Undulations

Nebetmiw

Member
I'm going to add this to my list of misnamed moves along with the "taqsim" :( Why? Because Egyptian undulations are pelvic only. The whole chest circle thing is not part of the Arabic dance vocab. Sigh!

This is one reason I choose to work with Egyptian. Since I have an upper rod in my back upper body undulation are impossible. Now my lower are really good though. :)
 

GypsyStacey

New member
GypsyStacey:
First of all: What part of the body do you try to undulate?
Is is the belly? or is it your hands? Arms? Torso? Head? Legs? Or is it both the chest, belly and pelvis? Is the movement up and down or sideways?


Aniseteph:
I've heard that as well, i.e. variations of it.. And I have heard at least 4 different explanations on the move called "the camel".

The dvd that was showing it was using the chest, belly & pelvis. my instructor hasn't touched on the yet so i'm not going to overly think about them & do the best i can when i practice at home & wait until my instructor teaches them.
 

Daimona

Moderator
The dvd that was showing it was using the chest, belly & pelvis. my instructor hasn't touched on the yet so i'm not going to overly think about them & do the best i can when i practice at home & wait until my instructor teaches them.

Ah! This one can be parted in three different moves.

For the undulation downwards:
  1. Chest; Make a chest circle forwards and up:
    • Push forwards
    • Lift up
    • Pull backwards/in
    • Pull down
  2. Bellyroll that starts just below the diaphragm and roll downwards. Read Shira's instruction. Video here.
    • Pull in upper part of belly.
    • Pull in lower part of belly while gradually releasing upper part.
  3. Pelvis wave (a nice German illustration) or pelvis circle forwards and up.This one might be easier to do with one foot slightly in front of the other.
If you start with the chest circle, the belly roll starts at the end of the circle while it is coming down. It meets the pelvis wave/circle just before you release the tuck.


And of course it is possible to do the undulations with just the chest circle and bellyroll (like this video; "upper undulation") or bellyroll and pelvis wave/circle (like this video; "lower undulation").
It is also possible to add the head and make it really big (American; not ME as far as I've understood).


I hope this help you on your way.


And speaking of ”the camel”, I’ve heard it used for just the pelvic wave/circle, the combination of pelvic wave/circle and bellyroll and all of the above, both with or without walking with it. And I’ve heard other explanations for it….
 
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jenc

New member
How about Jillina's explanation

chest lift - push out upper abs - push out lower abs (belly) pull it back in

Oh and I fin I do better undulations if I move straight into a one hip circle or an ommi
 

Amanda (was Aziyade)

Well-known member
Shareen el Safy taught a more vertical chest-belly-belly undulation as an Egyptian movement, and I'm quite sure I've seen a young Fifi do it.

The Ferris Wheel type chest circle I've seen on Turkish videos from the 80s. I think that's where the Americans get it. I agree this isn't Egyptian. Yet. LOL.


I actually quite like Suhaila's "Interior Undulation" which is composed of a chest lift (contraction in the upper back) then a contraction in the upper abs, followed by a contraction in the lower abs. It feels as if the movement is lifting up and rolling back down and into the body. To me it's more "visceral" than a ferris wheel type of undulation, although I do like the one Jillina teaches, as described above. ScarlettDancer is using that in her class, and I haven't practiced it in ages, so it's like learning a new move for me. Looks great with flat-ball-ball-ball footwork, traveling around in a circle around oneself.
 

GypsyStacey

New member
well they are coming my teacher did have us doing the ferris wheel type chest circle so i'm thinking with practice it will come.
 

Nebetmiw

Member
Shareen el Safy taught a more vertical chest-belly-belly undulation as an Egyptian movement, and I'm quite sure I've seen a young Fifi do it.

The Ferris Wheel type chest circle I've seen on Turkish videos from the 80s. I think that's where the Americans get it. I agree this isn't Egyptian. Yet. LOL.


