Sandra Before SharQui
Sandra After SharQui
My SharQui Journey
By Sandra Forrer
In 1986 I started bellydance lessons at my local community center in Sunnyvale, CA. I wasn’t very graceful but I was having fun and my teacher Cathy was very encouraging. I stuck with it and performed at student nights and eventually took classes with the amazing Dunia until 1991 when my first daughter was born. Flash forward to 2006, two daughters occupy my life and bellydance has fallen by the wayside and my weight is slowly creeping up about 10 pounds per year over the previous 4 years. My loving man caught me dancing in the kitchen and insisted I get back to dancing. It took a few false starts to find Khajulah and Raks al Khalil in San Jose. I had never troupe danced before and it was a fun challenge. With my doctor’s help I discovered that my body was attacking my thyroid (Hashimoto’s disease) which explained why despite diet and exercise my weight continued to climb. Medication and Weight Watchers stopped the increase but it wasn’t doing much to reverse the extra poundage. I made the commitment to myself to exercise more. Dancing with the troupe is fun but is definitely not aerobic as there is a lot of stopping and starting to work on choreography. Zumba? Fun, sweaty, confusing if you aren’t at the front and really hard on my feet. Boot camp? Uh, no. Doing sit ups and push ups in the grass where the people let their dogs run free? Ick. Step class, body pump, body flow, all great and all offered while I am at work and the gyms are crammed full in the evenings. Going to the equipment room to spin, run, walk is boring even with the TV on. So my attempts to go to the gym more often were often sidetracked by homework help, Girl Scouts and driving my kids to their activities and over all boredom with my workout.
Then at Rakkasah West in 2009 my husband pulls me away from my shopping telling me, “You have to see this!” and takes me over to the SharQui booth. Oreet had just finished performing and was back at her booth, glowing in her wonderful costume and was talking about her new aerobic workout based on bellydance. My mind did a double take, a BELLYDANCE workout? Then she said she was looking to train instructors in San Francisco. ME? An aerobics instructor? With this tummy? A bellydance instructor should look like Oreet, petite, slim and strong not tall and overweight. I took the literature and bought the fundamentals DVD thinking that I would at least do it at home.
I loved it! The workout was fun and easy to follow and I could feel my abs working. I was hooked. Next thing I know I am signed up to take the three day instructor training AND to get certified to be a group exercise leader through ACE. The training was the most fun working my butt off I had done in a long time. The other students were a fun mix of bellydancers and aerobics teachers and we have all kept in touch since then. Oreet was encouraging but kept to her high standards for her program and made us work for our certification. It took some time to finish my group exercise certification so I wasn’t teaching yet but I was still practicing at home, learning to talk and dance at the same time. Not an easy task!
Finally it all came together. I started teaching one night a week and building my confidence as a teacher and then the explosion happened…four classes a week at a variety of gyms and community centers. I know that if students are expecting me to show up and teach I will not let other things get in my way so that really helped my own commitment to exercise. Up to 100 students per week come to my classes. I started to really focus on my food and since September 2010 I have lost 15 pounds. I still have a ways to go but I am thrilled to be doing it at last. My clothes fit better and people think I have lost more than that because my tummy is so much smaller. Say hello to core muscles I thought I would never have. I can now outlast everyone in my troupe on the drum solo because I have stamina. I like to think some of my negatives make me a better teacher. I am not super skinny, nor am I super flexible but I love to dance. I love to share what I do with my students. I like to think that because I am not a perfect size 6 I can be more of a role model for students who are looking to get into shape. I am definitely not intimidating with highly chiseled abs, I am soft and curvy but I can MOVE and I have fun doing it. That I think is what brings people back to the class every week, they are getting a good workout and having fun.
I’m sure that dancer I was back in 1986 would not recognize my dance style today. I am more relaxed, don’t have to count every beat, the smile is real and I continue to add new moves and styles all the time. I now have my own students and they have taken the first steps towards becoming performers by being part of a flash mob I organized. I now make plans around my exercise time and even make time to work out new choreography and take more classes from other dancers whenever I can. My life is richer in so many ways because SharQui allows me to step out of the regular world and be a positive influence in other people’s lives but a healthier me is the best reward of all!
