unusual belly dance

Rashida_Habib

New member
Im rather new to belly dance. I have been taking classes for exactly one year! There's one thing. Do you know of any unusual belly dance moves? Like, ones that they don't hardly teach in class, its rare to see but still is considered a belly dance move?
 
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Kharis

New member
Im rather new to belly dance. I have been taking classes for exactly one year! There's one thing. Do you know of any unusual belly dance moves? Like, ones that they don't hardly teach in class, its rare to see but still is considered a belly dance move? I wanted to find one unsual move, and practice it just so I have something unique when Im able to perform someday.

Yeah, the Fifi Abdo hip chonk layered with a twist and punctuated with a foot stamp. I couldn't find anyone to teach me at the time, so I had to figure it out for meself. Took me fooking ages.
 

jenc

New member
Im rather new to belly dance. I have been taking classes for exactly one year! There's one thing. Do you know of any unusual belly dance moves? Like, ones that they don't hardly teach in class, its rare to see but still is considered a belly dance move? I wanted to find one unsual move, and practice it just so I have something unique when Im able to perform someday.

I'd rather see simple moves done well
 

Kashmir

New member
Im rather new to belly dance. I have been taking classes for exactly one year! There's one thing. Do you know of any unusual belly dance moves? Like, ones that they don't hardly teach in class, its rare to see but still is considered a belly dance move?
Why? After a year I'd be very surprised if you have all the non-unusual moves down pat. By down pat I mean you can effortlessly layer at least two or three with direction, level, and timing changes to any music that is thrown at you. Oh, and with beautiful arms and a relaxed facial expression.
 

jenc

New member
I agree - there are loads of moves that you will not have been taught in class - because they are so hard. My teacher has been dancing 14 years and still comes back from workshops saying she couldn't get a particular move.

also the great dancers can leave you breathless doing standard moves in perfect unison with the music.
 

Kharis

New member
Why? After a year I'd be very surprised if you have all the non-unusual moves down pat. By down pat I mean you can effortlessly layer at least two or three with direction, level, and timing changes to any music that is thrown at you. Oh, and with beautiful arms and a relaxed facial expression.

Why couldn't somebody be able to have all the above off pat in a year?
 

Kashmir

New member
Why couldn't somebody be able to have all the above off pat in a year?
I guess because I have never seen it. It would take more than talent - it would take one fantastic teacher. If someone had such a teacher - and they were learning from them as opposed to just attending class - they would not be asking such a naive question.

And I guess because I did see Dr Mo take a really simple combination and throw it at a class where most of the dancers had been studying for 10-30 years. He then started ... manipulating it ... at first everyone was "oh, this is so easy - why are we bothering?" - but by the end of 15 minutes many were in a froth as that so simple combo was twisting beyond recognition.
 

Amulya

Moderator
Why couldn't somebody be able to have all the above off pat in a year?

I have seen it with some of my students, so it is possible. You got to train daily that's the thing. Some of the more flexible people who are more in tune with their bodies, or people who have been trained in other dance forms tend to learn faster.
 

Rashida_Habib

New member
i don't really apricate you calling my question naive...i was just curious about unique moves no one ever sees.. i never said i had the simple moves down pat...never wanted to try the not-so-basic moves.i was just curious about very very unique moves you never see.....thats all lol.you know i enjoy simply watching performers on youtube, that are like no other. no crisis, its not naive, just curiosity
 
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Rashida_Habib

New member
Why couldn't somebody be able to have all the above off pat in a year?

I could see where someone could master the basics perfectly by one year, not belly dance its self but the basics of belly dance. I myself have not got all down pat by a year. I think very few would, I take group classes, and practice one on one with my teacher, I practice for two hours 3-4 times a week at home, with instructional vids and what my teacher has shown me. im gettin there ha:clap:
 
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Amulya

Moderator
I meant the movements, not the whole dancing :). After you got all the movements right you got to put it together into a dance, that is not that easy.
 

Kharis

New member
I guess because I have never seen it. It would take more than talent - it would take one fantastic teacher. If someone had such a teacher - and they were learning from them as opposed to just attending class - they would not be asking such a naive question.

