Start by warming up and reviewing the material from the previous week. We will then add these two moves to our vocabulary:

• Mayas - Vertical hip figure eights are also called “mayas” or “amayas” depending on where you learn your dance vocabulary. They are done by using your hips to draw a figure 8 on the wall in front of you. Start by sliding your hip to the right, now push your hip down. Slide the move up and through the center of your pelvis so that your left hip is up and out. Push your left hip down and slide the move up and through the center so that your right hip is up and out. Try this several times taking each step slowly and being sure you hit each point. When you are comfortable, smooth it out to make an 8. Reverse the move and practice that way a few times. This is one of those moves that, while easier to do by allowing your heels to lift off the floor, I recommend practicing (at least the “down” version) with your feet flat and your knees a little more bent that normally - in other words, take a seat! If you can do this move without lifting your heels from the floor, it will help you define the move more and you will be able to add level changes later as you like.

• Snake Arms - Snake arms actually start in the shoulders and move to the fingers. It is easiest to start with one arm. Hold your arm out to the side (elbow should be relaxed) and roll your shoulder to the front, up, back and down. As you are doing this, let the movement travel down your arm towards your fingers. You should get a wave-like movement traveling from your shoulder to your elbow to your fingers. Try this several times and then repeat with the other arm.Once you are comfortable doing this movement one arm at a time, try it with both. The secret to doing both arms is to start with one and then follow with the other. When one shoulder is up, the other should be down; when one is back, the other should be front; and so on.Remember, if you keep your arms from tensing up, the movement will flow easier, so stop every once in a while and relax.

• Posture - First thing’s first: how to stand. Your feet should be planted firmly on the floor pointing forward and slightly apart. Your knees should be slightly bent. Your back should be straight, shoulders relaxed and your pelvis “tucked.” Periodically stop and check your posture and take the time to “re-center” yourself if needed.

• Hip Slides - Slide your hips to the right and then back to the center. Slide left and then back to center. Slide front and then back to center. Slide back and then to center. Be sure you are isolating your hips. Try it holding your arms out to the side to help keep your torso out of the movement This is a flat move, meaning it will be parallel to the floor.

• Hip Circles - For the hip circle, use your hips to draw a circle on the floor. Start by sliding your hips to the right and then bring them back to center. Slide your hips to the back and bring them back to center. Slide left and back to center. Slide front and back to center. Do this several times (and again in reverse) until you are comfortable with finding your compass points. This will help with extension so that you can make your hip circles larger or smaller depending on how you want them. Next, you will draw a diamond on the floor. Slide your hips front, then right, then to the back, left and then back to the front. Try this a few times and remember to reverse the move so you will be comfortable going both directions. Finally, round the move out. Circle clockwise and then counter-clockwise. Make your circles larger and then smaller. While you are watching yourself in the mirror, be sure this move is “flat” and try to isolate your hips from your torso. The best way I have found to keep my upper body out of the move is to hold my arms at about shoulder height, elbows slightly relaxed and pointing to the back of the room, but try holding your arms at a few different positions to find what is easiest for you.

• Hip Lifts - “Dups” are done by lowering one hip straight down. Stand in your basic posture and sharply lower your right hip. Next, lower your left hip. This creates an up/down motion in your hips. It is a very sharp move and involves movement in your legs (bending your knee slightly on the down side and straightening it slightly on the up side). Personally, I find this one of the easier moves to isolate. This is a vertical move, so be sure not to twist. Also, this move will work better if your knees are slightly more relaxed than normally.

• Rib Cage Slides - Slide your ribcage to the right and then back to the center. Slide left and then back to center. Slide front and then back to center. Slide back and then to center. Be sure you are only moving your ribcage. I usually place my hands on my hips to help myself isolate my chest moves. This is a flat move, meaning it will be parallel to the floor.

• Rib Cage Circles - The horizontal rib circle is done by isolating the ribcage and drawing a circle on the floor. Start by finding the points of your compass. Slide your ribcage to the right and then back to the center. Slide front and then back to center. Slide left and then back to center. Slide back and then to center. Do this a few times until you are comfortable with the four points. Try it again reversing the movements. Next step, slide your ribcage right, then front, left, back and right without going back to the center. Try this a few times (you are actually drawing a diamond at this point) and reverse it just for practice. Now you can try smoothing this movement out into a circle. Repeat your circle a few times and remember to reverse your movements. Isolation is a big part of making this an effective move. Practice in front of a mirror and concentrate on keeping the movement in your ribcage. Relax though, it is easier to isolate if you aren’t tense. Also, this is a “flat” move - don’t tilt or twist your ribcage.

