I started learning bellydancing in the mid ‘70’s and there was far less information available on bellydance than there is today.  My belly dance instructor had a certain way of teaching the torso undulation, but I simply couldn’t master it using her directions.  I devoured every book written on the subject and still had no luck in being able to do this important basic move.  I also studied with master teachers at various workshops around the country and had no luck with their approaches either (although other dancers were certainly able to learn the undulation from these great instructors).

I’ll never forget the day I finally ‘got it’.  It was about 7 months into my instruction and I was practicing alone at home.  I was dutifully remembering all the instructions I had ever received on the move, but when I looked in my mirror, I saw myself still unable to gracefully undulate my torso.  I was so frustrated I started to cry and finally said, “To heck with this, I’m going to try it my own way!” (Well, I said more than that and the language I used was a lot stronger).

It was at that moment that I decided to empty my mind of all the verbal and written instruction I had so far received and just visualize the move in my mind’s eye and feel it out with my body.  I closed my eyes and imitated the move that I was visualizing in my head.  Lo and behold, when I opened my eyes and looked in the mirror I was doing a beautiful, fluid undulation!  I almost cried again, this time with happiness!

I kept doing the movement for a while to cement it into my muscle memory.  There was no doubt about it  – I had the move.  So then, I decided to figure out just what it was that I was doing and realized that the major component of the torso undulation (specifically, the upper torso undulation) was a vertical circular motion of the ribcage.  By rolling the ribcage in a circle that was vertical to the floor, it forced my lower torso to move in an opposite direction, creating the torso wave that defines the undulation.  I was able to break down the undulation even further and create a simple, but thorough method for mastering it.  (For this breakdown of the undulation, go to: http://www.bellydancingvideo.com/ribcage-circles.htm)

When I started teaching belly dance classes in 1976, I used this method to teach the undulation and right from the start it was a great success.  Most of my students were able to ‘get’ the undulation from their very first lesson!  In 1985, I presented this method in my first belly dance instruction video “Bellydance! Magical Motion”.  “Magical Motion” became a national and international bestseller. It was one of the first belly dance videos (and quite possibly the first) to be distributed to the public-at-large by major distribution companies in the U.S. and Europe (even being dubbed and packaged in foreign languages).  It’s been very rewarding to see how many instructors around the world are now using this method for teaching the undulation – all because one day long ago I finally said, “to heck with it, I’m going to try it my way”!

So, perhaps the most important lesson I learned from the frustrating experience I had in learning the undulation is that sometimes you just have to let go of everything the experts tell you and find your own way, trusting your own ability to visualize, feel, and intuit what it is you’re trying to do.  Who knows, by trying it your own way you may even be able to inspire others as well as yourself.  What the heck, it’s worth a try!

To be a real bellydancer, you need to be proficient at performing entire dances using authentic bellydance belly dance moves and techniques. In authentic bellydance, there’s a standard vocabulary of classic movements (with many variations) and there are certain techniques for applying these movements to music. (For more information on classic belly dance moves and techniques, go to http://www.bellydancingvideo.com/core-belly-dance-moves.htm).

You also need to be proficient at applying the classic moves and techniques to a variety of tempos of belly dance music. There are also different styles of belly dancing music and a bellydancer should be familiar with the most important ones. (For more information on styles of bellydance music, see http://www.bellydancingvideo.com/choosing-belly-dance-music.htm).

It’s a lot of fun to add belly dance moves when you do other types of dancing. Belly dancing moves are beautiful. They add variety and dimension to the other types of dances that you enjoy, creating ‘fusion’ styles of dance.

Real bellydancing is an art form and to truly master it, a dancer must invest time and energy learning the classic movements, movement variations, and the ability to improvise and/or choreograph to the correct belly dance music. It’s not something that is done overnight. But if you make the effort and take the time to learn the art of bellydance in its’ full spectrum of classic moves and applications, you won’t think you’re a real bellydancer – you’ll be a real bellydancer!

