Shimmy questions and comments

For a while now Ive been trying to master what I consider to be a perfect shimmy, I can definitely shimmy and its not too hard becuz i have a great deal of fat on my lower half but obviously simply being able to shake my fat doesnt equal a good shimmy. The first shimmy I fell in love with was one I saw Shakira do on her Live and off the Record DVD( during Ojos Asi) and i studied her posture and realized that she did in fact have her knees bent, I had previously thought she didnt..the shimmy was even, loose and very well defined around the hips, there was a definite up and down motion of the hip with each shake of the shimmy and it was not a 3/4 shimmy. Anyway I got Veena and Neenas DVD and took note of their shimmy, Now, they teach it with a bent knee but when they themselves in the dvd get to shimmying themselves they go straight legged! and their shimmy looks somehow stiff, something just looks wrong with it to my eye, its a very vibrating shimmy but its stiff and they alsmost seem uncomfortable.. is that how a straight legged shimmy always comes off?, and then I recently saw Amira Mor shimmying and she also has a really good shimmy but one of her dancers had a even more defined one than she( and it was very rapid but still defined.... what is it that makes a shimmy defined,, is it how much ur rasing your hip when your alternating knees?? and also i find that just vibrating my thighs back creates a shimmy and when i try doing it back and forth rapidly its very ungraceful becuz i have pretty big thighs and butt and i can hear them lol,, anyone have any remedies or suggestions about this,, or am i doing somethign wrong.....?
 

Sara

New member
Heyas

I find it easy to do a really fast small shimmy, but a bit more difficult to have a defined fast shimmy. I can do it, but it takes will power to keep it up. :)

What I do is put on slow music, then really focus on making the movement really slow and long. Then after a few mins I speed it up and keep it at a gradual pace, then keep going.

The first part where its slow really helps me to get a feel for the movement and cause I'm trying to work my muscles more, makes the movement a bit sharper.
 

Moon

New member
I think shimmies look more defined when you have your knee bent. Then you create some more "space" for your hips. When I shimmy with straight legs, it's more like a vibration.
 

Marisha25

New member
Hi ravenhairedbellydancer!
You definitely need to keep both legs bent while doing the shimmy. I took classes with Amira Mor on and off for about 2 years and that's the main thing that she kept repeating that we must do. Did you see her perform live or on DVD?
I am taking classes at a different school now and there we are taught "Egyptian" knee driven shimmy that is very defined but it takes some practice, especially if you want to do it fast. I don't know what the muscles in the upper part at back of your leg (above the knee) are called, but they are the ones driving the shimmy. You also have to be very relaxed and have good posture (as if someone tied a string to the middle of your bra and is pulling you upward) for the shimmy to look good.
Hope this helps,
Marisha
 

Ludmilla

New member
Such great comments!!!!!!!!! Thanks, Moon, and all -and RavenhairedBDancer -- such a great question - I probably can't work too much on perfecting a shimmy (it does seem that there are many ways to do this differently and I feel it is important once hearing from a good teacher to also find the muscles and locate in one's own body because we all have slight variations, etc. Does anyone ever have a perfect shimmy? Some do of course -- and the greats do................) Just one other note - Practice Practice Practice -- RavenhariedBDancer -- I'm sure you know already but each time I practice, I realize how the muscle memory must be tapped into because over time this does get to a different level as far as skill, I hope.......I just really liked your comments because some of them we never talk about in detail and I feel we should to really reach for better skill w/ something so basic to our style-- Thanks so much -- ..........Ludy
 

Mariesaffron

New member
Ravenhairedbellydancer, what Shakira does is a hip Ripple, for good shymmies you need to relax the knees and loose the hips, you stand with yous back straight but bend the knees a little, wach Amar Gamal, in the D.V.D. Solos in Montecarlo.
 
Thanx for ur responses evryone Aaaw thanx Ludmilla,, i agree its very important to get EVERY subtlety when it comes to learning to dance,, Marisha, I only saw Amira Mor on DVD and she has a nice loose shimmy and she definitely keeps the knees bent,, Sara, thats a really good tip, im gonna stick with doing that, makes sense to me to perfect the move sharply while doing it slow then speed it up ,, Mariesaffron what is a hip Ripple?,,, Im referring to what Shakira did in her "live and off the record DVD" during the Ojos Asi performance,, i had the impression it was a regular shimmy and turn (during the Arabic refrain of the song),, have u seen this performance?
 

Aniseteph

New member
I have problems with my shimmies too, but it's getting better. Strangely I find it much easier in high heels (which most of the time I can't walk in, being a trainers/flipflops sort of girl) - it must be a balance/anatomy thing. And completely useless as I dance barefoot :rolleyes: . Barefoot I have difficulty in keeping it controlled and the hips going up and down - I feel it descends into an undefined fast wobble more than I'd like.:(
 
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Ludmilla

New member
Hi! I have not heard the term Hip Ripple.....could someone explain a little what the difference is between a shimmy and a hip ripple? Thanks -- Ludy
 

Madeline

New member
I have problems with my shimmies too, but it's getting better. Strangely I find it much easier in high heels (which most of the time I can't walk in, being a trainers/flipflops sort of girl) - it must be a balance/anatomy thing. And completely useless as I dance barefoot :rolleyes: . Barefoot I have difficulty in keeping it controlled and the hips going up and down - I feel it descends into an undefined fast wobble more than I'd like.:(

High heels are definitely easier to shimmy in, because they force you to keep the right shimmying posture. :)
 

Leyla

New member
:confused: Woe ...I'm a bit confused!
My teachers told that shimmy is a vibration lead by the knees (relaxed but not really bent), while we called the fast and defined hip movement (like that of Amira Mor in her Habibi Ya Ainy choreography) "fast balance" ...
 

