How to Do a Full Dance in Belly Dancing

Once you get the hang of the basic belly dance motions, put them into a full, choreographed belly dance. Take your time to feel each movement to radiate the sensual art of belly dance to your audience, even if you are your own audience.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Begin with hip drops. Lift your hip with your thigh, bringing your hip into your ribcage. Drop it back. The drop should be a snapping movement, giving a crisp motion, counteracting the fluid movement of your scarves. Alternate hips one at a time and then together.

2. Add snake arms. Imagine a whip cracking in slow motion. This is what you want your arms to do. First lift the shoulder, then elbow, followed by wrist and finally fingers. Repeat with the other arm. Note that this should not look like the wave at a baseball game. It isn't a fluid motion starting at the right finger tip and going through to the left finger tip but rather two snakes rhythmically attached at your torso. Layer the snake arms with hip drops.

3. Move into hip twists. Do a hip lift and then push the hip out and around to the back in an exaggerated manner but keep your torso straight. Alternate sides. Now walk the hip twist back to cover some ground on the dance floor.

4. Follow up with bicycle hips. Keep your torso still. Bring your hip forward and up and then back down. Take that same hip backward and up and then back down. Repeat. This creates a figure 8, which also looks like two bicycle tires. Repeat with opposite hip.

5. Finish with snake arms. Keep your bottom half still.

Tips & Warnings

• Use any variation of these and other basic belly dance moves to choreograph your own belly dance.