In veil dancing, a bellydancer uses fabric that is lightweight and supple enough to float gracefully in the air so that she can create beautiful shapes and movement with it. To do this requires moving the arms and shoulders in a wide range of motion, with the arms often held or moved above waist level. It takes far more strength and flexibility than it appears, as any beginning belly dance student can attest. Yet veil dancing is so much fun that most bellydancers continue to practice it for the exercise as well as for the art (for more information on the value of exercising the arms with belly dance movement, see my blog “Beautiful Arms – Strong Heart”).

If you want a fast method to bulk up your arms and upper body, using weights is the way to go. But adding veil dancing to your workout regimen can give you a wide range of motion for your muscles and joints as well as a good aerobic component. You’ll be surprised at how a few of ounces of silky fabric can translate into grace, flexibility, and strength for your arms and upper body.

Until recently, there were no belly dance schools, public classes, or organized belly dance curriculums in the Middle East. For the most part, belly dance schools, public instruction, and organized teaching methods started in the United States in the 1950’s and ‘60’s and spread around the world. Now belly dance schools and belly dance classes are becoming more common in Arabic countries as East continues to meet West and cultures mingle.

Because American women didn’t have the opportunity to grow up with belly dance moves as part of their culture, many of them found it more difficult to learn the dance the traditional way – by observation and imitation. In addition, many American belly dance students performed the dance in public venues such as student recitals, community events, and nightclubs (something considered shameful and not culturally accepted in the Middle East). Especially for professional performing, a higher degree of skill is required than can be mastered by simply observing and imitating other bellydancers. For Americans, new methods of learning bellydance had to be developed.

Since Americans learn how to read and write by learning the ABC’s, this method has been successfully applied to learning how to bellydance. Many American belly dance teachers have analyzed classic and traditional bellydance and have organized the basic movements into a format similar to an alphabet. To learn how to read and write, you first learn the letters of the alphabet, then simple words, and sentences. From there you learn more complex words, paragraphs, and story structure. You can learn bellydancing in a similar fashion by starting with the most basic movements, the belly dance ‘alphabet’. By first learning the basic moves in their simplist form, you can then go on to learning more complex moves, movement combinations, sequences, and whole dances.

Of course, every individual is different in what learning methods work best for him or her. However, I remember a few years ago when the American school system tried to introduce a new method of learning how to read. It was called the ‘whole word’ method and it taught children to read by having them memorizing whole words rather than learning the alphabet first. The method was a disaster (at least for American students) and schools around the country quickly went back to teaching the basic ABC’s.

So if you’re a beginning belly dance student, you may be able to learn the dance by watching other accomplished bellydancers perform, or you may also be able to learn by being taught complex movements and movement combinations right from the start. But if these methods fail you, you may want to try learning the most basic movements first, the ABC’s of bellydance. From that simple foundation, you’ll be on solid footing for creating your own beautiful stories with bellydance.

There are many types of shimmies in bellydance, but for most bellydancers the easiest to do are the basic hip shimmies. These are the most commonly performed and despite their relative simplicity, they’re dynamic movements. The basic hip shimmy can be done either as an isolated forward & back (horizontal twisting) motion of the hips, or an up & down (vertical) motion of the hips. Each individual dancer will find that either the horizontal hip shimmy or the vertical hip shimmy is easier to do. I always tell my beginning students that it doesn’t matter which one they prefer. Both shimmies look virtually identical, so what’s important is that the student tries both and then practices the one that feels the most natural for her body type and is the easiest to do. More experienced bellydancers may want to master both shimmies so they can perform advanced layering techniques and sustained shimmy sequences. Of course, if any of the other belly dance shimmies are preferred by a dancer (shoulder shimmies, knee vibration shimmies, etc.) that’s OK too.

You’ll find that whether you’re shimmying by yourself or receiving an enthusiastic response from an appreciative audience, shimmies are some of the most magical of all belly dance moves.

An undulation is a wave motion, a fundamental form of energy found in nature and throughout the universe.  Sound, water, and light move in waves and practicing undulations can entrain our mind and body to the symmetry and power of this universal energy.  On a more mundane level, the undulation is fantastic exercise for the physical body.  It manipulates the spine, vertebrae by vertebrae, in a gentle but thorough manner.  It targets core muscles and works many other muscles between the neck and pelvis.  Because it rhythmically moves and massages the spine and spinal cord, it has both a relaxing and energizing effect on the central nervous system, soothing and empowering your spirit and emotions.  In addition, the undulation is fun to do and is such a gracefully beautiful movement that belly dancers look and feel beautiful performing it.

