jenc

Don't spread rumours. Shira posted today on the shira.net.tribe about the problems she is having with her site host.

Caroline_afifi

I am glad I dont have a website if people think I have dropped dead everytime it goes down!!

She is alive and well and presenting her new Seminar at the Arab Arts Festival in Liverpool 19th July.

Mara2

Hi Dancing Butterfly!

I'm not savvy on this glute squeeze thingy, but can help with your undulations.

Get an ice cube, and touch it to your upper tummy. Then run it down your tummy. Your muscles will contract a bit with the cold. This is a good jumping off point for learning undulations. It helps you identify what the muscles feel like when they contract.

To practice undulations, lay on your back with a wooden baseball bat just above your belly button (aluminum doesn't work very well for some reason). Then *slowly* roll the bat down to your pelvic bone. Do this over and over until you completely hate baseball. lol

Once you can control the bat, use a golf ball in the same manner. Your goal with the golf ball is to keep it between the muscles (the long ones) in the stomach. In other words, you want the golf ball to roll straight down your tummy, over your bellybutton. You can also practice with rolling water down your tummy in the bath instead of the golf ball.

It's a lot of work, but your undulations will be REALLY smooth and in your control. Once you can do them well only a little practice here and there, (sans the ball/bat/water and sitting up, of course) in your car, while at your computer, etc., will keep them in tune.

This is the way I was taught (and teach), and hope it's helpful to you.

Warmest Regards,

Tegan Ollie

Jack

That's great!
It must have been another Shira then.
Don't mean to be spreading rummors. It's just what I was told.

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Shoot for the Moon. Even if you miss, you will land upon the stars.

Farasha Hanem

I'm not sure if this is a problem, but my, well, problem is is that I've learned how to do bellyrolls backwards. I learned on my own, and it just came natural to me to just start at the bottom, and roll my way up. I can do it very smoothly, but I can't seem to learn how to do it the other way. Could it have anything to do with my vertical C-section scar? Is it normal for the body to be able to pull off a move one way, but not the other?

Outi

Not really. All my students usually get both directions. But other way is always easier than the other. Sometimes it's normal bellyroll, sometimes the opposite. If you have had good teacher(s) to explain how to practice, just practice.

Outi

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Mara2

Hi Farasha!

I firmly believe it's very difficult to *unlearn* a move in bellydance. I've had students come in who learned something I consider wrong, and it takes a long time to fix it. That said, I don't think it's impossible. I've had students who couldn't do a lot of things, because of various health issues, who can blow my dancing out of the water now.

I also have a vertical c-section scar, so I'm pretty sure that's not the problem. I had full-term twins who were so big they broke my sternum (ouch), so it was hard to get the muscles back, but it can be done. My disclaimer here is that I'm not a health professional, just been doing this dance for 30+ years.

I think the problem is just that you've learned it backwards. That's good and bad. You can already move all the muscles you need to, just in the reverse order. I think if you try this in the correct order you can do it. Like everyone always says, practice is key. Hope this is helpful.

Warmest Regards,

Tegan

Outi

I don't think you have to unlearn this - I do agree with you Mara2, that it's take so much more time, than starting from beginning.

In my opinion dancer should practise both directions - the normal and opposite bellyroll. That what I teach from very beginning.

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Saqra

Definitely not Shira.net Shira. <grin> I was the one who originally sent her an email at work telling her my emails through the site were getting rejected...

Okay, Belly Rolls, Undulations, etc....

Because we are non- standardised in terminology, these are my definitions:
Undulations are rippling torso motions.
Belly Rolls are circular motions in the abdomen or abdomen and hips.

There are different versions of all of the above depending on country of origin/style of dance.

Belly rolls can be done with only the stomach muscles, or they can be done with the pelvis involved.
The pelvis involved version is primarily used to travel, or to overlay shimmies and such.
You diaphragm is visually located in the triangle where your ribs come together and meet on your front, between and beneath your breasts (assuming directions are for a woman). You can feel it by blowing out your breath very hard and feeling for a squeeze in that area, but your goal is to contract that without doing a hard breath or you will pass out eventually.
ROLLING WITH THE BELLY FORWARD AND DOWN
Pull in the lower part of the tummy
Pull in the diaphragm while holding the tummy in
Hold in the diaphragm while pressing the tummy out
Press out the diaphragm while leaving the tummy out
ROLLING WITH THE BELLY BACK AND DOWN
Push out the lower part of the tummy
Pull in the diaphragm
Pull tummy in
Release the diaphragm and let the tummy drop down
ROLLING WITH STOMACH AND PELVIS FORWARD AND DOWN
Bend your knees and pull in your tummy
Keep your tummy in and squeeze your butt (will cause legs to straighten)
Keep butt tight and press tummy out without releasing the butt
Release butt & keep tummy out. Let knees bend dropping pelvis straight down (don't stick your butt out)
----Keep your feet fairly together on this one or it qualifies as a different dance usually receiving much better pay, if you know what I mean.----

MAN! This stuff is HARD to write in a fast email!!!!
Did this make sense?
~Saqs

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shiradotnet

I think this would be a fine time to quote Mark Twain:

Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated!


My web went down Tuesday morning at 7:18 am Eastern time due to stupid behavior on the part of my web hosting provider. About the time they fixed the stupid behavior issue, a new problem arose - the hosting provider encountered what the recording on their help line called "serious network issues" that caused the site to remain down until about 11 pm Eastern time last night.

The site is now back up, but I'm having some behind-the-scenes hassles with it still. (Grrrr.)

We now return you to your regularly scheduled discussion of the finer points of belly dance technique...