Unveiled Enthusiasm

Can belly dancing serve as a viable workout regimen? Erica Schirmer, of Clinton, sure thinks so.

Posted December 14, 2009 by Mallory Gelert

Erica Schirmer, of Clinton, takes belly dancing classes at Hunterdon Heath and Wellness Center in Clinton.

Photo by Chris Crisman.

Name: Erica Schirmer

Age: 50

Profession: Medical writer for the pharmaceutical industry.

Fitness goals: Schirmer lost her husband two and a half years ago to pancreatic cancer. She has lost some of the weight she gained while dealing with his illness, and now wants to burn off the additional pounds.

Workout of choice: Belly dancing, which includes drills and choreography using veils and zills, the dancer’s traditional finger cymbals.

Location: Hunterdon Health and Wellness Centers in Clinton and Whitehouse Station (hunterdonhealthcare.org).

Frequency/cost: Schirmer takes two one-hour classes per week at the Clinton location, and one class per week at Whitehouse Station. The cost for members is $60 for a one-class per week six-week session, $75 for non-members.

How’s it going? Schirmer wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of belly dancing until her instructor told her about its roots. “Traditional belly dancing was all about grandmothers and mothers, about women’s health,” she explains. After learning this, “I saw it in a different light. I was no longer uncomfortable.”

And it shows—Schirmer has lost 30 to 35 pounds since starting classes in July. “I used to do 750 stomach crunches a night. Nothing has strengthened or whittled down my core like belly dancing has,” she says. She now finds herself getting clothes tailored every few weeks. “It’s really powerful.”

Most of all, Schirmer enjoys how belly dancing has broken her out of what she calls a “dark place” after her husband passed away. “All I was doing was working around the clock and surviving,” she says. “In terms of personal goals, I had accomplished nothing.” Now she has fulfilled a lifelong dream of learning how to dance—and formed new friendships in class. “When something works,” she says, “you don’t want to stop.”

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