I've not only seen it, I''m one of them. So I guess it's a loaded question to me when I hear people say this. My original teacher was a follow the leader type, and taught us bugger all. I used to go home and study footage of Fifi and Lucy and just about every single bit of film and video I could get my hands and eyes on and a lot of my movements were self taught in this respect. Thank God, nobody said to me what you've said to the OP. I mean no disrespect to you with this statement, Kashmir, so please don't take it the wrong way. If you had said that to me, I may well have never had the confidence to push myself into the professional arena. I was dancing professionally and with musicians within a year of first starting to learn the dance. So I know that it's possible. But it does require hard work, and utter dedication,and I used to practice for at least 3 hours a night 24/7 and attend lots of workshops. I do agree that it would be nigh on impossible to achieve this by merely attending a class once a week. But with enough focus and personal drive, it can be done.

I started out getting gigs on my own. My very first gigs were private parties and events. I attended workshops with a local drummer and he offered me work. I then hooked up with a dancer called Jane and started working the restaurant circuit with her. She was a seasoned dancer and was kind enough to share work with me. A short time after that I hooked up with another dancer, Tracey, from Manchester and worked with her also. It snowballed from there. Nobody around me at that time ever said that I was not competent simply because I'd been dancing for just over a year.
 

Kharis

New member
I could see where someone could master the basics perfectly by one year, not belly dance its self but the basics of belly dance. I myself have not got all down pat by a year. I think very few would, I take group classes, and practice one on one with my teacher, I practice for two hours 3-4 times a week at home, with instructional vids and what my teacher has shown me. im gettin there ha:clap:

You're lucky to have a teacher like that. I didn't. My teacher was a good dancer but a lousy teacher. If the students couldn't work out the movements for themselves, they struggled. I was lucky, I can work stuff out just by watching it.
 

Rania

New member
Hello Rashida,

I agree with Jenc, its best to see a dancer master basic moves first. Mastering your basic moves at beginner intermediate and advanced, is the #1 key element to becoming a seasoned professional level oriental dancer. That's, your undulations, shimmies, figure eights, hip circle, basic Egyptian, upper body isolation, lower body isolation, upper body, traveling steps and all the variations the go into each of those. Then your veils & zills! I'm not sure what style belly dance you do but be sure to explore different levels of Egyption, Lebanese Turkish, tribal, Greek, american cabaret, vintage, folkloric etc.

Upon your Belly dance journey you will find many teachers, classmates, instruction DVDS, online videos, performances at haflas, and some may display a routine with an uncommon dance move, or a unique performance. When you learn and see things like this you will know what feels "right". It may seem appealing to master & add it to your routines.

Try researching moves, routines or styles that are not commonly preformed in your area, or this time era yet still acceptable in belly dance. For example I been trying to learn some floor work recently. Many have referred to it as a dying art. And its true, floor work is a dying art! Because I have never seen a floor work at a live performance nor have I seen it from many of the famous performers. The first time I watched a breath taking floor work routine video on the internet, I knew then and there I would developed a passion for floor work.

Have you ever considered Fusion or fantasy style belly dance? With many fusion styles, not all parts of the routine are true raks sharqi moves; however they would certainly be considered unique in many people's eyes. If you choose to do fusion, make sure when advertising your dancing or posting videos you label that routine or as fusion or as none fusion for what style of belly dance you know. ;)
 
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Amulya

Moderator
I can't really specify any clips, but there are loads of good ones out there where you will see unusual moves and combinations. Rashida have you seen any clips with unusual moves you can share here?
 

Dunyah

New member
I couldn't find it online, but on the 5th Annual Awards DVD by IAMED there is a performance by Katia with a Pharaonic theme. It's not your typical Pharaonic dance, it's a real belly dance but highy stylized. A lot of unusual moves and poses, done brilliantly.

What about Ansuya, she has a very distinct style and some unusual moves based on a background in American Cabaret style belly dance:

[video=youtube_share;DEysEkhfXi4]http://youtu.be/DEysEkhfXi4[/video]
 

Greek Bonfire

Well-known member
Ansuya can always be counted on to have some unusual and original moves. They are also challenging and do move you out of your comfort zone and up a notch.
 
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