Question: What would be the 3 most basic move a beginners should learn first?

[vinstones]

Hi fellow belly dancers from all nations..

I'm Vincent from Singapore and recently my wife just started learning Belly dancing in a neighbourhood community centre.

The class of 20 participants are all very new and excited about belly dancing.

I'm asking this questions on their behalf.

Question:

- What would be the 3 most basic move a beginners should learn first?
- Why?

ps. they'd be thrilled to learn from an international perspective!

 

[Amulya]

You got a difficult question there! I think each dancer has another answer. I always teach my students more basic movements then just 3, but I think the shimmy is a thing I find very important. It is a movement people can learn easily and it has a great effect, the kind of thing they can show at home and everybody will be amazed.

 

[Moon]

I think one of the most important things to learn as soon as possible is not (yet) a movement, but correct posture That will make most movements much easier to learn (and without back pain )

 

[Maria_Aya]

3 only? imposible.
In my first beginers hour, i teach 20 movements and the concept of middle east dance.
Maria Aya, Athens

 

[Zumarrad]

I agree, a difficult question!

In our 10 lesson beginner course, the first three moves the students learn are shoulder pushes (speeding up to shimmy), hip rock and washing machine. They start big hip circles, a move I haven't really seen discussed on line very much, in the second lesson (this is a *flat* horizontal hip circle performed on a wide base, which I'm guessing has its roots in American cabaret style, possibly Salimpour, but I could be completely wrong) which is a difficult move to perfect, but which contains a lot of valuable technique.

If you were going to ask what three basic moves are most important for a belly dancer to know, I would say hip circle, hip thrust and hip drop. If you can work with those, you're dancing pretty quick. IMO.

 

[Miss_Winnii]

I agree, a difficult question!

In our 10 lesson beginner course, the first three moves the students learn are shoulder pushes (speeding up to shimmy), hip rock and washing machine. They start big hip circles, a move I haven't really seen discussed on line very much, in the second lesson (this is a *flat* horizontal hip circle performed on a wide base, which I'm guessing has its roots in American cabaret style, possibly Salimpour, but I could be completely wrong) which is a difficult move to perfect, but which contains a lot of valuable technique.

If you were going to ask what three basic moves are most important for a belly dancer to know, I would say hip circle, hip thrust and hip drop. If you can work with those, you're dancing pretty quick. IMO.

I think you should learn a good arm postion as well, and a right posture

 

[Zumarrad]

Well, yes, but that's more than three. Posture's fundamental.

 

[Mariyam]

Yes to posture and yes to arms as well... but if I were to pick just three, based on what my teachers showed me first:

- hip circle
- flat horizontal figure 8 (in both directions - is that 2 moves? )
- hips side to side (dunno how to call that one! )

 

[Yasmine Bint Al Nubia]

It's hard to pick three, but here it goes
hip circle-horizontal
hip shimmy
Egyptian basic travelling step

You know Vince, if everyone posts just three moves, you'll end up with an entire lesson plan!
Yasmine

 

[Gia al Qamar]

After teaching posture, every beginner in my classes learns hip circles, lifts & drops and basic hip shimmes. I consider these the core elements upon which much is built!
Gia

 

[vinstones]

How About Sharing Your Entire Lesson Plan

Wonderful sharing of views here, despite being a difficult question.

And I'm learning good stuff here...

cos, with these answers.. we beginners can at least indentify important basic areas to work on and not miss out on the foundation every belly dancers should know.

Guess what!, even with these so call basic moves. I'll need to read and research more to see how some of these moves looks like and hows its done..

like hows the "Egyptian basic travelling step" Yasmine mentioned looks like.

oh and yeah, anyone kind to share their suggested lesson plan?
That would be wonderful, even for the instructors who may benefit from one anothers unique lesson plans.

Meantime, I'll share this wonderful feedback with the participants.. they're gonna love it!

I'll definately be referencing back to this topic posting periodically as a newbie to belly dancing for the great suggestions.

Meantime..
Who'd like to be the first to share their suggested lesson plan?



It'll be a real eye opener for beginners..!

 

[Yasmine Bint Al Nubia]

Hi Vinstones, there many variations to even the most basic dance moves. Oriental Dance doesn't have a "true" standard vocabulary and as such different teachers uses different names for the same moves. This can be especially confusing for new dancers. The lesson plan used at my school is the intellectual property of my teacher and so I can't share it with you . If you and/or your wife are taking classes it just may be simpler to learn your teacher's technique/vocabulary than review a truckload of different movements.

