Movement by part of the body used.
Describing movements by the body part used to perform them is very popular!
There are eight body parts commonly utilised in belly dance:
Arms - either held still in space to accentuate movement elsewhere, or in action themselves
Belly - for those iconic abdominal rolls, flutters and waves
Chest - wonderful for eyecatching slides, pops and accents
Feet - for stepping, turning, spinning and also for bouncing or level changes like flat foot to releve (ball of foot).
Hands - sometimes held still in space, sometimes expressing a variety of emotion through movement
Head - surprisingly well used in belly dance
Hips - so much used in belly dance, maybe it should have been called hipdancing!
Legs - follow those feet, or absorb movement from other parts
The skill level of each individual dancer will have some bearing on whether a movement is isolated to one part or a complex layering. A position of knowledge allows the dancer to choose whether to isolate or to layer.
contributed by Abijii, Anoushka, Elle'Aich, Shakeelah
A is for Arms
A is for arms
This means both positions and actions.
Arm positions allow you to keep attention on movement being made elsewhere. For example, emphasising hipwork. They are many and various, including:
Baladi arms (Frequently used for a particular arm position) as if playing ‘air piano’ with hands slightly wider than hip width. Used to name where the arms are held for dancing the folkloric style of dance, raqs balady
Crossed arms: arms crossed parallel in front of chest (shoulders relaxed, forearms not touching). Aim to avoid droopy elbows.
Neena arms: arms crossed parallel in front of chest (shoulders relaxed, one forearm held diagonal as that hand rises to the opposite cheek (can be done to express emotion)
Orientale arms: arms held at shoulder height, with elbows facing back, shoulders remain as relaxed as poss. Quite balletic, used in cabaret & to add emphasis sometimes in tribal styles.
Salute aka display your hair: one arm out, parallel to floor, other arm ‘salutes’ behind ear (or touches hair behind ear, to draw attention to your shining mane)
A is for arm movement (check these out by the letter of the alphabet from the home page):
Accent
Air, hair
Circling
Diamond hands
Dramatic push down
Elbow strike
Face frame
Hathor
Horror heroine
Iris rising
Mermaid
Open frame
Paint the Wall
Ripple
Seaweed
Slides
Snake
Strike
Toffee
Turkish headache
Turning in air
Undulation
Ward off
Wrist lift
Contributors so far: Abijii, Acantha, Anoushka, Elle'Aich, LeQuaia, Shakeelah, TMcA