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Bellydancers
- Thread starter Macrina
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I have just ordered 2 DVDs of Jenna: Basics and Beyond and Heartbeat of Belly Dance! I cant wait already!!
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Hey Im really really enjoying this thread! It is so nice to come here and share belly dance stuff! I really find it a great encouragement!
Today I put in Instant Belly Dancer DVD vol 1 havent used it for a while, was busy with no 2, So today I started from the very beginning and really it is amazing how coming back to the program you thought you learnt you still can discover new stuff! With Neon thathappened to me more than once!
So the simple chest circle can get totally different look, if you do it as Neon shows it, the idea is to make it sort of 3D by arching back and lifting chest at the front part of the move, it looks totally different if you do not do that lift!! I have followed Neon's instructions before, but this time I really tried to accentuate that lift and was quite stunned!(I always struggle with stiff back...lol)
Today I put in Instant Belly Dancer DVD vol 1 havent used it for a while, was busy with no 2, So today I started from the very beginning and really it is amazing how coming back to the program you thought you learnt you still can discover new stuff! With Neon thathappened to me more than once!
So the simple chest circle can get totally different look, if you do it as Neon shows it, the idea is to make it sort of 3D by arching back and lifting chest at the front part of the move, it looks totally different if you do not do that lift!! I have followed Neon's instructions before, but this time I really tried to accentuate that lift and was quite stunned!(I always struggle with stiff back...lol)
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It is really interesting to see how different dancers do all the different moves. Not to mention the different names they have for the different moves, which is deeply annoying. 
I used Jenna's DVD for my workout this morning. I'm kind of alternating between more "technique" oriented sessions and "dance" oriented sessions, if that makes sense. Jenna's DVD is 2.5 hours long, and if I do the first hour (starting with the warmup) it's a great lesson on technique. Not as thrilling as when you get to actually dance, but going back to it frequently is helping me get the posture and stuff right.
It's so cool that I can do all these different kinds of circles and figure eights now. I love it, and now when I bop around on my own trying to dance, I actually have some moves to do!
One thing I wish I had a better handle on, though, is the sliding hip circle -- the one where you don't bend from your waist (Jenna calls that one the arcing hip circle). It seems like I always get a little arc in the slide, or else I feel like I'm swinging my upper body around too much. Hmm.
I used Jenna's DVD for my workout this morning. I'm kind of alternating between more "technique" oriented sessions and "dance" oriented sessions, if that makes sense. Jenna's DVD is 2.5 hours long, and if I do the first hour (starting with the warmup) it's a great lesson on technique. Not as thrilling as when you get to actually dance, but going back to it frequently is helping me get the posture and stuff right.
It's so cool that I can do all these different kinds of circles and figure eights now. I love it, and now when I bop around on my own trying to dance, I actually have some moves to do!
One thing I wish I had a better handle on, though, is the sliding hip circle -- the one where you don't bend from your waist (Jenna calls that one the arcing hip circle). It seems like I always get a little arc in the slide, or else I feel like I'm swinging my upper body around too much. Hmm.
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I think Neon also has it right in the beginning of the vol 1... And YES the confusion with terminology is killing me!
I have no clue what a sliding hip circle is! LOL Ok since there is 2 main ones, the ones is with leaning the torso and the other one without, so that must be the one that Neon gives second!
In class I was tought to keep that movement flat- just slide forward-side-back-side, but again Neon teaches as a 3D move- contract lower tummy muscules at the front lift the hip at the side part of the move and at the back part pretend that you are lifting your tail...LOL... so the backside lifts up...thus you get not a flat circle, but sort of 3D! I guesss these are just 2 variants of the move!
And what you mean by arc in the slide I have no clue, especially if Jenna calls it ARCing hip circle
...LOL
I have no clue what a sliding hip circle is! LOL Ok since there is 2 main ones, the ones is with leaning the torso and the other one without, so that must be the one that Neon gives second!
In class I was tought to keep that movement flat- just slide forward-side-back-side, but again Neon teaches as a 3D move- contract lower tummy muscules at the front lift the hip at the side part of the move and at the back part pretend that you are lifting your tail...LOL... so the backside lifts up...thus you get not a flat circle, but sort of 3D! I guesss these are just 2 variants of the move!
And what you mean by arc in the slide I have no clue, especially if Jenna calls it ARCing hip circle
...LOL
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Heh, you have to do Jenna's and I have to do Neon's, so we'll each know what the other is saying!
So the thing with the two kinds of hip circles. Think about just the side-to-side hip movements first. There's the hip slide, where you keep the hips level as you go from side to side, and then there's what Jenna calls the "arc," in which you swing your hips in that sort of U-shape. So if you imagine one hip circle where the two sides are the same as the two in the slide, and another circle where the two sides are the same as the one in the arc, maybe that gets at what I mean. If not, wait till you get Basics and Beyond... !
