How to Do Grapevine Footwork for Belly Dance

Video Transcript

"Ready to add some more footwork to your belly dancing? Hi I'm Johanna Krynytzky with Hip Expressions Belly Dance Studio. And today we're going to go over a grapevine for belly dance. So there's two ways to do a grapevine. A standard grapevine crosses over in front and then steps out to the side and then crosses in back and then steps to the side again. Let's try that again. Cross over forward and then cross back and step. Good. Cross forward and back. Good. And cross forward a little faster and back. Forward and back. This move is used a lot in many different line dances from around the world, especially throughout the parts of the Middle East. You'll see it in Israeli folk dancing. You'll see it in Greek folk dancing. In Lebanese, it's all over the place. So it's a very basic footwork to know. Forward and back. You can twist the hips more with it if you like or keep it more flat and straight on. Now often times it'll be done a lot faster and speed it up. So you want to get really comfortable on your feet. Now as you do this move, make sure your belly button's pulled in, your shoulders are back and down and your chest is lifted. Good. Knees are nice and soft to help you float across the floor. What you want to avoid is going up and down with this movement. You want to be nice and smooth, not bouncing. Nice and smooth. Alright. Excellent. Good. So practice that in front of a mirror and then take it out on the dance floor. I'm Johanna with Hip Expressions Belly Dance Studio helping you to belly dance."