How to overcome the... "hippo" feeling?

Sherezade

New member
First of all, I hope this is the correct place to start this thread. I started BD classes in May and though I'm enjoying it, sometimes when I can't do something alright, I get this... well, I call it hippo feeling. :( Though my teacher tells me I'm improving, I get the feeling that a hippoppotamus can dance better than me. I don't know if it's just my imagination, if it's part of the process of learning or if it's really me who wasn't made for it, but sometimes I leave the classroom feeling completely frustrated. After 4 months I would expect to have improved more, so maybe this is really not my thing?? I don't know, I don't want to give up but what if I'm just wasting my time and money? Has anyone here ever felt like this? Please, I'd really love to read opinions and experiences. Thanks!
 

Pleasant dancer

New member
Be kind to yourself, give yourself time to learn. This is not an easy dance and sometimes progress can seem to be very slow. Just remember what you were like when you started. Remember that move that you didn't think you would ever get but can now do (even if not very well).

Four months is not long at all ........
 

Sherezade

New member
Thank you for your reply. Maybe I'm just pushing myself too hard, but sometimes I really leave the classroom feeling completely frustrated.
 

Sherezade

New member
Thanks, Lilith! Cute video! :D Yes, even hippos can be graceful, I guess it's just my own fears playing against me. I had always heard that bellydance improves self-steem (and it probably does) but with me it hasn't been working, though... Maybe it's just me. Thanks for the video, really sweet. :)
 

walladah

New member
It is inertia... well, i call it that way...

It happens in all cases we start to learn something new, that we did not work on before, that we have no previous experience about.

Concerning dance, inertia is not only about the body abilities, but also our mind abilities as well. And guess what? it is common to all people who just start bellydance.

a) Inertia means that once you have started something new, your mind and body reacts and resists the new situation. Especially, our mind knows the best way to persuade us to stop "i am not good enough, i am awful". In case you do not accept this "inner advice", you are fine. Just continue doing what you do.

b) Yes, it has happened to me as well, when i started taking formal lesson in bellydance, despite i was dancing since my childhood our traditional version of it. I admit that the first 3 months of lessons i was going home thinking "i cannot believe it, i am dancing as elegant as a cucumber!". But i knew i am lazy, so i said, ok, i will give myself a chance of 6 months or one year to see what happens.

c) What to do to overcome it? Do not pay that much attention to it! Have fun! Learn what you can and practice as much as you feel comfortable with the new thing (do not practice more than 1 hour per day at the beginning, esp. if you are not sure about the movements, to avoid injuries).

d) Is this only for beginners? No, my friend! It will appear every time you learn something new in bellydance! A new movement, a new style, a change of teacher, a new choreography, even a new song might make you mind say "i am clumsy". Yes, it might be harsher in more advanced levels, because it might take you more than 3 months to master a complicated movement or style.

e) Why does it have to be like this? well, for a very interesting reason: once you get to learn something new, all oldies seem easier and you will see this to be more obvious after the first 3 months. Why? Inertia will always try to make a compromise with you, every time you want to learn more. I mean, once you are learning f.ex. a simple hip drop, you might "feel like a hippo" (although you might not dance like that at all). Once you have worked enough on hip drops, and you start working f.ex. in side-to-side hip-beat, you will feel like a hippo with this movement but your mind will say "wait a minute, hip drops are better, you know them now, stick with them now, do not bother with this silly hip-beat" and your body will follow. You will be amazed how you can master a movement you have been studying so far once you start learning a new movement.

f) Yes, the trick to this mind-body trick is to keep practicing and keep learning new things (at some pace, of course). At some point, the inertia start also working to the other direction: you are used to learn new things and practicing and you cannot stop unless your tastes have changed and you do not want any more bellydance in your life. You know, even in physics, inertia works for both immobile and moving objects... For moving objects, it exists, once the object/body has reached some level of movement (velocity, etc) but not at the beginning.
 

