Shimmies With Knees??

summerdance · 09-05-2007, 09:11 PM

I have been noticing a lot of dancers who should know better doing their shimmies with excessive knee.

I was always taught that the knees should disappear in a shimmy. It should flow smoother.

Is this a new thing? I am curious if this is a western fusion thing . I know it's not a beginner error. The dancers are some that have apparently been dancing for some time in the area.

Mya · 09-05-2007, 10:10 PM

ok well i could have just been mistaught, but i was instructed to do my egyptian shimmy from the knees. it still looks smooth...but the knees are definitely there.

summerdance · 09-05-2007, 10:37 PM

Hi Mya,

Thank you for the reply. No, I am not saying anyone is taught wrong. I was taught that the shimmy begins with the knees, but the knees should then disappear. You should not be able to see where the shimmy originated. It should look fluid and have no separations or pauses. I can't explain it well in words.
I have just been noticing that here it looks different so I was wondering if this is a western thing.

Shanazel · 09-06-2007, 04:53 AM

Not in the part of the west where I live. I learned to shimmy from my core and not from the knees. How else are you going to shimmy when kneeling or driving down the road in your car?

slinks · 09-06-2007, 09:47 AM

the freeze shimmy :-)

maariku · 09-06-2007, 12:06 PM

Hmmm, Ive never heard of the knees "disappearing". I've always learned that you have to get the knees moving so comfortably that at some point it will be automatic.... but still equally big to when you started shimmying. There are of course quite a lot of non-knee-driven shimmies.

Shanazel, shimmying when driving your car? Now that takes quite a bit of imagination...

janaki · 09-06-2007, 01:56 PM

There are many shimmies as Maariku said it.

Yes, Egyptian shimmies are knee driven. Freeze shimmies come from the core. They are other style shimmies too. Majority of them use the knees.

Camille Malaena · 09-06-2007, 02:21 PM

Don't forget the Suhaila glute shimmies! My instructor heavily emphasizes shimmies that basically are powered by the glutes and not the knees. I think they basically looks crisper.

I think a dancer should be able to do whatever movement is necessary that fits the music.

gisela · 09-06-2007, 02:27 PM

do you know a video where glute shimmies can be seen? I've heard it explained and seen the lovely glute excercize video on you tube but never actually seen glute shimmies in a dance.

And I have never heard of anyone I know here in denmark that does it.

mahsati_janan · 09-06-2007, 02:37 PM

There are a lot of different shimmies, so it is hard to be sure which one you are seeing, but what it sounds like is what I call "Modern Egyptian" - it was made most popular by Raqia and other dancers in modern Cairo. It is different from the "Classical Egyptian" shimmy that comes from the obliques which is considered somewhat old-fashioned by the current Cairo dancers. The modern Egyptian is actually usually controlled through the quads, but b/c the knees are the most visible element when you are learning it, it is often called a knee shimmy.

For what it is worth, I have noticed a few dancers in recent years whose knees seem to have "taken over" their shimmy for lack of a better explanation - where their knees seem to be moving far more than their hips and it can be a little distracting to me, but to each their own. In both the standard classical and modern Egyptian that I teach the emphasis stays on the hip motion rather than the knees no matter which muscles are being used to generate it.

Hope that makes sense!

09-05-2007, 09:11 PM	#1 (permalink)
summerdance Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 65	Shimmies With Knees?? I have been noticing a lot of dancers who should know better doing their shimmies with excessive knee. I was always taught that the knees should disappear in a shimmy. It should flow smoother. Is this a new thing? I am curious if this is a western fusion thing . I know it's not a beginner error. The dancers are some that have apparently been dancing for some time in the area.

09-05-2007, 10:37 PM	#3 (permalink)
summerdance Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 65	Shimmies with knees Hi Mya, Thank you for the reply. No, I am not saying anyone is taught wrong. I was taught that the shimmy begins with the knees, but the knees should then disappear. You should not be able to see where the shimmy originated. It should look fluid and have no separations or pauses. I can't explain it well in words. I have just been noticing that here it looks different so I was wondering if this is a western thing.

09-06-2007, 12:06 PM	#6 (permalink)
maariku Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Estonia Posts: 1,146	Hmmm, Ive never heard of the knees "disappearing". I've always learned that you have to get the knees moving so comfortably that at some point it will be automatic.... but still equally big to when you started shimmying. There are of course quite a lot of non-knee-driven shimmies. Shanazel, shimmying when driving your car? Now that takes quite a bit of imagination... __________________ "[A good bellydancer] must express life, death, happiness, sorrow, love and anger, but above all she must have dignity." -Tahia Carioca,

09-06-2007, 02:27 PM	#9 (permalink)
gisela Moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Denmark Posts: 928	do you know a video where glute shimmies can be seen? I've heard it explained and seen the lovely glute excercize video on you tube but never actually seen glute shimmies in a dance. And I have never heard of anyone I know here in denmark that does it. __________________ You need chaos in your soul to create a dancing star-nietzsche

09-06-2007, 02:37 PM	#10 (permalink)
mahsati_janan Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Asheville, NC, USA Posts: 11	There are a lot of different shimmies, so it is hard to be sure which one you are seeing, but what it sounds like is what I call "Modern Egyptian" - it was made most popular by Raqia and other dancers in modern Cairo. It is different from the "Classical Egyptian" shimmy that comes from the obliques which is considered somewhat old-fashioned by the current Cairo dancers. The modern Egyptian is actually usually controlled through the quads, but b/c the knees are the most visible element when you are learning it, it is often called a knee shimmy. For what it is worth, I have noticed a few dancers in recent years whose knees seem to have "taken over" their shimmy for lack of a better explanation - where their knees seem to be moving far more than their hips and it can be a little distracting to me, but to each their own. In both the standard classical and modern Egyptian that I teach the emphasis stays on the hip motion rather than the knees no matter which muscles are being used to generate it. Hope that makes sense! __________________ Mahsati Janan ~ Dance Artist

09-05-2007, 10:10 PM	#2 (permalink)
Mya Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Trinidad Posts: 567	ok well i could have just been mistaught, but i was instructed to do my egyptian shimmy from the knees. it still looks smooth...but the knees are definitely there.

09-06-2007, 04:53 AM	#4 (permalink)
Shanazel Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Rocky Mountains USA Posts: 4,563	Not in the part of the west where I live. I learned to shimmy from my core and not from the knees. How else are you going to shimmy when kneeling or driving down the road in your car?

09-06-2007, 09:47 AM	#5 (permalink)
slinks V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Australia, Sunny Queensland Posts: 1,195	the freeze shimmy :-)

09-06-2007, 01:56 PM	#7 (permalink)
janaki V.I.P. Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: hong kong Posts: 1,211	There are many shimmies as Maariku said it. Yes, Egyptian shimmies are knee driven. Freeze shimmies come from the core. They are other style shimmies too. Majority of them use the knees.

09-06-2007, 02:21 PM	#8 (permalink)
Camille Malaena Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 7	Don't forget the Suhaila glute shimmies! My instructor heavily emphasizes shimmies that basically are powered by the glutes and not the knees. I think they basically looks crisper. I think a dancer should be able to do whatever movement is necessary that fits the music.