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A BELLYDANCER’S PERSPECTIVE…
We all know that “Raqs Sharqi” means “eastern dance” in Arabic, but what is The “SharQui™ method”? I found out at Rakkasah West this year when I took Oreet’s workshop, “Drills and Skills, SharQui – The bellydance workout™ .” At first thought, I was hesitant to sign up – the words “workout” brought back flashbacks of the endless jumping in place I experienced in my 20′s at my local fitness center. This did not sound appealing now on my forty something yr. old joints… But, It was Oreet, the 2007 Belly Dancer of the year (winning performance on YOU-TUBE), and maybe I could glean a new move or two, so I signed up.
The class started with a good warm up and stretching. Then we did some belly dance combos – nothing too difficult to remember, like some workshops that teach so much choreography you feel like you’ve landed in a Lucille Ball sitcom. We did fun traveling moves across the room to the right, then to our left (like a good belly dancer can!). Oreet made sure we used the proper technique while doing isolations and other belly dance moves – the way that strengthens muscles and their supporting structures, while protecting the spine and joints. Did I mention I’m an RN at my day job, and very aware of good body mechanics…
Oreet kept my heart rate up and oxygen was being delivered to every cell in my body. After approximately 15-20 minutes, the serotonin kicked in and I was high! High on belly dancing! My brain and body worked together at the optimum level, and I gained confidence, learned new moves, and improved my skill level in general, while having fun and doing what I love to do! Anyone who does this regularly would certainly build strength and gain speed and stamina. The SharQui™ gives you a great aerobic workout, while learning the art form of bellydance.
Oreet is full of energy and teaches her class with the same style and enthusiasm that she dances with, which I would describe as a fusion of Egyptian (classic and contemporary), with some earthy folk, and cabaret moves. There really is a little something for everyone in her class, which I highly recommend for the belly dance enthusiast! – Shakila
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Gilded Serpent presents…
SharQui and Injury
by Rachel
posted August 13, 2009
I still very clearly remember the first time I encountered bellydance. I don’t remember her name, or her face, but I remember she was wearing the most beautiful green costume with elaborate silver coins on her hip-scarf and arm cuffs.
I remember she was beautiful and the precision and control she had over her movements was absolutely amazing. I wanted to be able to dance like that.
But even then I knew we did not have extra money for me to take any kind of lessons. There were five kids in my family and my parents never made it a secret that we were struggling to make ends meet. I knew better than to ask for something “frivolous” when they were already so stressed about making sure we were fed and had a place to live. So I never asked, and tried to put it out of my mind.
Over the years, I continued to watch any performances I could catch, all while silently wishing I could do what they did. But there was always something… time, money, lack of studios where I lived… As I got older, I pretty much settled into the thought that I’d never be able to learn more than what I did in my school theaters and choir performances. I focused on studying for the career I wanted and enrolled in a massage school that focused heavily on human anatomy, specific muscular therapy, and injury therapy.
Then in June of 2004, I was working as a lead therapist in a day spa when one of the receptionists thought it would be a brilliant idea to jump on me while I was stretching my low back. Twice in a row. To my complete and utter devastation, in those thirty seconds, she absolutely and quite entirely ruined my life as I knew it.
I suffered a severe injury to my spine and sacroiliac joint that left me in constant agonizing pain, and worse, fully disabled. I was 23.
What followed was a nightmare that would take pages to tell, but suffice it to say, Worker’s Compensation, lawyers, and all the programs I’d always been taught would take care of such things turned out to be more concerned with denying me treatment than trying to help me heal. And after nearly five years of fighting with them, I decided I’d had
enough of waiting for them to do what they promised. If I was going to get better, I was going to have to do it on my own. So with the encouragement of my friends, I started to look for ways I could start trying to regain my mobility.
Living in San Francisco gave me access to a number of gyms and I started to email instructors and trainers to ask about their classes and programs. I was clear about my disability and about my limitations, and what I was hoping I would be able to accomplish. I mentioned what my doctors wanted to see and asked if they thought their class would be a fit for me. Among those was a class at my local JCC that had caught my attention the instant I laid eyes on it.
SharQui Bellydance.
I wrote to the listed instructor on a lark, fully expecting her to say there was no way I’d be able to take the class. But to be totally honest, I couldn’t quite help myself. Even though I knew my disability would prevent me from taking it, I still sent the email because some part of my mind still wanted so very badly to be able to learn bellydance. In the end, only one of the instructors said yes: Oreet… from the SharQui Bellydance class.
