Sensual Belly Dancing: Forward Hip Circles

Series Summary

Belly dancing is the latest dance craze to hit the dance scene. Classes are offered in cities around the world and performances are in demand. Belly dancing is a form of dance that originated in Arabic cultures. It is derived from a social dance that is native to Middle Eastern culture. This form of dance is also extending into the exercise genre and is being taught in gyms. Belly dancing is also rumored to have descended from a religious dance once performed by Temple Priestesses or to have been a part of birthing practices from the region. In this series of expert videos, an expert teaches the basics of belly dancing posture, figure eight movement, and chest circles. Learn to perform moves such as the shimmy, snake arms, and step touch. Watch a demonstration on the use of cymbals and see examples of warm-up exercises. Student will be able to put together a whole routine after watching these belly dance choreography videos. The expert also discusses the costumes used for belly dancing and shares some fabulous examples of saris and other costume accessories. Learn how to belly dance from an expert!

Video Transcript

"Let's work on an unweighted hip sensual dance move; this is going to be vertical circle that's going to travel forward. Let's start with our feet being slightly apart; put your weight on one of your legs, lift the other foot; heel, press the toe into the floor and make sure both knees are bent, pulling your belly; lift your chest and relax your shoulders. Let's just put our hands out to the side; the circle is going to go forward so we're going to first lift it into our rib cage, twist it slightly forward; let it drop down, bring it back. And up and forward; and down and back, it's always a good idea to start with a square and make sure you're hitting all the right points first and then we're going to round it out so smooth out those corners. So this is a movement you'd want to do that's to nice slow music or you really want to accent a pretty flute or something like that. So make sure you keep everything lifted and smooth; make sure your knee does not bend out too much, you want to keep it pointing forward and in; you don't want it to be out here, you want to keep it all nice and keep your center all toward the middle of your body; and just make that movement nice and smooth. Practice it in the mirror and on both sides."