Fairly New

[LuLu]

I recently bought a DVD to practice to that my Dance teacher recommended I use since I can not afford to take class as often as I like. In the video the dancer tells you to do a 3/4 shimmy but does not explain how to do it which I am clueless about can anyone explain it to me. I hope this is not a lame question.

Thank you

 

[Daimona]

There are several versions of the 3/4 shimmy.
Have you tried searching for previous threads on the same topic?
(Unfortunately I haven't got time to find them for you at the moment.)

This video might help you:

 

[Yame]

Oh, the perpetual 3/4 shimmy question... here is one of probably a million other threads that might have some answers that could help you. This one is very recent, even:

http://www.bellydanceforums.net/instructors-students/13759-cant-get-move.html

I think the bottom line is that there are a lot of different 3/4 shimmies and a lot of different ways to do even the very similar ones. If you tell us which DVD you are using, someone who has seen it might be able to help break down the move. Otherwise, however we end up breaking it down might not be the same way the person on your DVD is doing it.

 

[LuLu]

Its Rachel Brice's Serpentine

 

[Yame]

Ohh... I have a friend who has that. Maybe I'll borrow it and take a look.

 

[Shara]

for a simple definition, the 3/4 shimmy has a count of 123. The 4th count is used to take your step and shift your weight. If I go beyond that, it gets into the aforementioned style problem. Does that help any?

 

[Amanda (was Aziyade)]

Ah but it's not that simple!

When Jamila taught this step in the 80s (and I defer to her, since she was the person who named it the "three-quarter" shimmy) she taught it in waltz timing: ONE two three TWO two three THREE two three FOUR two three, etc.

However when Suhaila taught beginners this step, she counted it with a pause after the three hip movements. So she would say "Down-up-down" and then slightly pause before moving on the other side. But when it was performed, it was performed full time, in the waltz timing.

It wasn't until I saw Fat Chance dance that I realized they were actually doing the 3/4 in 4 beats -- and keeping that accidental/incidental "pause" as part of the movement.

Later I asked Suhaila what it was SUPPOSED to be and she basically said either one. She shrugged and gave me a "that was then; this is now" explanation that things change.

HOWEVER ----- with one notable exception *, the indigenous dancers I've seen performing what could arguably be a 3/4 shimmy seem to do it in waltz timing. The Banat Mazin Ghawazee seem to do a waltz version, but the 3rd count is more of a reverberation than than an actual hip movement.

* In Bedouin (or at least some north African ethnic dances) there is a distinct 3/4 shimmy in 4-beat timing. The movement is Down-Up-Down and there is a distinct pause on the first Down, to accentuate that down hip movement. (You can see this in actual Hagalla dance - not Reda style.) Sometimes I've seen the 4-beat timing on the right side of the body, while the left side does the waltz-timing. Jamila used to call this a Samiha, but I don't think it's the same step as the "Samiha" you see now.

 

[Yame]

Ah but it's not that simple!

When Jamila taught this step in the 80s (and I defer to her, since she was the person who named it the "three-quarter" shimmy) she taught it in waltz timing: ONE two three TWO two three THREE two three FOUR two three, etc.

However when Suhaila taught beginners this step, she counted it with a pause after the three hip movements. So she would say "Down-up-down" and then slightly pause before moving on the other side. But when it was performed, it was performed full time, in the waltz timing.

Thank you so much for pointing this out. I had heard that explanation for the name of this move before, and thought I was going crazy because I do it in waltz timing so the whole "you hit 3 beats out of 4" explanation didn't make sense to me.

However, the waltz is a 3/4 rhythm so I guess the move was named after the rhythm she originally did it/taught it in?

 

[Amanda (was Aziyade)]

However, the waltz is a 3/4 rhythm so I guess the move was named after the rhythm she originally did it/taught it in?

You know, I never actually thought to ask her that! Doh!

I do know Jamila likes to use a lot of 6/8 in her classes. Moroccan and Algerian 6/8 specifically, but "Six-Eighths Shimmy" isn't as catchy. LOL.