Belly Dancing?

I went into the gym to practice a spinning routine a couple of months ago and I ran into a girl wearing a RED sash that was covered in medallions...hmmm....curious I asked her what she was doing and she said BELLY DANCING. She invited me to come into the class and I agreed, but I only wanted to watch. Sure enough as I was "watching" the instructor kept telling me to jump in! Finally, I consented and joined the group OMG...it was so much fun! I could tell that my core and legs were getting a workout all while I was feeling a little SEXY! Well, needless to say I was hooked, but I really wanted a scarf with the medallions to shake like the other girls. I signed up for my 1st month of classes and have really enjoyed it. When we get going my heart rate goes up and just as I begin to sweat we take a break :( I was really wanting to use this fun dance as a way to burn calories that's different from anything that I've been doing, but I guess we have to learn the steps and hip/belly movements before we can just keep dancing. One thing that I loved was that the instructor says, "We are NOT ladies in here...all lady like behavior is left at the door. When you enter here you are a hotty", I have to admit it feels good to let all inhibitions go, relax, and tune into your body. Since I'm not getting the workout that I wanted I at least plan on making up a dance to show off at home (hee, hee)! My kids also love wearing my hip scarves when we dance around the living room! Overall, if you're looking for some fun and different try belly dancing, but unless it's a steady dance you're doing I don't think it's going to add up to much for calorie burn (I only burned 320 cals in 1 1/2 hr session!)