Belly Dancing Basics

Belly dancing is not only a sensual, empowering and sexy dance for women to learn, it is also fantastic for fitness, muscle tone and rhythm. You can learn to belly dance by going to classes, buying a DVD or buying a book or online course. Although belly dancing may look hard, once you learn some basic techniques, you can use them to build on for moves that are more complicated.

The true origin and history of belly dancing is not really known and it is a form of Arabic dance that is traditionally only learned by women. It is believed to have originated through women doing abdominal exercises to prepare for giving birth. It then went on from there to become something women did socially when together without any men. Eventually, it was recognized for the entertaining and sensual movement it is and women were requested to perform the dances in public. Now days, the techniques are taught all over the world.

The first and most basic belly dancing technique students learn is called the “Basic Posture”. For this move, you stand stationary and tilt your pelvis forward. This causes your tailbone to drop down so it’s pointing towards the ground. You bend your knees gently and there you have the basic posture. Your very first belly dancing technique!

A hip Drop is another easy move and is usually the second one you will be taught in a belly dancing class. From the basic posture, you lift your left heel up, moving your body weight to your toes. You also lift the same hip, by squeezing your side muscles up while standing still. With any belly dancing move, you always ensure your body is not rigid or stiff, even when stationary. You hold the position with your hip up, then you drop it back down, straightening out your side muscles. A good way to practice this is to do the up down Hip Drop motion to the beat of the music. You will notice it doesn’t take long, at first, for your muscles to ache and you may even get a stitch. Don’t be put off, as belly dancing is a fantastic daily workout to keep you fit and healthy. When you do this move, focus on the up and down motion of your side more than your hip.

The “Figure Eight Hips” and “Shoulder Shimmy” are another two simple moves that are used in basic belly dancing choreography. The figure eight hips is where you move your hip forward then back, alternating from one side to the next in a figure eight like motion. The shoulder shimmy also starts from the basic posture and you push your left shoulder back and at the same time, your right shoulder forward. You then reverse repeatedly at different speeds to the beat of the music.

All belly dancing moves can be joined together to make routines for exercise or performance. If you are serious about wanting to learn belly dancing, try the above moves and see how it feels. There are many methods of learning and, like any form of dance, with practice it will become second nature and you will have those sensual and sexy belly dancing moves down pat in no time at all!

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