I actually quite like Suhaila's "Interior Undulation" which is composed of a chest lift (contraction in the upper back) then a contraction in the upper abs, followed by a contraction in the lower abs. It feels as if the movement is lifting up and rolling back down and into the body. To me it's more "visceral" than a ferris wheel type of undulation, although I do like the one Jillina teaches, as described above. ScarlettDancer is using that in her class, and I haven't practiced it in ages, so it's like learning a new move for me. Looks great with flat-ball-ball-ball footwork, traveling around in a circle around oneself.


Suhailas is the one I can do naturally. For some reason it is how I do my belly rolls too.
 

LadyLoba

New member
I can do an upper body undulation...the one that starts with the chest that a lot of people call a "camel." But a "reverse camel" aka "lower undulation"...

I am so stuck on that...
 

Farasha Hanem

New member
I can do an upper body undulation...the one that starts with the chest that a lot of people call a "camel." But a "reverse camel" aka "lower undulation"...

I am so stuck on that...

:think: From what I've learned in my class, and on the instructional DVD's I have, the camel is a full-body move, not just an "upper body" move. I'm not a teacher by any means, but hopefully, I can explain in a way that makes sense (note to bd instructors: if I make any mistakes or am unclear in my explanation, please correct it; thank you in advance). :)

Are you rolling your body all the way down to your buttocks, ending in a "seated" position? If you're only moving your upper body, then you're simply doing an upper-body undulation. For the camel, stand with your feet shoulder-length apart, in "belly dance stance" (shoulders straight, knees slightly bent, pelvis and abs tucked in). It helps to have one foot slightly forward. Start with your chest, bring it forward, and roll all the way down your body until your buttocks are in a seated position. In the reverse camel, you just simple go back the way you came, if that makes sense. Think of yourself as "getting up" out of your imaginary chair by tilting the pelvis back in, and reverse-rolling until you end with your chest.

Try rolling your body down, then up several times consecutively until you get the hang of it. :)

I hope that explanation helps. :confused:
 

Belly Love

New member
I have a more simple question- undulations seem like a continuous movement from one part of the body to another. Is it done continuously and done as sectioned movements, and if so, I fee like I'm just making my chest go in a circle... I don't really feel like it's a "movement". Is that just because it's a small one or am I possibly not doing it correctly?
 

Farasha Hanem

New member
I have a more simple question- undulations seem like a continuous movement from one part of the body to another. Is it done continuously and done as sectioned movements, and if so, I fee like I'm just making my chest go in a circle... I don't really feel like it's a "movement". Is that just because it's a small one or am I possibly not doing it correctly?

Without seeing a video of you doing an undulation, it would be hard for me to tell. :confused:

A lot of instructional videos do break the movement down into sections, then they tell you to "smooth it out." I prefer to think of the movement as being "progressive," rolling smoothly down the body, like waves in an ocean. Of course, my mental image might not help, but hopefully it makes a bit of sense. :confused:
 

Belly Love

New member
A lot of instructional videos do break the movement down into sections, then they tell you to "smooth it out." I prefer to think of the movement as being "progressive," rolling smoothly down the body, like waves in an ocean. Of course, my mental image might not help, but hopefully it makes a bit of sense. :confused:

Ok. That makes sense. I think I'm doing it right... it just seemed really easy and I got it right away after watching an instruction vid one time. I haven't gotten any movements (that were new to me) that easily, so I thought I was missing something ;) Although, it doesn't seem like it will be so easy incorporating it into a dance...
 

