Shoulder shimmies for the well-endowed

I'm new to bellydance and at the moment using dvds for guidance (haven't found a teacher/class yet ) so please forgive me if my question tips the scales towards "silly" but here is my issue: when I attempt to do a continuous shoulder shimmy at moderate pace, a pendulum effect builds with "the ladies." Now a little jiggle would be fine, normal, but this is beyond that. It actually feels like an opposing force.

My first solution would be to make sure I have a good supportive top, but I'm already wearing an Enell, the platinum standard of sports bras. I don't think one exists that can do more to prevent unwanted movement. Perhaps this effect is normal and it's something those with larger bosoms simply get used to, but it doesn't feel that way. None of the dancers in the videos I have look bigger than a B-Cup, so I'm not sure what's normal.

I'd love some advice.

It may well be that you're going too fast. My advice is that if you're giving yourself a black eye from shoulder shimmies, you need to put a speed limit on them and stick to it.

As a generously endowed dancer, I have found that less is more with regard to shoulder shimmies. Control the movement, stick to the speed limit (approximately 1/2 hip shimmy speed) and you will be fine.

ETA - make CERTAIN your sports bra is designed for dancing. Dancing is higher impact on the boobs than even jogging.

I'm currently practicing these and my advice is to be a bit smaller in the movements and maybe focus the movement on the back of your shoulders, not the front. I don't know if that makes sense? I think it helps with the "swaying" in front. You can't reall avoid all of the jiggling

I have seen on the web somewhere instructions on how to get maximum jiggle and many people consider a boob shimmy to be the authentic Egyptian move. However, if you want to reduce the wobble, make sure that your shoulders go either forwards from neutral and back to place, or back and neutral, not both. Practice more slowly until you have it.

Yes I agree with Darshiva, I am also breast heavy,(like 42DD) so controling your speed is key, a good belly dance bra would help this, I make all my own so I make the straps well placed in order to keep good control along with my ability with the shoulder shimmy, but this may also not change the fact that they may want to go along for the ride:lol: so what I do is have a well timed shoulder shimmy and a balance, so if I put a shoulder shimmy in a dance I do it in a turn, or with a small back lean, or a quick small one then freeze then another quick small one freeze this looks nice and the shoulder shimmy is done without the girls doing a dance as well:lol: though I will do a chest shimmy sometimes as well the girls like that one:lol:

Go slower, smaller, and subtler. With big "girls" any little movement will be visible, so there's no need to go all out!
I'm pretty small so I can't commiserate, but I have heard the experiences of my larger-busted friends and it does seem to be pretty normal among them, for some of them it hurts to do a vigorous chest shimmy.
So, don't do it! Find out the optimal speed and size for you--it's probably different for everyone, so find out the one that works best for you--and stick with that!

Yame said:

Go slower, smaller, and subtler. With big "girls" any little movement will be visible, so there's no need to go all out!
I'm pretty small so I can't commiserate, but I have heard the experiences of my larger-busted friends and it does seem to be pretty normal among them, for some of them it hurts to do a vigorous chest shimmy.
So, don't do it! Find out the optimal speed and size for you--it's probably different for everyone, so find out the one that works best for you--and stick with that!

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Yame you got that one right, I try to never do to many vigorous chest shimmies, A more graceful speed is better, I may throw out one when the music is fast but not often, small, graceful, and controlled speed is key

My tips as a lady with F cup boobs-

Keep it small. Boobs magnify movement, so you don't need more than a couple of inches travel to get your jiggle on.

Keep your posture perfect. Push your ribs up, roll your shoulders down and back, keep a lot of tension between your shoulder blades. That helps control the movement so it doesn't turn into a tit waving monstrosity.

Keep it in the shoulders. You're aiming for a see saw movement with your shoulders- as one goes back the other comes forward. Don't let it creep down to your lower torso muscles or it will become a chest shimmy.

Keep it short. If you're following dvds with drill sections, just skip the shoulder shimmy section. You're unlikely to ever be in a performance situation where you need to do more than the odd accent, so if shoulder shimmying for more than a second or two makes you feel like you might knock yourself out, don't do it!

You may also find that wearing a nice solid underwired bra helps keep things in check- I'm not a fan of sports bras though so I may be biased

Thank you everyone for the valuable info!

You lovely ladies came up with a lot of good pointers and it's already helping. One more question if you don't mind: do you have a recommendation for a general dance bra for a DD+ cup?

The Enell is a fantastic, supportive bra, but I'm beginning to think it might not be the best choice for bellydance since it doesn't lift & separate.

I'm not sure how useful my recommendations would be since I'm in the UK, but I favour plunge style bras with moulded cups and underwire.

freya deco bra and Marks & Spencer push up bra are my current favourites for a combination of cleavage and security.

