Shimmies: A Sourcebook: "Turkish Twists" (Part 4)

The "Turkish" hip twist is a horizontal movement, with the hips swiveling front and back.  The navel moves with the hips.  There is no up and down movement in the hips.  In my dance experience, there are two very different moods that accompany this particular movement in the hips.  In a more "Turkish" style or gypsy style dance (as always be aware that these labels are always a bit arbitrary) the movement is smaller and faster.  In a more folkloric or Egyptian style version.  the feet may be wider with the movement resting more on one side.  

The video above shows a twisting movement broken down by "Coco Berlin" on YouTube.  At 1:58 minutes, she demonstrates the version that moves the weight from one leg to the other, creating the illusion of moving the shimmy or twist from one side to the other side.

The video available below from Delilah of Seattle's Visionary Dance Productions is one of the first videos I used when I was learning to dance.  Her videos are classics for learning!  This particular series is one of the first of its kind from Delilah's Belly Dance Workshop Series.

Next in this series, I'll break down what is often called the "Egyptian Walk."
The series: Shimmies: A Source Book.

Shimmies: A Sourcebook (Part 3): Three Quarter Shimmy

In class, we did this as a version of the walking shimmy.  The important part of this movement, whether walking or doing the movement in place, is shifting the weight smoothly from one leg to the other.  Reach out with the hip (envision your hip flexors as hands reaching).  Keep "mula-bandha" lifted and the breath relaxed.

 Finally, as with all of the hip shimmies, the lengthening through the torso is generated by a continuous drawing up and down.    "Mula-bandha" lifts as the tail bone extends (rather than clenches) toward the ground.  The solar plexus lifts as the shoulder blades extend down.  The heels ground down (if the foot is flat) as the arches of the feet lift up.

The above video from Geobeats Women's Fitness series is clear and a good visual aid.  There are many videos available on the subject.

Next . . .the "walking shimmy."
See the series under the label: "Shimmies: A Sourcebook"

Shimmies: A Sourcebook (Part 2): Egyptian Shimmy

The above video of Randa Kamal is from Youtube: http://youtu.be/lMkIIuNcAts

I love this Bhuz feed: "Can someone define Egyptian Shimmy, please?"  The answers on this thread define "Egyptian" shimmies as "leg driven," the knee pushing back, relatively recent in Egyptian style dance, and one taught by the belly dance guru/teacher from Egypt, Raqia Hassan.

In class, we discussed the importance of staying as relaxed as possible through the quads while doing this shimmy. The weight is one the whole foot; there is a tendency to sink back into the heels, which, as in yoga, makes mobility in the hamstrings less fluid.  The legs are alternating, the lower belly/pelvis is lifted (mulabandha helps if you do yoga), and the rib cage also lifts, which helps in fluidly isolating the upper and lower body.  The shoulders and neck are relaxed.  This shimmy is often done almost as a "resting shimmy,"and the dancer's upper body and arms are steady and free to express the music, balance a shamadan, play cymbals, etc.  The video of Randa Kamal (above) is helpful because her body is very visible.  This woman is so graceful and relaxed, the viewer almost misses how strong she is.

Here is a Youtube clip of two legends of Egyptian dance: Raqia Hassan and Mahmoud Reda:

Shimmy Sourcebook: Introduction

In recent classes, we've gone over a variety of shimmies.  The names for these shimmies are always changing, but for purpose of explanation, we've looked at "Egyptian shimmies," "Three-Quarter Shimmies," the "Egyptian Walk," the "Turkish Twist," and vibrations (or Friezes). (Remember, there are always more.) There are so many examples to choose from, but I have tried to find examples of these.  (As you can see from the photo, everybody shimmies now....so will you.)

(Photo: From Wikipedia Commons.)

Belly Dance Class at NYU begins this Week!

SPRING BELLY DANCE CLASSES
COLES GYM

Improve body awareness, flexibility, and muscle tone with this powerful, feminine art form inspired by the music and rhythms of the Middle East.  All classes cover hip isolations, shimmies, snaky undulations, and veil dance technique.  Intermediate classes include choreographies and folkloric styles.

Level 1: (230.1) Fridays, 3:30-4:25 p.m.

IN-PERSON REGISTRATION AT COLES GYM: 

Tues., January 28^th 8:00am-1:00pm and 4:00-8:00pm

Wed., January 29, noon-8 p.m.

ONLINE REGISTRATION Through Wednesday, January 29,  8 a.m.

http://www.gonyuathletics.com/recreation

Classes Begin:  Friday, January 31, 2014

Fall Belly Dance Classes at NYU

Fall Belly Dance Class Registration has begun at  

NYU Coles Gym.

Level 1: (230.1) Fridays, 3:30-4:25 p.m.

Level 2: (231.1) Fridays, 4:30-5:25 p.m.

IN-PERSON REGISTRATION AT COLES GYM: 

Tues., Sept. 10^th 8:00am-1:00pm and 4:00-8:00pm

Wed., Sept. 11, 12 noon-8:00pm

ONLINE REGISTRATION Through Wednesday, Sept. 11.  11 p.m.

http://www.gonyuathletics.com/recreation

Classes Begin:  Friday, Sept. 13, 2013

Improve body awareness, flexibility, and muscle tone with this powerful, feminine art form inspired by the music and rhythms of the Middle East.  All classes cover hip isolations, shimmies, snaky undulations, and veil dance technique.  Intermediate classes include choreographies and folkloric styles.

Thinking of Egypt.....1874

British novelist Amelia B. Edwards' memoir
(from the digital archives of the
University of Pennsylvania.)

For the past two months, I've been immersed in a project set in Egypt, specifically the Nile between Thebes and the First Cataract, circa 1874, and have not stayed on top of 2013 events as I should be.  For the most part, I've been checking headlines at trusted sources.  However, as I read accounts by Americans and Europeans traveling up and down the Nile in that different era, I keep running into the deep misconceptions and fears these wealthier or mission-driven outsiders had about both place and people, misconceptions that seem so egregious and obvious to readers now.  What will seem obvious in the next 100 years about this painful transition as we watch and unfortunately judge so much (and so loudly) from the outside?

Notes from my comfortable confines: a few of the works I've been looking at in particular, are the travelogue Murray's Handbook for Travelers in Egypt (1860s) and Amelia Edwards' 1000 Miles Up the Nile.  Despite its dated attitudes and perspective, the information and detail of the British novelist's voice bring the river alive and with well-intended affection.  Earlier this spring, in my class on Biography at the CUNY-Grad Center, I had the good fortune to be assigned, Lytton Strachey's "The End of General Gordon,"which takes place in Upper Egypt in close to the same year. This short work takes a direct hit at late Victorian colonialism in Strachey's signature, darkly humorous style, and reveals the short-sightedness and narcissism that ignites misuse of power. My project is not  political in nature, but views offered from this very particular window sadden further what I see happening now.

Transitions.....