Ritambhara Sahni Reviews by Pooja Khandelwal
My favorite thing about The Belly Dance Institute, Mumbai is the inclusiveness of all ages, body types, and level of dance experience. From my experience as a beginner to more advanced levels, there has always been a range of bodies and ages from twenties to Fifties.
Another big positive for me is that the instructors are really grounded and have knowledge and respect for the culture behind belly dancing. Especially as you become more advanced, you’ll learn about different regional or folkloric styles of movement and music. Ritambhara Sahni is a renowned dancer and we truly learn a new art form from her. An example of art over fitness is that we practice moving with finger cymbals in every class. It’s not always the most athletic thing, but it’s awesome. In short, this isn’t just about wearing sparkly tops, feeling sexy and getting fit it’s about grace and poise too.
The instructors are extremely friendly and helpful and classes are always a lot of fun! You learn lots of movements that are completely different from other forms of dance. Here I’ve actually learned to appreciate my jiggling from belly dance! Every woman’s got something extra that moves, and while my instinct was always to hide that, from really focusing on wanting to get better at belly dancing that has changed. When you’re doing something well, your body can make really graceful jiggles and ripples that are rhythmic, that rises up from different parts of your body like waves.