Most belly dance instructors favor one method or another for teaching the upper torso undulation.  I developed a method in the mid-70’s that has been very successful in helping my students to learn the undulation quickly and easily.  In this approach I have the students first learn the focal point of the move – the vertical ribcage circle.  Once the vertical ribcage circle is accomplished, it’s easy to allow the lower torso to naturally follow the ribcage in opposition, completing the movement (for a more detailed break-down of my method of undulation instruction, go to: http://www.bellydancingvideo.com/ribcage-circles.htm).  The circular move of the upper torso followed by a similar, but opposite move in the lower torso creates the wave effect that characterizes the essence of a torso undulation.

The instruction that I (or other teachers) give is a basic roadmap to a movement.  Everyone is unique and each student needs to take that roadmap and modify it to her own body type, personality, and belly dance style.  So when I tell a student to create a vertical circle with her ribcage, it doesn’t have to be a perfect 360-degree circle.  For example, on some body types, a ribcage circle that is more oblong vertically, or more oblong horizontally, may look and feel better to that particular individual.  Or a slight change in the positioning of the feet may make an improved motion.  In any event, the basic points of a movement roadmap are very important to follow, but all moves can, and should, be slightly modified for each bellydancer.

To perfect your belly dance movements, it’s important to first follow the roadmap given by a competent belly dance instructor.  After you understand the basic roadmap, you can experiment and polish the belly dance move to best fit your body type and personality.  Once the move feels and looks right on you, you’ve got it mastered for your own personal expression of bellydance.  How perfect is that?

When you do belly dance moves that bend your knees and lower your center of gravity, your leg muscles get increased activity. To further intensify this effect you can do floor work, which is dancing while kneeling, sitting, or reclining on the floor. The deeper your level change and the closer to the floor you get, the more strenuous the leg exercise becomes (and the more difficult it is). Of course, as with all our belly dance moves, it’s always important to pay close attention to your body and not push yourself to the point of injury.

Many belly dance moves can be done either with the knees straight or with the knees bent. Bending your knees up and down as you do hip moves, torso isolations, and arm or upper body techniques, will add variety to your bellydance as well as target your leg muscles. Bending the knees to the point where one knee or both knees touch the ground brings you into the realm of floor work (best done on a carpet). While kneeling with both knees touching the ground you’ll notice the intensified effect in the upper legs and glutes as you do hip twists, shimmies, circles, etc., especially if you raise and lower your hips as you do so. Doing torso undulations in this position also deeply works this area as well as effectively working your core.

There are many other floor work techniques in the kneeling, sitting, or reclining positions that you can do to thoroughly sculpt your legs and glutes. So if you wish to focus on more than just your core and upper body, get down on your knees and bellydance.

We bellydancers can do the same trick using the tools of our trade. For example, belly dance hip scarves are beautiful with their colorful fabric and shiny coins. Draping them nicely in a noticeable area of our dancing space will catch our eye every time we enter the room. This will make it more likely that we’ll take a few moments to put our hip scarf on and dance a bit (and every little bit helps for exercise and stress reduction!).

We can also display our veils and finger cymbals where we can easily access them. They add a wonderful and exotic touch of décor to our living space and they help remind us that we are beautiful bellydancers. When our belly dance accessories are not ‘out of sight and out of mind’ they seem to call to us and to say, “Put me on – let’s belly dance!” And because they’re so much fun and so beautiful, we usually do.

Perhaps the hardest part of putting together a regular exercise regimen is finding a workout that’s effective (for me, it’s bellydancing), something that’s enjoyable (bellydancing again!), and finding the time to do it. Many Americans have less leisure time than ever, and it’s really challenging to fit exercising into a life that’s already too hectic. I talked about this a bit in my blog ‘3 Minute Belly Dance Workout’, but sometimes we can’t seem to fit even 3 minutes into our schedule. This is where multi-tasking comes in handy, and boy, some of my fellow bellydancers and students have come up with some very creative ways to multi-task with belly dance exercise. Here’re some of the ways they’ve managed to work out a bit without taking any extra time out of their day.

