Bellydance Technique
Below is a list of the moves that I generally teach in my classes. In the first year I focus on obtaining a deep knowledge base of technique which will be built upon and extended in the following levels as well as incorporating knowledge of history, culture, styles of dance, rhythms and developing dance style.
This list is a guide to what I believe students should be introduced to and become familiar with in their first year of Bellydance.
Although many of the moves will not be mastered they will at least be familiar to you. I have separated the moves into parts of the body, they are not in the order that I would teach them.
Basics
Safe posture
- Feet hip distance apart with feet facing forward
- Knees soft
- Pelvis slightly tucked under
- Stomach muscles engaged
- Ribcage lifted
- Shoulders back and relaxed
- Correct breathing throughout
Always warm up and cool down before practising to prevent injury
Arms
Framing Arms
- Penguin arms & half penguin arms
- Dead pharoah
- Basic hip drop arms
- Dancers (armchair) arms
- Pot on the head
Flowing Arms
- Snake arms
- Shoulder ripples
- Taking the sweater off arms
- Circular arms - outside of body and down centre of body
- Windmill arms
- Ghawazee arms (windscreen wiper)
Hands
- Wrist circles
- Hand ripples
- Hand shape
Ribs
- Rib shift side to side
- Rib shift front to back
- Ribcage circle flat - clockwise and anti clockwise
- Chest lifts and drops
Hips
- Hip drop
- Hip drop & a foot flick
- 'n' hip drops
- 'm' hip drops
- Hip lifts
- Basic taq
- Double taq
- Single & double taqs moving around
- Backward figure 8
- Forward figure 8
- Vertical figure 8 (inward myer) flat feel
- Outward myer (flat feet)
- Hip twist (swerve)
- Pelvic tuck and release
- 4 point pelvic lock
- Egyptian walk
- Egyptian walk travelling forwards
- Shifting circles
- Half circle forward/half circle backward
- Hip circle on one hip
Body
- Camel on the spot
- Reverse camel
Travelling moves
- Camel walk forward and backward
- Camel travelling sideways
- Grapevine
- Step lift
- Step taq
- Cross step
- Chasse
- Expensive walk
- Kash la maar (forward & back step)
- Basic 3 step turn
Shimmies
- Shoulder hits progressing to a shoulder shimmy
- Egyptian shimmy
- Relaxed shimmy
- Earthquake
Other
- Veil technique
- How to hold a veil and walk with it
- Duster
- Tea bag
- Toss
- Turns
- Matador
- Sweep
- Waterfall
- Understanding of some rhythms
- Simple understanding of basic styles ie baladi, saidi, oriental
- Basic performance skills
- Group work
- Improvisation
Improver Level
Below is a list of what I would expect to teach students in their second year of bellydance as well as improving upon all the technique already learned in the first year.
Hips
- Egyptian walk travelling sideways
- Omi
- Orange segment circle
- Hip drops in a circle
- Constants
- Chonk
- Inward myer (vertical 8) without lifting the heels
- Outward myer without lifting heels
- Pivot
- Breaks
Body
- Reverse camel - static and travelling
- Criss cross camels
- Hoppy folk camel
- Kash la maar with taqs or hip circles
- Introduce kash la maar with a shimmy or shoulder shimmy
- Undulations (body wave)
Travelling Steps
- Chenne (travelling 2 step turn)
- Mona pop
Shimmies
- Chou chou shimmy
- Hip twist shimmy
Other
- Introduction to saidi and baladi rhythms
- How to adapt basic moves for different styles of dance
- Instrument recognition
- Use of props - stick
- Begin layering
Intermediate level
Ribs
Hips
- Egyptian walk forward & back on demi point
- Jewel
- Travelling hip twist (swerve)
- Figure 8 forward & back
- Figure 8 with a twist
Other
- Layering of shimmies on top of moves
- Changes in dynamics - i.e. large to small - isolated versus using the whole body to create different looks
- Focus on timing - slow/quick to create different looks with moves
- Understanding and use of phrasing
- Knowledge of all basic rhythms and a variety of instruments
- Good base understanding of a variety of Bellydance styles
- Perfecting arm flow in the transition from one shape to another
- Smooth transitions from one move to another
- Focus on performance skills
Group work and improvisation will be incorporated at all levels.
Students will also be taught choreographies which can be performed at hafla's and also, for those interested, performed at fetes and charity events throughout the year.
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