How To Shimmy Like A Belly Dancer

All the beginners in belly dancing wants to learn how to shimmy and those at the intermediate level wants to know how to do it better. Shimmy is just fast vibration of the body. The reason why the modern Egyptian shimmy is so difficult is because you need to relax the part of the body you want to shimmy. This notion is opposite to what we are taught in Western dance - to tense the muscle we want to move. Here are some tips for a good shimmy:

• The secret for a good shimmy is to use other muscles for the moment, so the muscle you want to shimmy can relax. So if you want to shimmy your hips, use your leg muscles and if you need to shimmy your shoulders, relax them and use back and ribs.
  
• Another trick to perform a good shimmy is to pump back and forth your knees. The knees play an important role too but they shouldn't be considered as the first technique to learn a hip shimmy.
  
• For shimmying, it is important that you soften your knees and imagine that your buttocks are relaxed as if they are falling down on the floor. Let it stay loose. Practice slowly and then increase your speed.
  
• Always maintain your core. Lift and contract your glutes instead of tucking them under and tensing them down.

Once you have learned the basics, it is quite easy to improvise on the moves.

By: Neha Maheshwari

Content: https://bellydancebazaar.com/howtoshimmy/