I learned the Egyptian basic step as a travel move that moves the dancer from one point to the next. I'm sure there are variety of ways to describe it, so I'll share the version that I learned. All travel steps involve a foot pattern with weight changes from one foot to the next: Small step forward with right foot(weight on rt. foot), then bring the left foot forward to touch on balls of the foot, either in front of the rt. foot or next to it. Then transfer the weight as you step with the lt. foot and touch with the rt. foot. So the pattern is step-touch, step-touch. Usually arms also form a pattern with this step (there are many ways to do this)When you step with the rt. foot the rt. arm extends in front of the dancer and the left arm/hand frames the face as the lt. foot touches the floor. As the feet move in the step-touch pattern the arms switch position. With the Egyptian Basic step a dancer can travel sideways or forward and back.
yasmine

 

[Shanazel]

This sounds like a variation of what I have always known as the Cobra, though one does not necessarily alternate leading feet in Cobra.

Vocabulary. I think it is too late to standardize it, but it would sure be handy to have a list of synonyms for dance steps somewhere!

 

[Yasmine Bint Al Nubia]

See what I mean? I learned the Cobra as a snaky arm move that intertwines as you bring the arms down in front of the body.
Yasmine

 

[vinstones]

Hi Vinstones, there many variations to even the most basic dance moves. Oriental Dance doesn't have a "true" standard vocabulary and as such different teachers uses different names for the same moves. This can be especially confusing for new dancers. The lesson plan used at my school is the intellectual property of my teacher and so I can't share it with you . If you and/or your wife are taking classes it just may be simpler to learn your teacher's technique/vocabulary than review a truckload of different movements.
yasmine

Yes, now I understand that there isn't a rigid term/names to a move.

I guess thats the beauty of it.. endless variation unique to each dancers style and interpretation..

Btw. you're good at discribing the moves in words..

Thanks Yasmin..

 

[Yasmine Bint Al Nubia]

You're welcome Vinstones!
Yasmine

 

[Lydia]

what would be the most basic move a beginners should learn first

Hi there ...this is what i do for my level 1 class....posture...but not to heavy on that one in the begining.....normal strait hipdrop, than i do 4 basic travelsteps ....2 sideway,s....2 back and front....all in maksoum .....i call it earth movements....we start balady...for the water move,s than we do 8 up,8down,barrels.....normal camel,and a long camel.....i start shimmy,s,and sholder shimmy,s,.......and start turning on the strech....and a good understanding from the dom and the tek,what i think is realy inportant....i do streching and cardio aswell......so a very simple class for the very beginners nice and easy and most people get treu it in 6 to 8 hours.........have a great day Lydia

 

[vinstones]

Hi there ...this is what i do for my level 1 class....posture...but not to heavy on that one in the begining.....normal strait hipdrop, than i do 4 basic travelsteps ....2 sideway,s....2 back and front....all in maksoum .....i call it earth movements....we start balady...for the water move,s than we do 8 up,8down,barrels.....normal camel,and a long camel.....i start shimmy,s,and sholder shimmy,s,.......and start turning on the strech....and a good understanding from the dom and the tek,what i think is realy inportant....i do streching and cardio aswell......so a very simple class for the very beginners nice and easy and most people get treu it in 6 to 8 hours.........have a great day Lydia

Wow!,:clap:

Thanks Lydia for sharing that..

I will print this out and show my wife, see she can perform it..

Wonder if she will show it to the class (all beginners) he he..

I feel beginners like us benefited most from this forum..:dance:

 

[starrbursts]

I totally agree with you

 

[Lydia]

Hi Vinstones......you are welcome...I dont put any name,s in the class untill level 2...i just keep it very simple to make it easy and comfi for the newbe,s so many differant names ,i think is confusing specialy when you just start and want to concentrate on the steps to get it correct....so names i put later....also i let students always try to dance alone in the class for 5 minutes...after 6 classes,and when they get stuck i just tel them from a distance number 2 or 3 ,or 8 up and its so easy then to make them understand what would fit there and then....sometime,s i just hold up 2 or 3 fingers while they dance and it works perfect .when they get stuck they just look at me while dancing and get my signal and can contineu .....i make groups for water and earth and fire....so if it is earth and number 1 fit also 2,3,4, fit and it becomes realy easy for them and usely very fast the students are able to do a song alone and dont have to wait a long time to go to party,s and join in with others having a good time.....ofcourse i am talking now just to have fune in a party ,not to be a prof dancer.....hope this helps a bit.....have a great day Lydia