Belly Dance How to Shimmy

[ariesterrazas]

@MyFairDiva Thank you! :)

[yourlilchinagirl]

@ariesterrazas You're welcome!

[Wandering83]

This was very good instruction. Thank you. What kind of keyboard is that?! Where did you get it? Thanks!

[yourlilchinagirl]

@Wandering83 The keyboard is a Yamaha ORS 7000, which has a lot of patches plus the buttons to switch the keys to quarter tones, should you be a musician that loves playing authentically for Middle Eastern scales. I bought it online.

[ariesterrazas]

your a great teacher but im nerrow i have no hips and im 20 :( can i still shimmy?

[MyFairDiva]

@ariesterrazas Of course! We all have hips!, there are other shimmies out there you could try, like the one which is parallel to the floor, as a twist (only hips), it helps to have a belt like Imei's or a hip scarf with coins. For example, the egyptian style clothing (correct me if I'm wrong) fits very tight around the hips, but then again, they embelish them with all kinds of beads and coins that move as you shake your hips. That motion also looks beautiful when performing.

[yourlilchinagirl]

@ariesterrazas While having narrow hips makes it more difficult to show the movement, you can make them look bigger by placing a larger hip belt with a lot of long beading, or a tribal style belt that has some girth to it, to accentuate your movements.

[yellowberrypie]

2nd day and it's getting easier :)

[yellowberrypie]

if I can do this slow will I be eventually able to do this fast or is there a trick? I can only do it slow :(

[yourlilchinagirl]

@yellowberrypie The tricks: 1) practice, 2) increase your flexibility, especially in your calves, 3) start with feet firmly planted on the ground, and slowly add picking up your heels of the ground. Be careful to not pound hard like an elephant. I think this makes the shimmy look bigger, but is horribly distracting to the audience, and not very lovely to watch.

[fireblndgoddessgurl]

I am a beginner with belly dancing. When I try to shimmy it is stagnant. I was wondering with practice will it get smoother? What are ways to help to make it smoother?

[yourlilchinagirl]

@fireblndgoddessgurl Some people find that their calves are tight (you'll know because within a few seconds of trying to shimmy, they will be achy). Warm up thoroughly, stretch BEFORE shimmies, and then go slowly (i.e. half time), pressing into your fullest comfortable range of motion (ROM). Don't push beyond that. See if the muscles loosen up, and then increase speed. Leave a comment if that helps.

[yourlilchinagirl]

@fireblndgoddessgurl There are a number of things I would need to see as to why your shimmy is "stagnant". The physics of a shimmy involves transferring energy from one part of the body (knees) to another part (belly). If you want to send in a film of you shimmying, I could take a look and tell you what's happening (or not happening).

[JaderGater2]

I went to my first belly dance class today, and they taught us how to shimmy (kind of). Apparently I was doing it wrong, so my instructor told me that I shouldn't move my heels off the ground. When I tried it without moving my heels, I couldn't do it and it didn't look right. :(

[yourlilchinagirl]

@JaderGater2 I agree with your instructor. When you first try to do the shimmy, start with smaller movement and don't lift your heels off the ground. Later, you can work in bigger movement and experiment with lifting the heels. In my video, I'm casting a net towards people at various ranges of ability and experience. Some will likely already be lifting their heels. And you'll see it with pros, too. :)

[DreamForSoul]

Wow thanks a lot for this video ! I always wondered how to shake hips like that. I would never have find out that it was almost all in the knees. It's not really natural in my case prensently and I find difficulties to speed up the movement, but it's beginning.

[yourlilchinagirl]

@DreamForSoul You're welcome. With practice, it can become more natural, but one needs full range of motion for the knees, as well as calves that are not tight to pull off really big shimmies.

[yourlilchinagirl]

@DreamForSoul You're welcome. With practice, it can become more natural, but one needs full range of motion for the knees, as well as calves that are not tight to pull off really big shimmies.

[yourlilchinagirl]

@DreamForSoul @DreamForSoul You're welcome. With practice, it can become more natural, but one needs full range of motion for the knees, as well as calves that are not tight to pull off really big shimmies.

[jrzshrelvr123]

What its true.her fat jiggles and it looks funny in those pants!

[imeibellydance]

@jrzshrelvr123 Thus is the art of raks sharqi. I'm laughing with joy all the way to the bank. :)

[jrzshrelvr123]

grosssssssss

[imeibellydance]

@jrzshrelvr123 (*evil grin*)

[jrzshrelvr123]

her fat jiggles..

[yourlilchinagirl]

@jrzshrelvr123 *applause* That is exactly what it is supposed to do. Congratulations for correctly describing how adipose tissue moves from left to right while one uses the potential energy from the floor as it travels up the legs (kinetic energy) and is released in above the abdominal muscles, known as adipose tissue.

[Erin0metallica]

@jrzshrelvr123 Yes, basically, to be a belly dancer, you need a belly!

[therapeutics23]

hey this was great.

[yourlilchinagirl]

@therapeutics23 Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[kattmat]

This is nice. Ive been dancing for 3 years and still have problems with the eyptian shimmy.

I often go too fast and cant seem to control it and it keeps stopping itself cause I lock the knees. But i also learned the hip one first.

[yourlilchinagirl]

@kattmat Hadia (formerly of Montreal) pointed out that tight calves may be part of the problem. Getting some body work to loosen things up made it easier to stop locking up (shiver shimmee), slow it down, and keep it loose. Best to you!

[wheninrome75]

Thank you so much, this is the best demonstration I have found yet. I find for some reason I have difficulties with Egyptian style, but find it easier to do the glute way. And I naturally want to sway a bit as well.

[yourlilchinagirl]

@wheninrome75 I've actually heard other people say the same thing, but particularly when they learned the hip shimmee or even a vibration shimmee first. My dance teacher Sabura and mentor Rebecca have really worked me over to get my Egyptian shimmy bigger and natural in feeling. Keep at it. The versatility in doing either when you want it is really worth it. Cheers!

[grumpycsp]

turn that ass around

[Missyplaymate3]

Thank you for this great video. I am going to take some classes in the fall. I can't wait

[SnakeKundalini]

I think that was the best explanation ever!!!

[yourlilchinagirl]

@SnakeKundalini Oh thank you! I hope you're having fun dancing.

[Detritus57]

I just finished a beginner's 6-week course in bellydancing and am looking forward to continuing, but the shimmy (we learned the Egyptian one) is very difficult at first, so I'm looking forward to practising using your tips! I hope I can move like you someday.

[yourlilchinagirl]

The Egyptian shimmy is a beautiful movement foundational for belly dance. Practice every day, and you will get it. I've seen some people "get it" in a few lessons; others take longer. You can do it! Enjoy, and I'll have some more demo clips up soon. Please share it with your friends and help me get the word out ~Imei

[straightedgemetlhead]

my friend would love this. really thank you for this. 5 star...

[yourlilchinagirl]

Thank you, and I hope she can learn well from my tips on this. Sometimes it comes easily, sometimes it takes people longer.

[taknarian]

Extremely excellent work my dear. A dancer for the ages.

[yourlilchinagirl]

Thank you!