I created this manual from all the classes and different teaching styles that I have experienced over the past 20 years. Use the knowledge in good health. I offer this gift to those who wish to enrich their lives with the "Dance"
MANUAL OF BELLY DANCE
KNEES SLIGHTLY BENT !! ALWAYS
Snake hands Pull hands toward the body from the front with palms up. Also make circles into body. (8+12+16)
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Roll shoulder Push forward and roll back with arms out in front of you. Can do this move with straight on pose or stand to the side with legs crossed. Bend knees. (4)
Snake arms Palm laid against thigh, draw arm up and away from body 1/2 the way up, turn hand up and bring arm down When arm goes down, other arm goes up. Cross legs for effect. Swing arms to the front and draw arms up and down in front of you. When hand reaches top, point fingers to sky and move hand down in front. The other hand has fingers pointed down to floor and is drawn up. (8)
Shimmy with jump Shimmy down, jump, land down and shimmy up. (8)
Fig 8 side (or circle forward and back on side) Make fig 8 on one side only and then the other. (4)
Undulations chest Chest forward, attention, slouch.
Rib cage drop Up, drop/ up, drop, drop.
Hip circles Little and big.
Shimmy Anatolia Take hips out to the side, out to the side, out to the side. Can travel with it. (4)
Hip lifts 4 Positions: Lift hip and drop it. On toes can move around and drag other foot behind. Or flat footed. Front, 1/2 to side, side, and back. Looks best with side and back. (4+8+12)
Hip lifts In circle move clockwise and counterclockwise. (8+)
Fig 8 (3) Sway. Hip up, over, drop. Hip up, over, drop. Front. Front drop, front drop. Back. Back drop, back drop. Very accentuated. (4)
Arabic walk On toes, tiny steps. Turn each hip to front as you walk forward. Can also shimmy. (8+12)
Rib circles Bend knees, hands on thighs, make circle of rib cage. (practice on floor. Sit on floor yoga style grab knees pull to side, slouch, pull to the side, straight out in front. (4)
Run into room Extend hands over head with backs together and point with 'r' foot and step with same foot. Point with 'l' foot and step with same foot, till you reach your spot.
Hip circle rotate hips in a large circle while tilting the body slightly. Keep back straight. (4-8-12)
Forward figure 8 rotate hips in a sideways figure 8; begin by moving hip forward while shifting weight to the foot under the hip, then move the hip to the side and backwards. The weight remains on the foot on the side of the body that is moving. Repeat with the other side. (4)
Hip shimmy arabic Without moving the hips from side to side, sharply thrust the front of the right hip forward, then the left hip forward. Concen- trating on the forward movement of the hips, one at a time. Start slowly then develop a faster rhythm. (4)
Shoulder shimmy With the arms at elbow level, relaxed in front of you, move each shoulder, one at a time, directly forward. The opposite shoulder will automatically move backwards, but concentrate on the forward movement. Start slowly then develop a faster rhythm. (4)
Forward hip roll (camel) Left hip back, weight on left foot, raise pelvic area up and forward (using the thigh muscle) as you transfer your weight to the right foot and place it in front of you. Let your right hip continue to roll down and back as you put your weight back on your left foot directly behind the heel of the right foot. Re- peat, either on one foot or alternating feet. (8)
Cobra hands Form hands into snake heads, using rigid,jerky movements, move arms in whatever pattern you choose, ie. circles or up and down. (4)
Turkish arm pose Arms extended over head, palms together. (4)
Head slides Back immobile, head straight ahead. Move head side to side. While doing head slides move eyes in same direction. (4)
Head circles While back is immobile, rotate head in clock- wise and counter-clockwise directions. Keep eyes straight ahead. (4)
Kneeling hip extension (in floor exercises) on knees, from erect position, body rigid, lean back as far as you can go, and then return to erect position move with the flow of the music (1+2,1+2).
