I take dance class??... no... I'm a bellydancer.

Hi Basha!
All of the Belly Dancers I know continue to study throughout their lives. Some are pros, some are life long lovers of the dance who perform at showcases and hafli without pay or just dance for their own enjoyment.
I considered myself a Belly Dancer after I began booking jobs regularly, became the house dancer at a restaurant, was asked to start teaching by my teacher. But that's me. I think everyone defines themselves differently.
As far as education, I think that anyone who STOPS taking classes is no longer a belly dancer...
Gia

Real belly dancers never quit their education, be it going to classes of some kind, workshops, etc.

My personal belief is if it becomes a way of life, you are one. What makes a tap dancer a tap dancer?

If you find yourself thinking "I don't need class anymore, I'm a bellydancer now", chances are you are suffering from Arrogant Intermediate Dancer syndrome.
Everyone needs class. The best dancers are the ones who never stop studying.

I began calling myself a bellydancer when I was invited to join our troupe. And like all of you, I take as many classes, workshops, attend as many shows, buy as much shiny sparkly stuff as I can. I'm so glad this is an art that I can never learn all of, I can just keep getting better and better as I work hard at it.
I will never be a pro, I'm 53 and fat, but I can give joy and beauty to myself and to others.

I became a belly dancer when I started performing, specifically solos. Up until then I felt (IMO) about myself, that I was a student performing, not a "dancer".
Now I live & breathe it. I teach 4 classes a week. I belong to 2 troupes. It's ALL I read about online, LOL.
When someone says "oh I can't afford that workshop" and it's a local $40 workshop, I just look at them in wonderment thinking.... "guess you're really not there yet are you"?? LOL :)
But I know that I'm totally over the top and it's my passion, not their's, so oh well.

...I took dance lessons. You know - ballet/tap/jazz stuff. The class had a gymnastics component as well. This I did through middle school. Because of life circumstances, I had to quit classes. However, I made it a point to get to school early or stay after classes... I had a corner in the gym where I danced. I put on music and choreographed... I mixed up moves I hadn't neccessarily been taught. I realize now that I was actually venturing into modern dance with no outside guidance. Slowly, I drifted away from this (after graduation) as the Army took over my life, and my dance outlet became two-step, swing dance, and line dancing. Finding partners has sometimes been a challenge. When I found my way to college, I realized the drive to dance was still there, and completely unsatisfied. I took up ballet once again. At first, I go to class, and learn about the dance (ballet/mosern/bellydance/whatever). Then, one day, I realize that I'm going through the motions, but I look akward. I want to look like that girl in the first row with the infinite extensions above 90 degrees... I want the easy grace and strength that make the movements look effortless... and I realize the difference is a state of mind. Dirung my Intermediate Ballet class, I discovered how terrible I looked in the mirror. Some days, I felt lost. Uncoordinated. Just plain stupid. I realized what the difference was that I saw in the other dancers. Some of them KNEW they were ballerinas. Some of them just wished for it.
I am now a ballerina. I am now a bellydancer. It has little to do with time-in-class or how long I've studied, or how good I am. I OWN it. I walk into class and I tell myself "No matter what we dance today, even if I don't grok the movements, I will dance it, and I will OWN it." I have made it mine, and I express myself through the dance. It doesn't mean that I'm good at it, but this is the distinction between "going to class" and "dancer" for me. I am a ballerina. I am a bellydancer. I am a DANCER! :-)

For me it was a very personal journey, that involved overcoming some awful psychological abuse in my childhood (my mother is mentally ill).
I always loved to dance. But somehow I ended up with a man who does not like to dance. So for a very very long time bellydance was something I did at home in private for personal enjoyment. Period.
The biggest turning points for me were, what I call, Diamonds from Heaven. Little gems of joy that just fall out of nowhere right into your lap. I was over 40, but a well known dancer still encouraged me to try out for her troupe & tour. Alas, I could not go on any tour due to responsibilities at home. I thought it was a fluke ... until it happened again, with a different person, two years later! That was when I finally realized that YES I AM A DANCER! Music is a part of my soul and my body is an instrument. I don't need to carry around the baggage of my childhood - most of the nasty, repressed adults who slapped that baggage on me then are gone now anyway. But I'm alive. I live. I must celebrate with dance!!

For me...I usually say " I do Tribal Bellydance"...when I first started taking classes...I think I was saying the same thing, only with MED, before I knew I didn't have to defend the dance so hard.

Now...I think I'm waiting to call myself a bellydancer...until it is my sole occupation. I dance all the time. I love to dance. I do dance/ I dance. Buuuut...until I can make my living off it and nothing else...when I can devote my life to dancing...I am not a dancer...I think it's also a confidence thing though...I remember when I read the War of Art, he said the difference between being a professional and being an amature, was KNOWING/THINKING/ACTING like you are a professional. You must consider youself a dancer/ an artist, etc.

I am on MY way to becoming a bellydancer/perhaps a dancer in general. It's hard for me to explain. I know I am artist....because I have being doing art in many different forms for years...something in me knows I am an artist. But, I don't feel comfortable yet saying I am a dancer, or a bellydancer...just that I dance.

I beleive it depends upon the individual...

For me it was quick/quick - after the third class I was hooked.
I started w/ the one class, but practiced every day at home (except days that had class). But soon added DVDs and additional classes (at one point taking 5 classes a week (not everyday - as some classes back to back same night), and took any/every workshop could afford to attend. After a bit I began performing, and just recently (like w/ in the last week) opened a studio of my own.
I still practice at least an hour every day - whether in class or at home/other, and this in addition to any performing that do.

But there are gals what started that first class w/ me that only BD in class and sluff it off the rest of the time.
They are still "just in class" and not graduated to the "I'm a BDer". But thats ok - at least they are still dancing.

I never stopped taking classes, but I started to think of myself as a belly dancer, once I started performing. :)

When can you proudly proclaim you are a bellydancer? I don't feel there is a mile stone you have to pass in order to be a bellydancer. I don't think it matters if you have performed or not, I don't think it matters if you have been paid for your dancing or not. All that matters is that you feel the music and dance. If you bellydance then you are a bellydancer.