I was… unbelievably astonished. There in the email she was insisting I come in, that her class would be absolutely perfect for me, and she could help me modify the movements to my own limitations.
All she asked me to do was come in early and see her before class started to make sure she could go over them with me. I don’t think I can adequately describe how reading that made me feel. I cried; I’ll admit that without any hesitation. For so, so long all I’d heard was no from everyone. And suddenly, here I was getting a yes to learn something I’d given up on thinking I’d ever being able to do. After recovering from my shock and relatively minor emotional breakdown, I still struggled with – well, I guess the best way to say it is a feeling of inadequacy. Before I was hurt, I’d been active and incredibly health conscious, but now? Now I was a hundred pounds overweight, hated seeing myself in the mirror, and couldn’t even tie my own shoes.
But I finally pushed myself through that, bit the bullet, and went in for a class to meet Oreet face to face. My first impression was definitely: “Wow, she’s tiny!” But the minute I introduced myself and she started talking, I was blown away. She just exuded so much confidence and genuine warmth that I felt like I was talking to an old friend. It was so comfortable that my self-consciousness and hesitation were pushed to the back of my mind before the class even started. Unlike any of the classes I’d seen or talked about with my friends, the SharQui method she created focuses on strength, endurance, and form. The entire hour was spent learning the foundations of each movement and focusing on full isolation to get the right muscle groups firing to perform them. We weren’t busting out with wild moves or choreography; there weren’t crazy rolls and undulations. The moves were small, focused, and controlled. Interspersed with learning the correct postures and dance forms, Oreet told us bits of the history behind each stance and each move. Names, origins, differences from region to region… it was absolutely fascinating, and given just how much I’ve admired it for so long, I was completely thrilled.
There I was, very slowly attempting to shimmy, activating muscles long atrophied from inactivity, and at the same time, getting a history lesson on the dance form itself. By the end of the class, I was panting, sweating like a man, already feeling my muscles protest… I was absolutely ecstatic.
And I’ve been going back for more for three months.
With my own training in muscular therapy and injury, I’m really, really picky about the things I do. I have to be; otherwise I’ll aggravate my injury and spend a ridiculous amount of time immobile and in a great deal more pain than normal. Fortunately though, with my training in anatomy and body mechanics, I understand the way the body works, the way it moves. I know all about the compensation between muscle and body and posture, especially for things like dancing and exercise. I know the right way to do things, and the wrong way to do things, and I know how many people have no idea which one they’re doing.
Because of that, I have so much appreciation for Oreet and what she does. Her method has not just made it possible for me to start exercising again, but it’s given me the opportunity to do something I’ve always wanted.
I’m hoping that by sharing my story, I can help out others like me who’ve admired this beautiful style of dancing but thought they’d never be able to learn it.
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In everything in life, you HAVE to have a strong foundation if you want to have a strong, polished product in the end. Be it education, profession, or recreation. You can’t immediately walk onto a plane and expect to fly, and by that same principle, you can’t walk into a studio and expect to master complicated, intricate dance styles. SharQui is quite literally the only style I’ve ever watched or heard of that focuses on mastering the foundation of bellydance movement before attempting to move on to the “big stuff.”
The SharQui method has really been just about the best thing that’s happened to me in my “quest” to get my mobility back. It’s so focused on building the strength and stamina in all the right muscle groups for each step and move that I haven’t once felt like I was in danger of straining myself or aggravating my injury. Oreet is absolutely amazing for keeping us on track with our posture and the appropriate way to perform each step and each move.
Oreet’s method really has given me back so many things that I thought I’d lost forever. Little by little, I can feel the moves getting easier. Believe it or not, I can actually shimmy! Just a bit and not very well, but it IS there. It’s giving me hope now that I can get to a point where I can really sustain it if I keep going to class, and keep practicing at home.
I’ve recommended SharQui to all of my friends, to my family, and even to complete strangers in the gym. We have a fantastic class and everyone is so encouraging and so helpful that even going to work out alone, I haven’t once had a problem with losing interest. It’s a dynamic environment with absolutely infectious energy, and you can’t help but love it.
Learning this style has made me feel like I can actually do something to help myself and my body in a way I haven’t been able to do before.
It’s a little easier for me to “find” my muscles not just during class, but when I’m doing my physical therapy exercises and even around the house.