• Up-Down Shimmy - A very basic hip shimmy is driven by your knees. Start off in your basic posture with your knees soft. Straighten your right knee while keeping your left relaxed. Now straighten your left knee and relax your right. Do this at a slower speed a few times until you are comfortable with the move. Notice how it vibrates your hips. Speed the move up and you have a shimmy. Practice this move both with your feet flat on the floor and demi-pointe (on the balls of the feet). You will get a slightly different move depending on how your feet are, so it is best to get used to doing it both ways so you can adapt to how you want the dance to look. Remember to isolate! Try to keep the rest of your body out of the shimmy, this will help later when you learn to layer moves.

Starting next week, I will start posting the moves that I am teaching in my beginner belly dance class.  It is a six-week course and I will post each weeks lesson. I’m working on adding video to my blog to keep these lessons moving along.

So start visiting next week and we’ll start dancing from the beginning.

Happy Hips!

Tighten and release the upper set several times. Do the same with the middle set and the lower set. This will help you get a feel for the muscles. When you tighten and release the middle muscles, you will get a “pooch” - don’t be self-conscious of it, it helps you see what you are doing.

To roll the belly, tighten the lower set of muscles, then the middle, then the top. Now release the top set, the middle and the lower. It’s not as easy as it sounds and this will require a lot of work. I learned laying on my back, so try that if needed.

Remember to breathe during all of this. It is tempting to hold your breath.

Start in your basic stance with your arms held out to the side and do a couple basic hip circles (drawing your circle on the floor) to get in rhythm. As you take the hip circle to the back, lean your upper body forward. When the circle comes to the left, lean your upper body to the right. When your hips come to the front, your upper body goes back and when the hips are right, the upper body is to the left. Don’t forget to try this move in reverse!

Adjust your stance so that your feet are a little further apart and now try the move. Try it leaning further as well as making your lean slighter. You might try the move so that you are standing straight in place of the lean back or lean forward. Feel how the move differs with each adjustment you make.

When you are comfortable with the move, try moving your arms. What I like to do is bring my arms together and cross my hands in front of me when I am leaning forward and then move them so they are out to the sides again when I am leaning back.

Start in your basic stance. Tuck your pelvis forward, roll the move up and drop your ribs (you will be in a slight slouch - please note that this is when someone will decide to take your picture!), and straighten your body by releasing the tuck and straightening your shoulders and back.

To make this move a little easier, combine it with a camel. So you will camel down with your body and then body wave up.

Let’s try a camel today. A camel is an undulation that starts at the top. Begin in your basic stance (feet planted firmly on the floor pointing forward and slightly apart, knees should be slightly bent, your back should be straight, shoulders relaxed and your pelvis “tucked.”). Slide your ribcage forward, lift it up (so you are leaning very slightly back), drop it down. (This move will bring you into the center of your body.) Your stomach and hips will be forward. Roll your stomach in and bring your hips back. You should be back in your basic stance now.

The move sounds complicated, but with a little practice it gets easier. Be sure to watch your posture, the basic camel takes you a little bit out of bellydance posture - if you begin to feel any pain, please please please stop.

Your stomach will “roll” when you do this move. Try watching yourself in a mirror from the side and see how your body makes an “S” (backwards, but still an “S”).

Repeat the move until you are comfortable with it. This can be used as a traveling move by moving a foot forward (or to the diagonal) when you bring your ribcage forward or by moving a foot backward when your ribcage comes forward.

Start with your feet together. Step forward on your right foot. Slide your left foot to the right so it is behind your right foot. Now, swing your right foot around your left foot so it is behind and slightly to the left of your left foot. Slide your left foot to the left - it will be next to your right foot, but slightly forward. The key to this move is remembering that your right foot only moves forward and backward and your left foot only moves left and right. Repeat the move until you are comfortable with it. After you are comfortable with the footwork, you can accentuate the hip circle that it brings about naturally by extending your hip a little farther in the direction you are stepping.

With the Egyptian hip circle, try to keep your head stationary - imagine that you are balancing something. The move is much more effective when it is just your lower body moving.

The Egyptian hip circle can also be used to turn around. The footwork is as follows: Right foot forward. Slide left foot to the right and turn the foot slightly in to the left. Swing the right foot behind and slightly to the left of the left foot. Slide your left foot to the left and it will be next to the right foot and slightly forward. You should now be facing to the left of where you were originally. You can repeat this move circling all the way around and accentuate the hip circle as you get more comfortable with it. Remember to keep your head in the same spot so the move is well defined.

A down step (to the side) is just a little more complicated. Start flat footed and use your right foot to step right. As you’re doing this, slightly lift your right hip and as you come down on your right foot, stay demi-pointe. Now bring your right hip down in a sharp move. Bring your left foot in as you normally would on a side step. Repeat until you are comfortable with the move. Try it going left now.

Some tips: try this while holding your arms out to the side and remember to keep the move in your lower body. Smaller steps are better, big steps look awkward and are harder to do.