Kneeling hip vibration Vibrate body for required amount of beats. May also include kneeling hip extension while vibrating. (4)
Arm circles Hands in lap, finger tips touching, gracefully draw your hands apart from each other and raise them horizontally and create a large circle. Cross each other at top of circle and bring down across chest to lap again. (4)
Hip slides With back rigid, move only the hip from side to side. Slowly shift your weight to your left leg moving your hip out to the left. Drop the right shoulder. Slowly shift the wieght to your right leg. Your shoulders are in the opposite direction of your hips.(4)
Rib slides With lower body rigid, move rib cage from side to side, hold arms out to the side for effect.(4)
Full belly Roll belly inside body, this takes some practice. Push down from the abdomen into pelvis in circle.(8)
Hip thrust Point toe and hand (on the same side) forward and thrust the same side hip forward with force and step with side of body forward. Re- peat for other side. (4)
Hip holding While standing still draw one hip up toward the sky. As you drop that hip, draw the other up toward the sky. (4)
Hip lift Moving hip holding. As you hip hold, move either backwards or forwards on the balls of your feet. Hands are above head. (4)
Hip shimmy back and up Walk forward or back as you shimmy. (4)
Vibrations Vibrate hips and shoulders alternately rapidly. (8 +)
Snake hands With arms extended in front, take one hand and create a wave like motion and draw toward the body and ascend above head, then do the same with the other hand. Descend both and settle snake in lap, finger tips touching. (4)
Pivot twist (turn) put weight on left foot, extend right foot to the side, pivot body, move right foot one step around and pivot body again until a complete circle is achieved (8cts) then re- peat with other foot. (4+8+12)
Full turns Small steps on balls of the feet in either direction (6 steps) smooth flowing motion (used in veil work mostly).
Hip shimmy to side As you are shimmying, move to either side, take foot out to side and drag other to it as you travel acros the floor. (4+8+12)
Hip thrust with hip drop Thrust hip forward and drop in an M config- uration and change to the other foot and re- peat with other hip. (4) Can also do this with N configuration.
Hip circles turning As you are making large cirles, also turn your whole body in a circle. (4+8+12)
Salute to the day Start with hands down, fingers pointing toward each other. Make 2 big circles (8cts) and then extend hands forward in front of you (4cts) and then bring arms out to side (4cts) and elevate eyes to sky. (16)
Criss-cross hands Holding both hands in front of face in pray- ful pose, make wave motions with hands crossing back and forth descending to lap and end with finger tips touching. (4+8+12)
Arm ripples Like the arm ripples of break dancing, extend arms out to the side and create a wave motion up and down your arm. Can do both arms at once or one at a time. (4+8)
Point kick As you point the 'r' toe, twist the 'r' hip around to front, bring 'r' toe across 'l' leg at knee. Pivot around in circle (16) (bounce)
Hip shimmy crossover as you shimmy to 'l' cross right foot in front of 'l' and continue shimmy, bring 'r' foot behind 'l' (walk sideways) (8) in 'l' direction and (8) in 'r' direction.
Shimmy with a kick Shimmy 3 beats, kick on 4th shimmy. Kick in the same direction you are traveling. Sides or front and back. (4)
Kashlimar basic Hip out to side in thrust motion, (16) in circle.
Kashlimar basic with hip thrust (up on toes) hip thrust first and then basic to side. (16) in circle.