Sherezade

New member
That is very good advice and a nice explanation, walladah. Yes, perhaps my mind is very tricky. Good to know I'm not alone. I've been trying to fight the "I can't do it" feeling and that is why I haven't given up yet. What I find more difficult is to combine movements together. We always learn and practice new movements in every lesson, but separately. At the end, our teacher asks us to dance, each of us alone in a circle of all students. I find it SO hard to go from a movement to another, it always feels like something in between is missing and that is when I get the "hippo feeling".:( She says I'm improving and that I'm not even aware of it, but the clumsy feeling speaks louder, I'm afraid.:(:(
 

ic3st0rmer

New member
walladah, i love ur explanation too... i feel like a retard for shimmy (if you happened to read my thread) and now, chest rotation as well (though e retard feeling is not as bad as shimmy).

i do understand people are different... but we are of the same class, and their shimmy & chest rotation are so much better, making me feel like... :(:(
 

Yame

New member
How often do you practice at home? The more you practice, the better you will get. If you just go to class once a week and don't practice at home, then you can't really expect to see much improvement.

Just be sure to practice. And if you already do that, then be patient with yourself. It'll come.
 

ic3st0rmer

New member
i think i practice chest rotation more than shimmy... it's easier to practice it while sitted... heheh.. but even though i do practice shimmy, it still feel wrong some how... my instructor was saying i'm not relaxing my thigh muscles enough which i forgot to ask her what she meant, and how to relax... :(
 
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Sherezade

New member
I do practice omething at home, but not every day, I must say. I try to remember the movemnts I learnt. However, I don't like practicing too much on my own because I'm afraid of some injury or that I'm not making it right. Then there's no one to correct me. I also find difficult to walk and move the hips. Especially when walking back. :confused:
 

Shanazel

Moderator
I find it SO hard to go from a movement to another, it always feels like something in between is missing and that is when I get the "hippo feeling".

I don't like practicing too much on my own because I'm afraid of some injury or that I'm not making it right. Then there's no one to correct me.

What is missing is your ability to do a smooth transition. That comes with practice and training. If you only practice when someone is around to protect and correct you then your progress is going to be all but nonexistent. :naghty:

Concentrate on what you enjoy about your dance experience and quit wasting energy on doubt and fear; joy in movement and music loosens heart, soul, and body. Crank up the tunes and dance instead of huddling in front of the computer worrying about feeling like a hippo. This is supposed to be fun, right? ;)
 

LadyLoba

New member
I think sometimes we just have some moves that we don't do as well as we wish we did..but there will be others that become signature moves. I get the "hippo" feeling when I do a reverse undulation. I can do one...I just think I look like a big bag of wet socks when I do. But the twist shimmy (some people call it the washing machine shimmy)....that is my move...I can do that one...layer it with a bunch of other moves I know...combine it smoothly.

One thing that has helped me when I just didn't think I was getting something that I thought I really should know was to watch as many different dancers do the move as possible and try out as many variations and ways of picking it up until I caught on to at least one. . You may have to ask someone else who is more advanced than you...like someone in an advanced class, or a professional you know, or check out an instuctional youtube clip or a DVD to get a different method on one or two moves, or ask your teacher if there's a different way to explain something.

I have had several times where I thought I was just not going to do something...but with a little research and a lot more practice...I eventually got it.
 

LilithNoor

New member
To help with the hippo feeling, when you're practising at home, make time to do both drills and free dance. One practises skill, the other rehearses confidence and comfort in your own skin.

When you free dance, that's the time you can forget about being a hippo and let go of your inhibitions. It doesn;t matter if your shimmy is erratic, your posture droops occasionally or you tripped on the rug while trying to do an arabesque. No one is watching or judging you, and the confidence you gain while having a boogie round the living room will remain with you when you're in class and actively learning
 

Sirène

New member
I However, I don't like practicing too much on my own because I'm afraid of some injury or that I'm not making it right. Then there's no one to correct me.

As a fellow beginner, I understand your concerns. However, I think doing your best to make self-corrections in the mirror is better than not practicing too much outside of class. Your teacher can always make corrections if the movement is slightly off when you return to class. In the meantime, strengthening the muscles and building stamina is key.

And I don't know... I think the Hippos have it over the Ostriches when it comes to dancing ;)

 

Kashmir

New member
Don't worry - it is just start of the journey. Part of the problem will be you finding it isn't as easy as you thought. That is normal.