Sirène said:

Thank you everyone for the valuable info!

You lovely ladies came up with a lot of good pointers and it's already helping. One more question if you don't mind: do you have a recommendation for a general dance bra for a DD+ cup?

The Enell is a fantastic, supportive bra, but I'm beginning to think it might not be the best choice for bellydance since it doesn't lift & separate.

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here are a few links, I don't buy many as I make my own but these are good as well, what I use is a wire bra with with shape the cup can situp on it's own

plus size belly dance costume - Plus Size Turkish Belly Dance Costume Royal Jewel - Belly Dance Costumes - La Reina Goddesswear



Custommade ASSUIT emBELLIshment Dance Bra Base made by BelliPhat


Custom Bellydance Bra and Belt Set by JainasOriginals on Etsy

I'm going to look some more you

I wear a 14E cup. I make my own dance bras from whatever I can find that fits, and I reinforce them with grosgrain ribbon (for extra structure & support) and interfacing and a stiff cotton fabric (around about denim in weight). I don't have a lot of options in terms of bras locally in the first place, so I have to go nuts with the support stuff before I cover.

For dance practice I use a sports bra. It is so unbelievable tight and uncomfortable when I put it on - I can barely breathe it straps the girls in so tight. But I can do stripper-speed shoulder shimmies and the girls just don't move. But once I start to move in it it feels quite comfortable. The bra is stitched, not moulded. There is no underwire anywhere (I loathe underwire with a passion). There is an extra panel of fabric that comes 1/3 of the way up the underside of my boob and the seams on the main body of the bra all run diagonal towards the solar plexus. Straps are nice & broad and it has 2 lots of double hooks (which is handy because the top set need to be in one hook further than the bottom set for me) making it extra adjustable. When I bought the bra, I told the sales person exactly what I was looking for and demonstrated the kind of move (shoulder shimmy) that leads to pain when dancing for prolonged periods. She gave me an assortment of different sports bras that were designed for dancers, and this is the one I liked the best. So my advice to you is to go to a reputable lingerie shop and get fitted for a sports bra designed for dance. You will want maximum support - if the bra they recommend you lets your girls move with a slightly more vigourous shimmy, you will probably want to find a different store, or do what I did & demonstrate why that bra doesn't work.

I would recommend to you the brand & style I got, however I'm not certain it's available outside of Australia. I got it at Bras 'n' Things.

OMG....SNORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol:

Darshiva said:

My advice is that if you're giving yourself a black eye from shoulder shimmies, you need to put a speed limit on them and stick to it.

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The sports bra I use (in case you're curious): "Sweat It!" Dual Layer Soft Cup Crop Bra - Bras N Things

@ goddessyasaman:
Those are lovely (I especially ♥ the first one) but definitely more "performance" than I think I'll need for the foreseeable future.

@ LilithNoor:
Thanks to figleaves, if it's sold in the UK, we can probably order it here in the US. The only thing that worries me is that the plunge/push-up bra doesn't seem like it would be strong enough to hold DD's. I'm going to see if I can find a Freya locally to try out. To date I've avoided moulded cups because they seem bulky - and I really don't need to add bulk to my chest - but if it holds the breasts well, my mind can be changed.

@ Darshiva:
The "Sweat It!" look promising, it reminds me a lot of the Enell, though it seems to have better construction for stopping side to side movement. Alas, I doubt it's sold in the US, but I will look.

Has anyone here tried or perhaps own a Shockabsorber?

I too am pretty busty (34DD) and buy my sports bras from Sports bras, yoga clothing, womens sportswear, athletic apparel - Title Nine

They have a little rating system so you know which bras offer the most support. I don't know how their prices compare to other online shops, but I like what I get from them and my girls don't bounce. Much. :lol:

Sirène said:

when I attempt to do a continuous shoulder shimmy at moderate pace, a pendulum effect builds with "the ladies." Now a little jiggle would be fine, normal, but this is beyond that.

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Whe I teach I make a distinction between a shoulder shimmy and a bust or chest shimmy. For my beginners I always start with a shoulder shimmy - which articulated through the shoulder - not twisting through the torso.

So for my shoulder shimmy, we start learning to slide the shoulder forward and back - without lifting or rotating. Then as one goes forward, the other goes back - still without involving the rib cage or backbone. Then it is made smaller and faster. The whole thing takes most people months to learn but the result is a controlled, elegant shoulder shimmy with a gentle bust bob.

If they continue on and do folk or beledi, they add a bust shimmy to their movement vocab. In this one the ribs twist forward and back. With this one, you get quite different effects depending on where you twist. More refined if higher. More obvious if lower.

Of course yopu can combine the two in whatever proportions you want.