Up and down shimmy Bend knees as far as possible, 8 down and 8 up. (16)
Arabic basic Turn hip forward. Also w/drop (flat footed) w/ twist (on toe)
Arabic basic w/ twist (on toe) Twist 3 beats and drop hip on 4th. (4)
Basic Making little 1/2 circles with 1/2 your body. Tuck 'r' knee down in front of 'l' knee, tuck whole body down, then make little 1/2 circle with whole 'r' side toward the back. Repeat on 'l' side. Alternate sides for (16)
Side step Like the full turn but foot is really extended out to the side. (8-16)
Floor Moves:
Floor head drop With knees 2' apart, toes near touching in triangle, sitting on your legs, bend body forward with forhead touching floor. Arms are extended in front in gentle pose. Sway arms and body (close to the floor) to right for 2 beats and then left for 2 beats. Fully extend to each side. (4)
Hip circles on knees Kneel, extend to the right as far as you can, then go to the back and almost sit down on your legs, then extend to the left and come up into kneeling position again to complete the circle.< (4+8)
Knee slides From a kneeling position, sit down slowly, moving your right knee to the right 12 inches, slide your left knee alongside your right knee as you raise your torso back to a kneeling position. (4)
Berber knee walk Kneel, with arms out to the side and weight on right knee. Slowly slide your left foot forward on the ball of your left foot as you raise your left knee. Pause when your left foot is alongside your right knee. Slowly lower left knee forward to the floor w/o moving your left foot. As your knee touches the floor, roll your toes under so that the top of your foot rests on the floor. Your weight should not be on your left knee. Repeat.. (4)
Oasis floor lift Sit down on right leg. Extend arms to right, to the floor. Extend left leg straight out and keep right leg bent under left leg. Then bring body up off floor in straight line. Left arm is brought across body and poised above left side as body is lifted. (8)
Oasis fig. 8 With weight on right arm and right leg, make fig. 8's (2x slowly) (4)
Oasis hip shimmy With weight on right arm and right leg, hip shimmy 8 beats (slowly)
Move back to knees Slide right arm toward body, pull left leg back into kneeling position and straighten up body.(4)
Full back arch (on knees) With knees 2' apart, toes touching, arch back as you back bend to the floor behind you and touch your head to the floor. DO NOT use your hands or arms to hold you up. 8 beats If done more than once, you can first execute away from the audiance and as you start to repeat it quickly put your body sideways to the audiance and repeat arch. (8)
Full circle on knees At end of last head drop, flow into the full circle. Stretching body, extend arms and body around to back-side-front, pause and go in other direction. ie. if you end head drops on left side follow around back-right-front, then go right-back- left-front. Arms will make a kind of circle around your head as you go around. (8) bounce
Veil Moves:
Veil wrap Any way that is easy for you to remove from bra as you lead into the dance. (I will demonatrate). Us- ually drape from behind and put one tuft in right strap and cross over the front and put other tuft in left strap. Step point while removing veil.
Spin veil Spin while holding veil out behind you. (8cts)
Step point Step with right, bring left foot forward and point toes. Bring left foot across body, step with left, bring right foot forward and point toes. Bring right foot across body and step etc. etc. (8cts) By then you should have removed veil and it should be be- hind you ready to do a spin veil.
Waist veil With right hand on waist, left arm extended full away from body, make full turns to the right. Stop change arm position and spin to the left. (4 turns each side).
Front and back veil Coming out of the waist veil, bring the left arm up behind the head and down in front, bring across the front and down. The right arm is trailing behind the left and above when you start to bring it in the back. Continue the circle around the head and do (8cts). As you are front and back veiling, your body can be doing 1/2 turn pivots, rigid, jerky hip circles turning.
Hip thrust forward When coming out of last 1/2 turn in front and back veil, bring left arm up straight, bring right arm forward as you thrust with the right hip, switch arms and thrust with left hip (8cts).
Sail veil After the last thrust extend right arm above head and left arm straight out from the body and full turn. Reverse arms and go left. You can do this twice. (4)
Princess hip holding back At last set of turns, make sure the veil is behind you and hold both arms straight up above head and completely cover your face while backing away from audiance. (4+8)
Full turns to trancend from Princess to face veil (4-8cts)
Face veil (with hip thrusts) shorten your hold on your veil so you can get it taut across the face. Cover nose and bring hands up into Turkish arm pose as yoou hip thrust toward sultan. (6-8cts.) Then either give or drop veil.
Butterfly With veil behind you, lay it across shoulders and pull taut. Rock arms up and down alternately and spin in cirle 4 beats right, 4 beats left.
Harem veil Wrap around whole body. ( with pivot turn) wrap your left arm around your waist. Wrap your right arm around head in 1/2 Turkish arm pose, covering your full body with veil. Look thru veil on right arm and slowly turn 8 beats. Also called total body cover.
Veil tuck Lay veil over left shoulder, bring around back and tuck into right belt. Tuck in front at right side. Also tuck in excess on left side. As you step point, put 'r' hand in side and pull veil out in front. With left hand under veil, pull out the veil from the left side belt. Move 'l' hand over to 'r' hand and draw veil through 'l' hand releasing it from the belt and it will be in front of you.
Peek -a-boo If veil is in the back, bring forward and hold up in front of face just below eyes. Rib slide to right and bend right arm and extend left arm, allowing veil to ride across nose. Then extend right arm, bend left arm and rib slide to left. 4 beats right and 4 beats left.
