Welcome sister .. Gawwdd i remember the first time i dropped in on a class and there was this whole entire WALL of mirrors.. acckkkk!!! As it turned out no one else showed up for the class. At first I felt better.. no skinny bodies next to mine in the mirror and then i realized that meant the whole focus of the teacher would be on meeeeeeeaaaaahhhhcckckkkk.. But what a great opportunity.. So i took a deep breath, pulled my shirt off and never looked back.. There are other posts here and on other tribes about skinny girls who are jealous of how marvelous OUR shimmies are.. Just realize you are beautiful because you are a woman .. no matter what size.. and dANNNNNcceeeeee like there's no tomorrow.. :-)

Welcome Gypsy! This is the place to be! With the rest of us Rubenesque Divas!

Thank you Ladies! I can tell I am definitly in the right place!!! I feel encouraged already! =)

Yes Welcome!!

Just remember that chances are, no one is looking at you. They are all focusing so hard on what they are learning (and their body flaws) that they don't notice that your tum is showing. At least that's how I feel when I go to class.

Also, the dancers that we see a lot of (Jillina, Rachel, Sharon, etc) are professionals that HAVE to be on top of their game or they don't get paid, so they practice for several hours a day and then go perform. That extra baklava they had is going to burn right off. I think of it as they are hummingbirds and I am more like a polar bear!

I totally understand the mirror thing as well. One thing that I do, especially when I'm having a frumpy feeling day is I focus just on the body part I am working on. For instance, if we're working on taxim I'm only looking at my hips, not my arm flab, or that roll just under my bra, just the hips. I mean, occasionally skim over yourself in the mirror to check your posture, but don't let your eyes focus on anything other that what you are working on. Same with arm moves, just look at your shoulders, elbows, and wrists. The tummy doesn't exist right now.

Worry not my friend! As you become more comfortable with the movements you"ll start feeling better about your body. And then some beautiful skinny blonde with absolutely no rhythm will join the class and you'll be the nice classmate that stays after and gives her tips. But somewhere deep inside at that moment a tiny little part of you will be rejoicing in your fabulous ass-shakery!!!!