Hips Don't Lie

Many years ago, I picked up a belly dance DVD at a local big box store. It sounded intriguing, and I rushed home to put it on. I was more than a little confused over the steps and movements (my hips weren’t ready to shimmer, shake and not lie-sorry, Shakira)

 

Wikipedia offers the following breakdown of the basic belly dance movements:

• Percussive movements - Staccato movements, most commonly of the hips, which can be used to punctuate the music or accent a beat. Typical movements in this group include hip drops, vertical hip rocks, outwards hip hits, hip lifts and hip twists. Percussive movements using other parts of the body can include lifts or drops of the ribcage and shoulder accents.

• Fluid movements - Flowing, sinuous movements in which the body is in continuous motion, which may be used to interpret melodic lines and lyrical sections in the music, or modulated to express complex instrumental improvisations, as well as being performed in a rhythmic manner. These movements require a great deal of abdominal muscle control. Typical movements include horizontal and vertical figures of 8 or infinity loops with the hips, horizontal or tilting hip circles, and undulations of the hips and abdomen. These basic shapes may be varied, combined and embellished to create an infinite variety of complex, textured movements.

• Shimmies, shivers and vibrations – Small, fast, continuous movements of the hips or ribcage, which create an impression of texture and depth of movement. Shimmies are commonly layered over other movements, and are often used to interpret rolls on the tablah or riq or fast strumming of the oud or qanun (instrument). There are many types of shimmy, varying in size and method of generation. Some common shimmies include relaxed, up and down hip shimmies, straight-legged knee-driven shimmies, fast, tiny hip vibrations, twisting hip shimmies, bouncing 'earthquake' shimmies, and relaxed shoulder or ribcage shimmies.

In addition to these torso movements, dancers in many styles will use level changes, travelling steps, turns and spins. The arms are used to frame and accentuate movements of the hips, for dramatic gestures, and to create beautiful lines and shapes with the body, particularly in the more balletic, Westernised styles. Other movements may be used as occasional accents, such as low kicks and arabesques, backbends, and head tosses.

I was so frustrated by the poor instructions in the DVD that I packed it away and didn’t use it. However, I was intrigued by the concept of belly dancing. A friend of mine took a class at a local dance studio and convinced me to go with her. I did, and I was hooked. However, I am not currently comfortable with dancing in public (yet) so I found a bunch of instructional videos on You Tube. Thanks to them, I have discovered a few basic truths about myself.

One: once I get to shimmying, I can’t seem to stop. Seriously! It is incredibly freeing. I took ballet for many years, and the straight back-no hinging at the hips is deeply ingrained in me. However, with belly dancing, I am learning to let go.

 

Two: its very sexy. Due to my size, I stopped seeing myself as a vibrant, sexy woman in her prime. Its hard to visualize yourself that way when you don’t like how you appear. Belly dancing allows me to step out of the fat suit and be seductive.

 

Three: I have to learn to laugh at myself and let go. I tend to be very serious a lot of the time, and it can be hard to let go. You can’t be completely serious when you are learning to belly dance.