Camel veil Sideways to audiance. Bring veil to back, extend right arm up over head. Turn head to right looking in front of arm at audiance. Left arm is down beside body, holding veil taut. Then do Camels (see inst- ructions) 8 - 16 beats 1-4x
Side veil With veil in front, put head between veil and right arm, with veil behind head and in front of left arm. Turn to both sides. (4)
Veil fig 8 With veil in back, make fig 8 with 'r' arm, then 'l' arm, then both. You can also move around with it. (4)
Sword moves:
Sword extended above head Hold sword, flat- blade away from body, in each hand with fingers full extended. Make full turn right + left 8 beats
Swaying sword With blade in each hand, above head, sway arms from side to side 4 beats
Criss-cross sword With sword in right hand, drop sword over and back on outside of arm, clockwise turning wrist as you bring sword up behind you on the right side. Next, bring sword across to left side (still in right hand) and drop sword on left side bringing it up and forward, clockwise and bring around to right again and repeat 4 beats
CAUTION: BLADE IS ALWAYS AWAY FROM YOUR BODY!
When doing criss-cross, make sure your body is tucked in tight and keep your left (or right) arm close to your heart.
Cross over blade (like criss-cross) However, we pass blade to other hand. In right make full circle with blade. In front of body transfer blade to left hand and make full circle. You can do this several times. 4 beats
Sword on head Take as little time as possible to gain balance. 4-8 beats no more. Place from extended above head onto wrap. Then with arms out to side and back and neck straight, you can shimmy or step point or hip lift back or any other combination of moves. Also descent and do hip ext. and vibs. and even a full body roll over. Return to standing and when music speeds up remove sword from head and finish song with it in hands or put down.
Full body roll over Do descent, then move to lying down and in lying position proceed to roll over gracefully in a complete turn. Then return to lying, kneeling then standing. (8 )
Zills
4 Positions: 1. full 2. edge on sides...bell tone 3. lay fingers on top...muted 4. hit inside zill...accent
Rythms
4 patterns: 1. RLR/RLR basic 4/4 2/4 time 2. RLRL RLR continual 3. RLR/RLR/RLRLRLR combine 1+2 4. RLRR RLRR RLR
Warm up exercises:
Hands: push palms out and then let fingers follow in swaying motion and then sway back. Exagerate the middle finger.
Arms: small arm circles front and back. Large arm circles front and back.
Wrist: turn wrist in and out in circles, spread fingers out.
Shoulders: draw both up and drop. One shoulder up and point arm out to the side. Repeat other side. One shoulder toward front and other back like shoulder shimmy.
Waist: reach high above head and stretch first one arm and then the next. With arms out to the side stretch ribs from side to side like rib slides. Reach arm way over head to the side and touch knee with other hand. Bend at the waist and do full circles, extend as far as you can. Touch the floor.
On floor: lay on back with knees bent, pull back off floor, place one vertebra at a time on floor starting at neck area. Push into floor with back. Arch back and press into floor again and repeat.
On knees: "cat" arch back and drop, repeat.
Legs: sit on floor and extend legs as far to side as possible and bend body to floor in front. Then stretch to either side. Put feet together, draw them as close to the body as possible and touch knees to the floor.
Thigh: THE MOST IMPORTANT MUSCLE GROUP Bend and come up like a deep knee bend but not so deep. Lunge, right foot forward and sway body over foot and keep the left leg straight.
Feet: up on toes and down.
The Music
The music for belly dancing can be taken from many sources. I have used pieces from Yanni, Eddie the Shiek Kochak's 'Strictly Belly Dancing Vol. 3', NAi Buzuk & Guitar's 'Mosaic of the Orient Vol.2' and even Enya. The music you choose depends on the speed of the dance and what you want to say. Have fun finding the sounds that are right for you.
The Costume
You can have them made for you by professionals or you can put a simple one together with some things around the house. Scarves and bathing suits, table clothes and sheer curtains are a good place to start. Atrip to the thrift store would be an idea.Even though you may not at first have a "neat" costume, always dress in some outfit. It will add to the moment.
