What do you find tough?

[Swirlicious]

I know we are all learners for life when it comes to belly dance but what is the one thing you find tough. I am a male dancer and for me, isolated belly movements are the toughest. I find it damn hard to not move any other part of me when I move my belly. what's your tough spot?

 

[Shanazel]

Roll ups from hips through shoulders. I was never satisfied with the way I did them. Not ever.

 

[Ndimi]

For me it has to be the 3/4 shimmy. That thing just doesn't work out!

Shanazel, I've spent the last three classes trying to teach my ladies the reverse undulation. One them does it in such a way that it looks like she's about to throw up. I reckon anyone in the audience will suddenly push themselves backwards to get away from the mess! If I slow her right down to doing one move at a time, we're good, but as soon as we go to tempo, she loses the "sit" and just does an "upchuck"!

 

[Zorba]

Gooshies (upward vertical hip figure 8s) are the bane of my existence. I can do Maias (downward vertical hip figure 8s) all day long, but I twist badly with Gooshies. Makes no sense!

 

[Shanazel]

HA! I've never heard the term Gooshie. Learn something new every day.

 

[Swirlicious]

Roll ups from hips through shoulders. I was never satisfied with the way I did them. Not ever.

That's something I have improved at in the last few months!

 

[Zorba]

HA! I've never heard the term Gooshie. Learn something new every day.

Its what my teachers in Cali called the movement. I've heard others. Probably a Jamila-ism.

 

[Ndimi]

How come Mayas are named, but all the others aren't? There are 4 movements, up and down vertical, and forward and backward horizontal, but only mayas are called mayas. Go figure!

Just my luck that I end one choreo on undulations and start the next class with gooshies. Some days are just sum beach, sum where!

 

[Shanazel]

I just called the upward ones reverse mayas. The forward and backward I called backward and forward hip figure eights. Nope, no one has ever standardized belly dance vocabulary.

 

[Zorba]

I've heard them called "reverse Maias", "upward Maias", "upward hip figure-8s", and even "taxim" (Tribal).

 

[Farasha Hanem]

I thought "reverse Mayas" were called omi's (umi's)? o.0

 

[Daimona]

I thought "reverse Mayas" were called omi's (umi's)? o.0

Omis are the (tilting) pelvic circle, iirc.


:think: I can't remember what moves I've struggeled the most with, probably some of the more extreme poses that look great on stage and on photos, but are very hard to do if you aren't strong og agile enough. Also, dancing with nice arms and hands have been a returning issue.

 

[Aniseteph]

Shanazel, I've spent the last three classes trying to teach my ladies the reverse undulation. One them does it in such a way that it looks like she's about to throw up. I reckon anyone in the audience will suddenly push themselves backwards to get away from the mess! If I slow her right down to doing one move at a time, we're good, but as soon as we go to tempo, she loses the "sit" and just does an "upchuck"!

I remember going through the puking effect stage. Not pretty, but as that was one of the descriptions my teacher used when trying to get the concept across (oh the veiled exotic mysticism of the belly dance class), I figured I must be on the right track so carried on regardless, and it got better. Like anything new, it takes time, and bodies learn at their own pace.

I've never been confident with shimmies, especially straight leg ones these days thanks to a misbehaving knee.

 

[Zorba]

...oh the veiled exotic mysticism of the belly dance class...

:lol: The glamour, the glitz, the "frank descriptions"!! :lol:

 

[Shanazel]

Yeah. I've even heard rumors that some dancers (ahem) sweat.

 

[Ndimi]

I've never been confident with shimmies, especially straight leg ones these days thanks to a misbehaving knee.

My knee is shot! I've been astounded by how much it has affected my dancing. I can feel my thigh muscles contract, which pulls on the knee, which hurts like a beach. My shimmies and anything that involves a bent knee have become rather stilted. And I have a student showcase in three weeks, that I'm supposed to be doing a solo for, so it's not going to get a rest any time soon. Sigh...

You're not alone, Aniseteph. What did you do to yours?

 

[Swirlicious]

Reverse maias are another of my weak points. Gosh! I suddenly feel so under confident!

 

[Zorba]

Reverse maias are another of my weak points. Gosh! I suddenly feel so under confident!

There isn't a dancer on the planet who doesn't have weak points - if they say otherwise, they're "full of it". Knowing what your weak points are is 3/4ths the way to a solution.

What's your problem with reverse Maias? Same as mine (Twist) or different? How are your regular Maias?

 

[Jeanne]

I've heard them called "reverse Maias", "upward Maias", "upward hip figure-8s", and even "taxim" (Tribal).

My teacher just calls them "up 8s."

 

[Jeanne]

Its what my teachers in Cali called the movement. I've heard others. Probably a Jamila-ism.

My old troupe and instructors that I originally learned from (not in Cali, although that's where I've ended up) used the term "goosh step." It involved an upward figure 8, but that was combined with a sideways "Arabic 2" (flat-ball-ball-ball). So you'd get the "gooshing" effect of walking sideways with that slinky up-and-down hip flavor. And yes, I think that term did come from the old-time Jamila terminology.