that moment, she did until intermediate level, after the course she travelled the world, living in different parts of the world, Australia, America, etc. she tried many teachers, and after 10 years she came back to me, she also did a voice feedback on why after 10 years she came back to my training, her name is Mariel, she speaks in Chinese, English and Spanish. 

The one who completed the course she did a wonderful Show Test in Egypt on2011, you can actually see her show test on my website, she got bravos from public, at that moment she was 45 years old, and got a recognition as 'a great dancer with lots of light on her performance' said by the sister of Sohair Zaki, one of the top Egyptian BellyDancers of last century, after the course she went back to Australia, she was a successful performer, but she stopped due to an accident she had at another job related to a Spa, she was caring something heavy that hurted her spine, she didn't do anything related to dance for 9 years or so, and after 10 years she also came back to me, due that she says 'I am her teacher', she does not want to learn from anyone else than me. She is Japanese and in my website you can also find her feedbacks, her artistic name is Samia Morley. Now she is 55, I think.

So, you can see there is no problem with age, what is important is the willing to learn and have some daily time to practice all what I teach.

If you have further questions please feel free to ask.

Warm regards

Amora Shams

Another email I got from her with some other questions, that answers could help others to clarify:

Dear Amora

 your offers are very interesting to me. For that reaseon can I ask for some further informations. Especialy the fees for an online certification and what is required to get it (for example Is there any homework, etc, to do). I have to plan my time very carefully, thats the reason for my question. 

Also interesting is your 10 hour private class, is it possible to choose first and finaly can I credit some of the efforts to the other course? 

My reply:

The formation course fee as a private student, face to face or by online is 900 euros per level or 3000 euros for complete 4 level course. Each level in theory is a 18 hours program, but taught online becomes more, depends on the learning speed of the student, when is taught face to face student get it done in 1 week each level because is learning at 3 hours per day because they are 100% into the course and to not have any other occupations, but online is difficult because students are doing something else a part of learning from me, so they can not proceed in a fast mode achiving the same resoult as if they where exclusively under my daily training.

To study the formation course, either the BBDC or the BGBDC, of course you will need to do daily homework as a face to face student to achieve the course in 1 month, unless you are fully into it with non other distraction.

 From what I understood, you are a very busy person, therefore will be hard or almost impossible for you to do the formation course in 20 days  as online student, instead you can do it in longer time, i mean,  by 2h class once a week studying it in 10 weeks per level plus exams. So in the week 11 you can do the exams of the level you studied.

It is recommended that to study fluently and efficiently as an online student, to have 2 items, such as a phone with video camera and good resolution for the online tituation, plus another equipment for playing music independly from the phone, but the second item is needed from level 2.

From level 2 and 3, you also will need the dancing equipment such as a veil, cymbals, wings, cane, candelabra and sword. 

To start as an online regular classes of the 10 hours bonus, i must say that I don't follow a course structure, yes, you will learn a lot in an intensive way, but never the same as doing the formation course, firstable because you will not have any exams or homework to do, just practice what i taugh you and learn the choreography i do for you with the song you choose, therefore i am never going to be so exigent as i am with a formation course student, at the formation course you will learn to do all your choreographies and how to improvise to any song, instead at these classes of the bonus i will do it for you, so you will always depend on another teacher to do it for you because you don't know how to do it.

Well, hope you got the idea of the difference between regular online classe with the 10 hours bonus, and the difference of studying by levels the course and what is the course about.

The 10 hours bonus as dosen't have homeworks or exams, is can't be credited direcly, i mean, you can not say well i do some bonuses and jump into professional level, no you can not do it like that, it does not work in that way. they are different way of learning, and if someone does that, then is missing the foundation of 'how to become a bellydancer' i dont know if you can understand me what i mean.

Students can only get ONE INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATION LEVEL per year, therefore if your intention is to get done the highest level in the fisrt year, then either you study the course in the first year, and if you can not make it, then at least study up to level 2 on the first year, and next year study the 3rd level. 

I must say there are 3 international levels, and last one is only professional level.

If you have further questions please feel free to ask

Warm regards

Amora Shams

Become a BellyDancer School by Amora Shams

www.BecomeBellyDancerSchool.com