Driving: Many people spend a great deal of time sitting behind the steering wheel of their car. Some bellydancers use this time to practice small isolated movements like ribcage slides, lifts & drops, ribcage circles, belly rolls, and even stomach flutters. The idea is to work the muscles deep, but in small moves. This way you don’t affect your driving negatively, yet you still can exercise the core of your body in a full range of motion.

Sitting at a desk: As with driving, you can exercise your core with isolated ribcage and belly techniques as you sit. You can also do head slides & rolls and shoulder rotations.

Watching TV: Sometimes you just feel like you have to turn off your brain, collapse on your sofa, and turn on the TV. Yet this doesn’t have to be non-productive time. While you’re watching the tube you can sit up and do all of the belly dance moves I already mentioned. You can also do arm techniques such as arm waves (snake arms), hand waves, wrist rotations, and finger ripples.

Cooking: While you’re standing at the stove or microwave waiting for the water to boil or food to heat up, you can practice any standing belly dance technique such as hip moves, shimmies, and level changes. Why just stand there doing nothing?

Walking from room to room: If you’re home alone (or if you have family members/roommates who won’t laugh at you!), practice your traveling steps like the basic walk or walking shimmy. If you’re going to go from the living room to the kitchen, get a little exercise while you’re at it.

Standing in the checkout lane: This one is popular in the colder climates. If you’re standing in the checkout lane at the store and you’re covered in sweaters and a heavy coat, you can practice your belly rolls. If you do the belly roll correctly, no one will even notice you’re moving (I’m originally from Wisconsin and it’s true, we northern girls do it in our fur parkas!).

Showering & bathing: It’s fun to do torso undulations in the shower. Place your back under the showerhead and undulate your torso vertebrae by vertebrae. The water will massage your spine sequentially from top to bottom and it feels great! While bathing and reclining in the tub, you can practice belly rolls and stomach flutters. Many students have told me they’ve mastered the flutter this way, probably because the warm water made them so relaxed and comfortable.

It’s fun to think up new ways on how you can practice your belly dance moves while you’re doing other activities. By multi-tasking, not only do you ‘sneak’ in a little exercise, but you’re also training your body to do belly dance moves better. That’s because the more you repeat a movement, the more it becomes an automatic part of your muscle memory. A little practice ‘here and there’ really adds up. You can have a healthier body and become a more accomplished bellydancer without taking any extra time out of your busy life.

Some times belly dance students are surprised and somewhat confused when they see a bellydancer performing in sky-high heels, or when they see photos of models in belly dancing costumes wearing tall stilettos. They can tell that it’s not a comfortable way to dance and isn’t based on tradition. While stilettos may look ‘sexy’, they can take a tremendous toll on your body. Here are some of the conditions that wearing high heels can cause: foot deformities (hammertoes, corns, calluses, “pump bump”), back problems, knee osteoarthritis (a painful, degenerative joint disease), ankle sprains and breaks, pain in the ball of the foot (metatarsalgia), and nerves tumors between the toes (neuromas). How sexy is that?!

I tend to look at the excessive wearing of very high heels as a modern version of Chinese foot binding. Because of the discomfort, pain and damage stilettos can do to the body, the only reason most women wear them is that they’ve been conditioned to see high heels as ‘sexy’. There’s nothing wrong with being sexy, but there’s a time and place for everything. So maybe for the occasional party, nightclub, or bedroom love fest, stilettos can be fun. At least in the bedroom, if they have the desired effect they won’t stay on your feet very long!

For bellydancing, your costume choices are yours to make. But if you recognize that a healthy body is what’s truly sexy, then you may want to ditch the stilettos. I imagine that someday in a more enlightened future, people will look at the fashions of today and wonder why women chose to totter around on the balls of their feet with sticks under their heels. I don’t want to be one of the women they shake their heads in bewilderment at. Especially when I’m bellydancing, I like to have my feet flat on the ground.