Belly Dancing Arm Positioning

Video Transcript

"The next thing I'm going to talk to you about is arm positioning. Later on when you know the dance well, you can take the arms and make it uniquely yours. Until then when you're first learning, you may want to start with your hands on your hips here, so you can concentrate just on the moves and not have to worry about your hands. This is an easy way to just keep them up and raised and bent and not have to worry about them. So again, while you're learning basic moves, you may want to keep your hands here. Later on you may want to get in the habit of keeping your arms behind you with a slight bend. What I always tell my students is keep your ballerina arms. Always arms slightly bent. If you bring them up, they always end up being a ballerina arm. Drop, out to the side, slightly bent at all times. Another move you can always have your arms out to the sides. You can do a dance or move or learn something with them out to the sides. You can also bring them up, hands facing towards, the back of the hands facing each other, or hands facing inward. Another move you can do when you're doing side moves is you're standing leg in the back, will be the arm that's raised up. Bring your hip forward, and make sure you don't hide this hip. You don't want to hide all that work you're doing. Again, arm is at a slight bend, slight bend. Changing sides, remember you're standing leg on this side, is also this arm is up. Again, don't hide the hip, hold the arm with intention, and lift and drop. Many different things you can do with your arms. You just want to make it uniquely yours."