fatinah

Hi Guys,

I have been dancing my whole life, mainly ballet and tap but I have started belly dancing over the last few months. I have fallen in love with the art and I go to lessons once a week and practice with my coin belt for about an hour a day. I can do most basic moves quite fluently now but I just cannot get the vertical figure of 8!!!

Its like my hip doesnt want to jolt out to the side at all!! When I raise my hip im fine but then when i push it out my whole body seems to want to come with it and no matter now much i try or even have someone holding my side for me to help me feel the isolation it doesnt happen

I focus more on egyptian and not tribal where i have found you don't use vertical 8s as much but if im to take this seriously what the hell am I going to do!!!

I have tried videos on youtube to help but to no avail...how can i hip roll/vertical 8????

Has anyone else had this problem but now got the hang of it?? I have never in my life not got a move as I have danced for years so this is very frustrating hehe.

Thanks for listening.

Much love,

Fatinah xxx

gisela

don't panic dear
A few months is nothing.
Are you able to do horisontal figure-8's? Because if you are then I think you should soon be able to do the vertical since you push your hip out in both.
You could also do a lot of chest and hip slides. You know just stand up straight, weight on both legs, and slide your ribcage out to the sides without moving the lower body, then change and slide your hips out to the sides without moving the upper body. I's all about elongating the side-muscles while still controlling them.
You could try lifting the heels and kind of step through the movement, like a soft, snaky "suheir-zaki" move, if you know that one. Just to find the move in you body, but do not get any weird habits like -"I can only do figure-8 if my toes point inwards" or something. Only when you can do it both on flat foot and on toes and stuff I would say that you really got a move.
If you have a teacher please ask her specifically because a live explanation is sooo much more efficient.

good luck.
gisela

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You need chaos in your soul to create a dancing star-nietzsche

Moon

Hi Fatinah,

Don't get frustrated yet! You may have been dancing you whole life, but only bellydancing since a few month, so it's not a bad thing at all if it takes a bit longer to get a move.
First of all I'm not a teacher, only been bellydancing for little over 2.5 years myself and since I can't see you it's hard to tell what exactly you're doing wrong, but I can tell you what helped me in getting that move.
Make sure your knees are relaxed, never lock them. Try to find out exactly how you generate the movement when you move your hips in other directions. Does the movement come from your legs only or do you also use the muscles in your sides?
Could it be you try to make the movement too big? Maybe your instructor has a differently built body and the movement looks bigger on her? Don't worry about that. Movements will always look different on different bodies and if you start small, you can always make the movement bigger once you know how best to generate it.
I use the muscles of my sides a lot to generate this move. I think I wouldn't be able to do it using legs only.

Good luck!

Marya

Fatinah,

What does your teacher say? can she talk you through the movement? It sounds like you need some individual attention for a few minutes. Vertical figure 8s are hard, it took me three teachers and some private classes to learn how to do them properly so that my back didn't hurt and so that they looked fantastic (our own Aisha Azar was the one who helped me get them right). You tube videos just aren't going to do it for you.

Marya

Aniseteph

What everyone else said!

That sounds like a maya - the up and out and down vertical 8. We learnt with heels coming off the ground to help the hip go up, which some teachers disagree with. I think this is because you can "cheat" on the hip up by pushing with your leg, rather than generating the movement from the muscles round the hips and sides. Flat-footed you are forced to work those muscles more, and eventually it's much smoother and more self-contained as your feet don't have to join in.

I can't speak for anyone else, but on me I can sort of cheat the "up" using the leg, but not the "out" - that has to come from the hips. If you are generating the first part a lot in your legs then maybe that's why you get stuck at the hip out.

Practising sloooow hip slides might help you get the feel for stretching your hip out to the side. Also remember your hips are linked together - you physically cannot slide one way out to the side without the other coming along for the ride!

It just takes time and practise, and lots of different explanations that make no sense until you find the one that clicks for you. Good luck!

gisela

Yes, listen to Moon
Some moves might even be harder to do if you are used to other dances that use the muscles in another way.

Regarding the knees, If you stretch you legs too much you won't be able to do anything. You can get your hip up but then it's going to be stuck there. Pay attention to if your knees are locked next time you practice, you can always try the extremes to feel the difference, like really bending your knees a lot and try to move your hips and then stretching the knees and try the same hip moves and feel the difference. Just be careful so you don't hurt yourself.

__________________
You need chaos in your soul to create a dancing star-nietzsche

janaki

Great advise you guys!!!

In every dance form, some moves are easier to learn and the others are not. I had difficulty with my chest slides when I was learning. The important thing is understanding where the movement is coming from and how it is done. Then try it slowly and repeat until you get it. It is a very good idea to seek help from the instructor to make sure that your are doing the right thing. Be patient and it will happen. Good luck.

fatinah

thanks for all the advice guys im just going to keep practising every day and going to class once a week.

Im so addicted to bellydance its like when a kid first reads you find yourself so fascinated!

Zorba

From your description, it sounds like your pelvic region *may* be a bit on the tight side (I could be *totally* wrong here though). As a male, I can relate - maias were one of the hardest moves for me to learn, took me months of frustrated practice to both loosen my pelvis up and "get it". As a result, maias are one of my very favorite moves.

My suggestion is to deepen your knee bend more; and make absolutely certain your pelvis is tucked, otherwise you can injure your back (ask me how I know this).

My instructor will kill anyone raising their heels off the floor doing this movement!

__________________
-Zorba
"The Veiled Male"
http://www.doubleveil.net

Kashmir

Not am I not surprised you cannot do this after a couple of months - I'm surprised your teacher has introduced it so early. This move takes a lot of flexibility and control to execute, and more importantly needs good automatic ab control to execute safely. Around here, most students wouldn't see it for a year or so! There's plenty of basic technique to work on - honest.