So the thing with the two kinds of hip circles. Think about just the side-to-side hip movements first. There's the hip slide, where you keep the hips level as you go from side to side, and then there's what Jenna calls the "arc," in which you swing your hips in that sort of U-shape. So if you imagine one hip circle where the two sides are the same as the two in the slide, and another circle where the two sides are the same as the one in the arc, maybe that gets at what I mean. If not, wait till you get Basics and Beyond...
!
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that sounds to me like a hip figure 8 ...LOL But actually that would surely help to know what both instructors call it! Oh I remember that flat hip cirle someone described as moving your hips inside of a hula-hoop, sliding your hips touching the inside of the hula-hoop.
But if you do it Neon's way then your "hula-hoop" will be tilting diagonally, when inthe 1st variant it will stay flat horizontally.
I wonder if Jenna teaches some other variant of it...LOL
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No, I wasn't talking about figure 8s.
The hula-hoop image might be helpful for me. But I'm going to get it down on the level before I try tilting it.
The hula-hoop image might be helpful for me. But I'm going to get it down on the level before I try tilting it.
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I think I am starting to understand what you mean by 2 U-arcs.... Took me a while! so thre must be 2 variants of the hip circle(the one without leaning the body)... Neon only gives one... I think the same with chest circle I assume...
What is killing me is vertical hip figure-8, apart from the fact that I struggle to do it keeping my heels on the floor, my right hip seems to want to pop out of its socket!
What is killing me is vertical hip figure-8, apart from the fact that I struggle to do it keeping my heels on the floor, my right hip seems to want to pop out of its socket!
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Yeah, there are multiple kinds of circles for both the lower and upper body.
The vertical figure 8 is tricky. I can do it if I exaggerate the movements and have my feet farther apart than they're supposed to be -- Amira suggests practicing it that way to get it down, then putting your feet closer together. It's coming along for me, but it's far from graceful. It looks kind of like a potty dance.
The vertical figure 8 is tricky. I can do it if I exaggerate the movements and have my feet farther apart than they're supposed to be -- Amira suggests practicing it that way to get it down, then putting your feet closer together. It's coming along for me, but it's far from graceful. It looks kind of like a potty dance.
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Hey thank you so much for the tip! I have just tried it and it actually works! I could only get it before with lifting the heels off the floor!(which is possible if you do a side step, looks really cool), but now I know how to work on it! Thanks!
This is one of my favourite moves(of course not when I am doing it...LOl) especially if it is done with a level change, you know, squatting or going up!
I wonder if one should try to get the hip as far to the side as possible, or should it be more "centered"...
This is one of my favourite moves(of course not when I am doing it...LOl) especially if it is done with a level change, you know, squatting or going up!
I wonder if one should try to get the hip as far to the side as possible, or should it be more "centered"...
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Glad it helped!
I don't know about how far out the hip should go... I like the way it looks when the movement is small and contained. I think most of the moves look more impressive that way.
I don't know about how far out the hip should go... I like the way it looks when the movement is small and contained. I think most of the moves look more impressive that way.
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I also think that one should start it with the knees slightly bent, and the main point is to keep the movement flat- vertical, and make it REALLY smooth... it just ROCKS!
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Found Sera's video on youtube....geez she is spoooky... yuck!... and I dont really like the music, but she is soooo in control of her body! This is really amazing! I love the way she uses her arms, though what she does in the performance from "east coast tribal" can not probably considered oriental dance... they call it tribal fusion... mixture of oriental and modern dancing...
Geez I would really love to be able to use my arms like that!
I think what is really important is to develop flexibility and smoothness of the moves, which I really lack, then whatever dance you do it will look great!
Geez I would really love to be able to use my arms like that!
I think what is really important is to develop flexibility and smoothness of the moves, which I really lack, then whatever dance you do it will look great!
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Yeah, I think so much of it comes down to developing the muscles. I'm focusing on that... it'll be a long time before I have the ab control of Rachel Brice, but it gives me something to aim for.
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Oh, and as for the fusion stuff... I think that's really neat, and I've seen some clips of nice dancing in various "fusion" styles... but I really want to focus on the small, contained, fluid torso movements. That's what I think is so awesome about the dance.
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I am really looking for some excercises for lower abs... I have no problem "locating" my upper abs, ut as for lower abs, I am not in control of them! That's why all my attempts to learn "belly rolls" failed miserably! I am just not able to distinguish between them! If I contract my tummy muscules they either contract all of them or just the upper abs!I know that some ppl do it naturally, without any explanation or excersices, like my mom, I told het that was the move I liked andshe just did it! Even my fiance can do it! LOL he told me he could do belly rolls since he was small.Wonder what excersices I could use to develop my lower abs....
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