hip drop/ foot release(kick)

for some reason , i cannot seem to keep the rythm of the hip drop/foot release alternately,, i try to in my head go drop, drop kick drop, drop kick and i mess it up and do 2 drops in a row without a kick lol ,, sooo frustrating ,, is there some other method to this or do i just need more practice.....?
 

janaki

New member
Hi Ravenhairedbellydancer,

More practice!!! More practice!!!! This how I teach it sometimes.

count 1 lift hip (squeeze your hip up a little)
Count 2 drop hip
Count 3 lift hip (squeeze your hip up a little)
Count 4 drop hip with foot release.

It should be lift, drop, lift, drop kick. I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the lift though.

Do this slowly and speed it up gradually!!! Hope this helps!!!!!;)

Cheers
Janaki
 

Aniseteph

New member
I had problems with this too! For a start I couldn't do it till I was comfortable with doing ordinary hip drops in rhythm without having to think about it. Then when I tried the kicks I couldn't keep the hip drops in time - the kicks mucked up the rhythm of the hip drops, and I'd put too much kick into it which threw me off balance.:mad:

Try thinking of it as just releasing the foot and letting it off the floor while you do the hip drop, not as a hip drop and a kick. For me, the kick is more a side effect of the movement the dropping hip puts into the leg, not an active kick like you kicking a ball. If you're counting it becomes drop-release-drop-release... (where release is a drop with the foot coming up). Much easier on the brain than having to think of fitting all those kicks in :D
 

sedoniaraqs

New member
I'm not sure if you meant these counts to correspond to the musical counts, but --- the drops go with the music in a specific way.

For unweighted hip movements, the Egyptian dancers almost always will be dropping on the downbeat and up on the upbeat, so the "one", "two", "three" and "four" will be drops (two and four have the foot release), and the lifts will be the "and" inbetween each. If done slower at half tempo, the drops would be on the "one" and the "three". This is a general rule, you see exceptions here and there but mostly it is followed for most 4-count rhythms like maqsum, beledi, and saiidi.

So counted with the music it would be:

(and) lift
one: drop
and: lift
two: drop/release
and: lift
three: drop
and: lift
four: drop/release

or possibly
one: drop
two: lift
three: drop/release
four: lift

but hardly ever would you see:
one: lift
two: drop
three: lift
four: drop/release

The Lebanese dancers also will tend to be down on the downbeat and up on the upbeat, the difference is the emphasis is often on the upbeat.

Sedonia


Hi Ravenhairedbellydancer,

More practice!!! More practice!!!! This how I teach it sometimes.

count 1 lift hip (squeeze your hip up a little)
Count 2 drop hip
Count 3 lift hip (squeeze your hip up a little)
Count 4 drop hip with foot release.

It should be lift, drop, lift, drop kick. I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the lift though.

Do this slowly and speed it up gradually!!! Hope this helps!!!!!;)

Cheers
Janaki
 

teela

New member
You've gotten some good advice. Just remember its not so much a kick as more of a gentle lift so the foot is off the ground on the hip drop.
Just remember, practice, practice practice
 

sedoniaraqs

New member
This is true. I dislike calling the release a "kick" also, because its not. In fact, if you are trying to kick your leg out, this may be what causes you to lose the beat. You are just releasing the ball of the foot from the floor. Also, with this release there is a very small outward lateral rotation of the hip that causes the drop to go down further with the release. If you watch Egyptian dancers, you can tell they do this because the inner part of their ankle is oriented upward with the drop/release.

Sedonia

You've gotten some good advice. Just remember its not so much a kick as more of a gentle lift so the foot is off the ground on the hip drop.
Just remember, practice, practice practice
 
thank you so much for the tips, everyone,, this is all very helpful,, i have always loved the attitude of that little foot release lol, its sweet and sassy at the same time... i also have noticed that the ankle does point inward.. well im off to practice:)
 

janaki

New member
I'm not sure if you meant these counts to correspond to the musical counts, but --- the drops go with the music in a specific way.

For unweighted hip movements, the Egyptian dancers almost always will be dropping on the downbeat and up on the upbeat, so the "one", "two", "three" and "four" will be drops (two and four have the foot release), and the lifts will be the "and" inbetween each. If done slower at half tempo, the drops would be on the "one" and the "three". This is a general rule, you see exceptions here and there but mostly it is followed for most 4-count rhythms like maqsum, beledi, and saiidi.

So counted with the music it would be:

(and) lift
one: drop
and: lift
two: drop/release
and: lift
three: drop
and: lift
four: drop/release

or possibly
one: drop
two: lift
three: drop/release
four: lift

but hardly ever would you see:
one: lift
two: drop
three: lift
four: drop/release

The Lebanese dancers also will tend to be down on the downbeat and up on the upbeat, the difference is the emphasis is often on the upbeat.

Sedonia

I should have been more clearer. I am actually breaking down the move here not counting with the music. I should have written it as step 1, 2, 3, and 4 rather than saying counts.

Cheers
Janaki
 

Safran

New member
For unweighted hip movements, the Egyptian dancers almost always will be dropping on the downbeat and up on the upbeat, so the "one", "two", "three" and "four" will be drops (two and four have the foot release), and the lifts will be the "and" inbetween each. If done slower at half tempo, the drops would be on the "one" and the "three". This is a general rule, you see exceptions here and there but mostly it is followed for most 4-count rhythms like maqsum, beledi, and saiidi.

Sedonia

Thank you for directing attention to that. I've never thought of it this way!
 

Reen.Blom

New member
I like when the "kick" is rather called "brush" like drop-brush-drop- brush, sort of more gentle meaning to it...LOL
 
i finally got it!!:dance:,, i practiced and it just happened,, i got my hip drop , foot release , what i was doing wrong was trying to make the release separate and after the hip drop when it goes WITH the drop, lol i was sweating soo much, hip drops are exhausting for me,, im gona do like 100 a day to get used to it now
 

adiemus

New member
My teacher has suggested we try doing this standing on a step for the brush part - I still feel totally unco-ordinated...
 
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