Really need help on shimmies!!!! travelling is a no go

[Emma_Williams]

Hi Guys,

I can shimmy (of a fashion) but I cant do a shimmy on one side....you know when you shimmy but then lift one foot off the floor etc or travel. I just cannot travel with a shimmy or shimmy on one leg at all. Anyone got any good tips or youtbe clips I could get help with? I will of course be asking my teacher for help but just wondering if this is something that takes ages to get.

Thanks

[Miranda Phoenix]

I'm just a baby belly, but I think it might be helpful knowing which shimmy you are trying to do? There's the hip shimmy (hips alternate up-down), the washing-machine shimmy (hips alternate front-back), the knee shimmy, the 3/4 shimmy (my favorite) and a whole host of others I haven't been introduced to yet.

[Kharis]

Hi Guys,

I can shimmy (of a fashion) but I cant do a shimmy on one side....you know when you shimmy but then lift one foot off the floor etc or travel. I just cannot travel with a shimmy or shimmy on one leg at all. Anyone got any good tips or youtbe clips I could get help with? I will of course be asking my teacher for help but just wondering if this is something that takes ages to get.

Thanks

You need to build up the muscle memory in both legs here. Drill using shimmies on individual legs. So, you shift all your weight onto each leg and shimmy on that single leg. It's the fastest way to master the strength and technique to walk and layer with shimmies. I teach this to beginners.

[kalila_raks]

I think the easiest type of shimmy to master this with is a "washing machine" shimmy. (BTW, I recently heard it called a "baladi" shimmy. Has anyone else heard this?). When you do this type of shimmy, you are engaging your abs and relaxing your legs, so if you are doing it correctly, your legs should be free to move while maintaining the shimmy.

You could also try walking with a 3/4 shimmy because the alternation is so slow that there's time to pick up your feet between hips, but getting the rhythm of this can be tricky, and I don't know that learning to walk with a 3/4 shimmy will necessarily transfer over and help you with "real" shimmies.

[Kashmir]

First, it depends on which version of the shimmy - or rather what are the main drivers of your shimmy. The most common are the lateral flexors ("waist muscles" like the obliques and QLs), quads (thigh muscles), glutes (butt muscles). There are also mixed ones and changes depending on texture etc.

You can also play with the timing and get a 3/4 shimmy (in a variety if flavours) or a steady 4/4.

Each shimmy has a different look - but also works differently with layering (doing something else at the same time). For walking I normally use a waist rocking shimmy (ie hips go up and down driven by lateral flexors). For plain weight shifting both the waist and quad shimmy work well.

In order to shift weight you need to have enough strength and control to support yourself on one leg and still do your choosen shimmy movement. Start slow. Can you do the move at half time on one leg? Full time? Double time (ie shimmy)?

[Kashmir]

I think the easiest type of shimmy to master this with is a "washing machine" shimmy. (BTW, I recently heard it called a "baladi" shimmy. Has anyone else heard this?). When you do this type of shimmy, you are engaging your abs and relaxing your legs, so if you are doing it correctly, your legs should be free to move while maintaining the shimmy.

I actually find the up/down waist shimmy easiest.

I haven't heard this called a baladi shimmy but I have heard it called a folk shimmy or a Sa`iidi shimmy. It is the "standard" Sa`iidi shimmy. I've also heard it incorrectly called a "ghawazee shimmy" - incorrect because the ghawazee move is a side to side (ie sliding not twisting) reverb.

[jenc]

what is washing vmachine shimmy?

[Aniseteph]

I think it is what I know as a twisty shimmy () - hips go forward and back about a vertical axis.

"Washing machine shimmy" confused me for ages till I realised - it all depends if your washing machine is a front or top loader! . .

[Mosaic]

"Washing machine shimmy" confused me for ages till I realised - it all depends if your washing machine is a front or top loader! . .

I like that one
~Mosaic

[Zanbaka]

Hi Tribal Butterfly,

I agree with Kashmir that it's important to be mindful about how you're originating your shimmy. I would add that being really comfortable with rhythm and timing is also key! There was an informative thread a while back about the (sometimes confusing) vocabulary we bellydancers use for "3/4" timing that you might find helpful.
http://www.bellydanceforums.net/danc...shimmying.html

Good luck!

~Zanbaka