Katayoun

New member
There are many different kinds of shimmies, depending on which muscles are driving them. even the same type of shimmy can look very different on different bodies. These are a few that I teach and try to practice for variety sake and to train different muscles. With most shimmies unless you are really tensing the specific muscles it's a very subtle sensation in the muscles being used, it should be relaxed. Ok so here's my list, and I don't consider shimmies layered with other movements different shimmies, I consider them layered movements:
Bent knee shimmy - weight is either evenly distributed over both feet or in the heels, belly button pulled to the spine, ie. a straight lower back, with the glutes softly moving to make the hips move up and down thought.

Oblique driven shimmy - same as above with the obliques helping with the up and and movement of the hips, very subtle feeling especially if you've developed obliques. This helps keeps the upper body still and relaxed. This one is harder because you can't feel the obliques unless you really focus on them.

Knee driven thigh shimmy - same posture except your weight is over the balls of your feet, your body alignment is slightly on a diagonal line from floor (feet) toward the ceiling (head), The knees go back back back back alternatively and the tighs are doing the work. this is harder on some people's knees. I find this shimmy easy to layer with movements like figure eights, circles and some poses.

I try to practice all kinds of shimmies and shimmy with everything. In practice not performance. I don't perform that much but I dance a lot and find that the more ways you can do a movement or a set of movements the more satisfying the dance is for yourself as well as your audience. Find the moves you like, make them yours.

Also wanted to mention that any shimmy can have a dynamics, speed, intensity depending on your music. It's all about the music. also even vibrations use some degree of bent knees, it's what we call soft knees, although I have seen some people to leg and body vibrations and freezes, without using knees, but then I wouldn't call those shimmies, I would call them leg/body vibrations and freezes.
 
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Sara

New member
I like the bounce shimmy, where your body kind of moves up and down very fast to create a up down body shimmy.
 

Katayoun

New member
bounce shimmy

that's the one I've frequently heard called a freeze when it's done super fast, or a tremor. There's so many giggly wiggly movements, hard to keep track of them all and everyone calls them all kinds of different names. I just do what feels good and try to vary it different dynamics. I know it's hard when you're still starting out, but it's just a matter of learning to find and use your muscles together and independently. They don't always want to cooperate, but you can still have fun trying!
 

Moon

New member
Madeline said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aniseteph View Post
I have problems with my shimmies too, but it's getting better. Strangely I find it much easier in high heels (which most of the time I can't walk in, being a trainers/flipflops sort of girl) - it must be a balance/anatomy thing. And completely useless as I dance barefoot . Barefoot I have difficulty in keeping it controlled and the hips going up and down - I feel it descends into an undefined fast wobble more than I'd like.

High heels are definitely easier to shimmy in, because they force you to keep the right shimmying posture.

I thought I replied somewhere on this post, but I can't find my reply anywhere :confused:
However I disagree about high heels forcing you to keep the right shimmy posture. Lot's of woman have a wrong posture (swaybacked) because they find that easier to balance on high heels, and in my opinion that is exactly the wrong posture for shimmying.
 

Madeline

New member
I thought I replied somewhere on this post, but I can't find my reply anywhere :confused:
However I disagree about high heels forcing you to keep the right shimmy posture. Lot's of woman have a wrong posture (swaybacked) because they find that easier to balance on high heels, and in my opinion that is exactly the wrong posture for shimmying.

I find high heels easy to shimmy in when I stand in proper posture, because this forces the knees to bend more and makes all hip movements larger.
 

Amirah (Hawwa)

New member
High heels are definitely easier to shimmy in, because they force you to keep the right shimmying posture. :)

It's right, when I started to practice in ballroom shoes (5 cm heel) I noticed that my hip work, not just shimmies are much better than before. I prefer practicing barefoot but when I'm in heels, it's easier to do the moves correctly...

Amirah
 
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elle21

New member
just to throw this into the debate:

Last weekend I attended workshops by Yasmina of Cairo (what a goddess! but that's for a different thread!) and she taught a shimmy that was very large, quite 'loose' and bouncy, but it was all about keeping your legs as straight as possible!

Her feet were shifting around on the floor slightly with the strength of the shimmy, and it looked absolutely wonderful. I'm just having troubles emulating it. When I try to shimmy with my legs straight, my bottom instantly starts sticking out the back and I look like a duck who needs the toilet (ie, not a good look)!

Will keep trying though, anyone else seen what I'm talking about?!
 
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