Sure I’m still in pain. I’m still out of shape, overweight, and disabled, but now I feel like just maybe I can get those first two back under control. I haven’t felt that way in five years, and I will love Oreet forever for giving me back that confidence and hope that even though it’s not ever going to be in mint condition, I can make my body my own.
I feel alive again.
And now that I have that?
Well, maybe now I can try to work up to those really awesome flashy moves after all!
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“SharQui – The bellydance workout is invigorating, stimulating and a real workout! -S. Gheih
“SharQui is a self-empowering experience; particularly for women who more often than not judge themselves or are judged by others solely on body image.” -Student
“SharQui is great fun! The workout is kinesthetically easy to grow with. Practicing has improved the flexibility of my hip muscles, strengthened my thigh muscles and ALWAYS reduces stress and increases my appreciation for my body! Oreet is an incredibly supportive and careful teacher.” -B. Pomerance
“It’s liberating! In our society that too often defines a woman in terms of chronology and physical appearance, The bellydance workout is a safe refuge where we are free to discover and celebrate the beauty of the female body…..in all its forms!” - F. Maistee
“In the SharQui class, you dance away your inhibitions, your worries and your belly! I absolutely love the workout. It’s so much fun and it works your mind and your body (keeping all parts moving to a rhythm all at once). And what great music – it stays with me all week!” - Student
“SharQui has brought me to whole new level of awareness of my body, of the different angles, alignment and movement that make me feel so sexy. And because it’s a bellydance ‘workout’ I have begun to see my muscles toned and defined! In my class everyone is at varying levels, but what we all have in common is the spirit, the energy, the interest, and the excitement we feel for this beautiful art form. I have seen traditional bellydance performances, and whereas those movements are sensual and slower, SharQui gives the traditional form a bit of an American twist.” -D. Levy
“I started doing SharQui with Oreet after a very painful break up. It helped me enormously to get in touch deeply with who I am, and to gain consciousness about how much being a woman is part of my mode of living. In the past I used to think that it is the relationship with a man that gives you such consciousness, with Oreet I’ve learned to enjoy being a woman for myself, just because being a woman deserves celebration!” - I. Visiers
“I tell all my friends that SharQui is the most fun workout I’ve ever done! Half of the time I forget that I’m getting a cardio workout, toning muscles other fitness classes miss and learning how to pick up choreography. Best of all, SharQui has helped me realize that what fashion magazines call my “problem areas” (rounded thighs, tummy and rear) are not problems at all, but the very qualities that make me and every woman beautiful!” - P. Lloyd
“Oreet’s class offers me a fitness routine where my mind and body are challenged and I’m having a great time all at once. With my very first class I was hooked! It is such fun, beautiful music and a place where, as a woman I feel empowered in my body – every class. I haven’t found that in any other fitness or dance class, most other classes are about ultimately fitting into a commercially accepted body type. Oreet’s bellydance workout gives me a place where I don’t feel bad for not being a size 2. Every body type can bellydance and feel beautiful, in fact having curves are a plus in this class. I love to dance and work out, and Oreet offers me a challenging fitness art-form combined with solid dance technique. Oreet really cares about her students’ progress. She pays attention to each participant, giving constructive feedback, and that really keeps me coming back.” -A. Mattos
“SharQui is an excellent fusion of exercise and dance that combines the sensuousness of bellydance, with exotic music and strengthening and toning exercises. Plus the teacher’s emphasis on precision and enjoyment is pitch perfect. There is never a dull moment with this workout.” -F. Raimond
“Oreet breaks everything down so simple that now I understand how I’m moving instead of just copying what I’ve been shown.” -Monika
“I have taken about 9-10 belly dancing classes off and on in different studios around NYC, but I have never gotten as much personal attention as I did with Oreet. The way she breaks the movement down is amazing.” -Yelena
“I began taking belly dance classes utilizing the SharQui method three years ago have developed more poise and grace while getting the technique and strength that I need.” -Neeti
SharQui is not only a fabulous workout but it’s so empowering! It built my self-confidence and strengthened my bad knees. -G.T.
Amazing! It’s nice to finally focus on yourself rather than the TV when you’re on the treadmill. You forget you’re working out! -L.S.
SharQui completely cured me from sciatica! It gave me a positive self image and changed my body completely. -E.K.
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