Elfie

New member
:think: From what I've learned in my class, and on the instructional DVD's I have, the camel is a full-body move, not just an "upper body" move. I'm not a teacher by any means, but hopefully, I can explain in a way that makes sense (note to bd instructors: if I make any mistakes or am unclear in my explanation, please correct it; thank you in advance). :)

Are you rolling your body all the way down to your buttocks, ending in a "seated" position? If you're only moving your upper body, then you're simply doing an upper-body undulation. For the camel, stand with your feet shoulder-length apart, in "belly dance stance" (shoulders straight, knees slightly bent, pelvis and abs tucked in). It helps to have one foot slightly forward. Start with your chest, bring it forward, and roll all the way down your body until your buttocks are in a seated position. In the reverse camel, you just simple go back the way you came, if that makes sense. Think of yourself as "getting up" out of your imaginary chair by tilting the pelvis back in, and reverse-rolling until you end with your chest.

Try rolling your body down, then up several times consecutively until you get the hang of it. :)

I hope that explanation helps. :confused:

Yup, this is what I learned to call a camel. If you travel with the move it's called a walking camel and if you reverse it (start with a lower body undulation in the opposite direction), it's a reverse camel. Oh, and if you are traveling with your wrists crossed above your head, it's a folkloric camel (these are the terms I learned from online instruction videos, anyhow). Though I have heard the standing movement called a body wave (body rolls down from the initial chest lift) and reverse body wave (body rolls up from the pelvis) too.
 

Yame

New member
I wouldn't get too hung up on specific terms... I like to think of "undulation" as an umbrella term that describes one type of move as opposed to a specific move. For specifics, we can always add a modifier or a description.

So, if we're talking about an undulation that involves just the hips, we can call that a hip undulation or lower-body undulation. If we're talking about an undulation that involves just the chest, then chest undulation. If we're talking about an undulation that involves both, then full-body undulation, or chest-to-hip undulation (or if it's reversed, hips-to-chest undulation), etc.

To me, all of these are undulations. Anything that makes a wave-like movement I would consider a movement under the "undulation" umbrella. So, I also consider belly rolls to be undulations, but I just call them "belly rolls," though I could also see how "belly undulations" would be a good term.

"Camel" usually describes a type of undulation, but depending on who you take classes with, it will be different. In most of my classes, my teachers have used the term "camel" to mean a full-body undulation, but I also know teachers who use "camel" to describe the hip-only undulation. It doesn't matter what it's called as long as you can do the different versions.
 

goddessyasaman

New member
I wouldn't get too hung up on specific terms... I like to think of "undulation" as an umbrella term that describes one type of move as opposed to a specific move. For specifics, we can always add a modifier or a description.

So, if we're talking about an undulation that involves just the hips, we can call that a hip undulation or lower-body undulation. If we're talking about an undulation that involves just the chest, then chest undulation. If we're talking about an undulation that involves both, then full-body undulation, or chest-to-hip undulation (or if it's reversed, hips-to-chest undulation), etc.

To me, all of these are undulations. Anything that makes a wave-like movement I would consider a movement under the "undulation" umbrella. So, I also consider belly rolls to be undulations, but I just call them "belly rolls," though I could also see how "belly undulations" would be a good term.

"Camel" usually describes a type of undulation, but depending on who you take classes with, it will be different. In most of my classes, my teachers have used the term "camel" to mean a full-body undulation, but I also know teachers who use "camel" to describe the hip-only undulation. It doesn't matter what it's called as long as you can do the different versions.

You are very right Yame, i have seen teachers call moves different things, so the name of a move can change with different people, I've seen this done with undulation. It can be confusing for a beginner to know what is what:think:
 

Greek Bonfire

Well-known member
You are very right Yame, i have seen teachers call moves different things, so the name of a move can change with different people, I've seen this done with undulation. It can be confusing for a beginner to know what is what:think:

It's sort of like moving to a different location - getting familiar with the language :lol:
 

RayaDancer

New member
if you want to try a dvd supplement, Sandra put out some dvds with cheeky girls productions, and on her #2 dvd, she breaks down undulations (and reverses)beautifully. She teaches you the proper muscle isolations well, and when you finally get the hang of it she teaches travel steps to layer with them, and has little combos that you can drill with too.
 
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