Another part will be how the brain learns new skills. For most people you start with conscious control - lift the hip while holding the torso upright and pull in a little to get the alignment. That front part of the brain is not graceful! Try walking while thinking about lifting your leg and bending the hip, knee and ankle and transferring weight etc. If you can manage it at all it'll look awful. The combination of muscle firings needs to get pushed way, way back. You do this by practicing slowly and perfectly. Doesn't have to be long. But do it regularly.

Next you need to combine stuff. As with any fusion get the bits working on their own first. Take tiny steps (literally and figuratively). A slow walk with hip lift. A walk with arms. A hip push followed by a circle. Create little 8 beat combos and just dance one of those for a whole song. After a while you will work out how to have your weight in the right place.

Basically, it is just practice over time. You have already spotted one possible problem - practicing stuff wrong. Less likely if you use a mirror and do it slowly. The other trap is to only practice in your comfort zone - that is what you can already do. Finish with that as a reward after tackling the hard stuff.

Have fun!
 

Elfie

New member
I do practice omething at home, but not every day, I must say. I try to remember the movemnts I learnt. However, I don't like practicing too much on my own because I'm afraid of some injury or that I'm not making it right. Then there's no one to correct me. I also find difficult to walk and move the hips. Especially when walking back. :confused:

Drilling at home is essential. I study on my own, for now, and have for the entire 2 and 1/2 years I've been belly dancing. I've never had the benefit of an instructor. So yes, I do know the hippo feeling... and very well! But even without a classroom and teacher, I drilled every day. Still do drills three times a week. Granted, not many people have that kind of free time, but work it in. You need to drill at home. It's like playing the guitar or piano or saxophone. You absolutely must practice! You are learning, and cannot expect your body to just suddenly get it. You have to teach your body.

Injury comes with every sport or activity. Even playing music. When I was learning the guitar, I cut the tips of my fingers so many times on the strings... my fingertips blistered for months until calluses formed. Learning belly dance, I've strained muscles, misaligned my vertebrae in my neck, twisted my ankles. Each injury taught me something about what I was trying to do. To respect it, for one... and to not do it that way ever, ever again, LOL!

Being cautious is great, but being afraid is not. Avoiding injury is impossible. Yes, be as careful as you can... drill the moves slowly... very slowly... until you feel confident with them. But not practicing because you're afraid to get hurt will impede your progress greatly. Learn to listen to your body. It will tell you "I can't do this in this way!" and you must be receptive. You will feel when you are doing something in a way that will hurt you. If you are going slow, you'll feel it before injury occurs. Then you can correct and find that right way to execute the movement.

One thing about it is that every person's body is different from the next. No two people are exactly the same and they cannot execute the same move in the exact same way. So close that you cannot tell one from the next? Sure. But exacting replication? No. Because your hip may catch if you rotate it as largely as your teacher, or as far out. Because your rib cage is smaller, your chest drops are not as dramatic. Because you simply cannot relax your neck muscles completely, your head rolls are not as quick or as big.

Work with your body. Get to know it and its language. Take things slowly until you feel you can up the ante. But practice. You need to. It is very important.
 
hippo feeling

Hi Sherezade. Hang in there, I used to call it my zombie, frankenstein (the Mel Brooks Young Frankenstein movie)or godzilla feeling - it gets better sometimes it's just overthinking. Guess what it happens in learning new thing that requires a certain amount of agility... like i'll be able to play this violin as soon as the mitten hands turn back into real hands again :D you can do it! Creaks
 

Greek Bonfire

Well-known member
I still can feel like this! And yes, much practice and drilling helps you feel more comfortable with your moves.

I had a teacher once who said that if it feels funny you are doing it right. I'm not sure why she said that but many times when I felt funny I would look in the mirror and see that I was, in fact, doing it right. I think that may also be from not letting go, that if you do feel good, you are still holding a lot in, and when you let go, you feel awkward, partly because you have to be taught to give more of yourself.

My current dance coach has been teaching me a lot about this. In fact, my better performances came when I sort of felt like I wasn't doing it right but I was letting it rip, so to speak. When I saw the video recording, I was surprised it was so good, when I really did feel like that hippo.
 
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