How can i belly dance better?

Question:

How can i belly dance better?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Well. not knowing your level or abilities it's hard to give you direction. If your a beginner and you want to improve practice is usually the key. However to improve at bellydance you should look at it as a whole and all the pieces that are needed to make that whole complete dance. You need to know not only how to move but also how to zill, how to pick out certain rhythms, how to transition, etc...
There are many ways you could improve! You should also look at your goals as a bellydancer. Are you doing it for fun? to dance professionally? to teach? Depending on your goals you may want to focus your improvements in different ways. Here are some general suggestions for improving variuous aspects though:

IMPROVING MOVEMENTS
To improve your moves DO practice in front of a mirror. This will allow you to see yourself and notice if you are doing something that looks right or wrong. Practice daily for at least 15 minutes to allow the moves to be ingrained in your muscle memory. Also, make a list of movements you have learned and then write a description of each move as you understand it. This will make you think about and mentally internalize the movement. Try following your own description and make sure it makes sense. Ask someone else to do what you have written and see if it makes sense to them as well. If it doesn't try to find a way that you can more effectively break down the movement to make it more understandable. Try re-wording or using different analogies. This method is also very good if your planning on teaching because it helps you to give better breakdown to others and gives you a more in-depth understanding of each move you do. Another suggestion is to read other peoples descriptions of the moves. Read websites with how-to's and book's as well. Sometimes the way someone else describes something just makes it click for you. Also when practicing I highly recommend wearing a belt with lots of coins because this will allow you to hear what your hips are doing as well as see it. It is important to involve as many of your senses as possible to aid in the learning process.

IMPROVING MUSICALITY (music interpretation)
First you should have a variety of Arabic music selesctions from different artists. Preferably from different times as well as different styles. This gives you a broad range of different music to work with. I would suggest some classics such as Om Kalthoum, Farid Al-Atrache, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Warda, Fairuz as well as more modern hits like Hakim, Amr Diab, etc... It does not have to be all from one country. In fact if you want to specialize in a certain style like Egyptian style bellydance than you may want to focus your music collection to that style as well. Secondly try to identify different styles of music for example with egyptian music try to find baladi music, saidi music, etc... Learn about different styles and try to identify songs which mach that style. Or look for CD's that are all one style. For example Hossam Ramzy has a 2 disc CD set called the best of baladi and saidi. You could listen to them over and over till you can pick out what it is that makes the two styles different. Alos whatever music you like to dance to you should try to listen to until you know the music by heart. Try mapping out the rythym sequenses so you can understand where transitions and time changes should occur. Listen to the melodies to get a feel for the mood. Look on the internet to see if you can find any translations if the song has lyrics. Knowing what's being said really can enhance how you feel the music itself. Listen to the music whenever you can. Listen to it when your dirving to work/school/friend's/family listen to it on the bus listen to it at home listen to it at work if you can. Every opportunity you have listen to it. This allows you to really get in-tune with Arabic music.

IMPROVING MUSICALITY (using instruments)
Learning how to use Zills (aka sagat, finger cymbals, etc...) can help you dance better as well. To zill well you have to be able to interpret the rhythym being used in the music and match or compliment it. Try learning some new zill patterns. Try them out and practice them whenever you can. You don't even have to have your zills on to practice. If you want to practice somewhere that you can't or don't have zills try snapping your fingers to the same pattern. It uses the same fingers your zills would plus it's actually harder to snap it out than to zill it out so you will greatly improve your finger strength and dexterity allowing you to zill better and it will seem easier than snapping. To go even further try learning how to drum. Just knowing the rhythyms will help you to pair complimentary moves, transitions, and timing. But being able to play them yourself allows you to better usderstand the complexity of each rhythm. It shows you not only what the rhythm is but also how that rhythm can change and transition. You will find yourself better prepeared for improvisational dancing because you can more accurately predict what rhythm will follow and what possible variations it may have coming. If you can take the time to learn about the other instruments used and even how to play or interpret their melodies.

IMPROVING TRANSITIONS AND COMBINATIONS
If you have a list of the movements you know written down as suggested above try going through the list and pairing different movements together switch back and forth between two moves at a time to find the best way to transition. This will alow you to make smooth effortless transitions. Try mixing and matching different moves to find new combinations. When you find a new combination you like make a note of it so you don't forget it.

OTHER GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS
Make sure to stretch every day as well as exercise to keep or improve your felxibility, stamina, and strength. You might also want to try expanding your mind with the theory portions of bellydance such as learning about it's history, or famous dancers, or styles of bellydance, middle eastern culture. Learning other things about the dance can sometimes help you to feel inspired and is something you can do when you don't want to dance, listen to music, or play an instrument. Most of these are something you read about and so you can do so anytime you want to read. Just look up recommended books by some of the more prominant dancers and read them.

Also here's a brief list of some supplemental learning materials you can check into to help you further you progress as a bellydancer.

WEBSITES (for finding teachers/classes)
http://www.shira.net - probably the most extensive directory
http://www.middleeasterndance.... - my site which has a decent sized directory as well.
http://www.bhuz.com - another large directory as well as a great forum which can answer pretty much every question you will ever have about bellydance since it's comprised of bellydancers from all over the world.
If you can't find lessons looking on these three sites there may not be any in your area.

WEBSITES (for learning moves on-line)
http://www.middleeasterndance.net... - my own site look under the movements section, there will be enough to keep you busy for a long time. Also please read the before you begin section with the disclaimer, warm-up, cool-down, and basics about posture.
http://www.shira.net - Shira's site is an extensive collection of articles written about and for bellydancers and can provide you with a wealth of information that will be very beneficial. It's one of the oldest and most respected sites on the Internet and is referenced by bellydancers world-wide. She has a specific page which tells you how to do some moves as well as extensive links to other sites that offer on-line lessons as well.
http://www.venusbellydance.com/vocabular... - More movement descriptions.
http://www.aleena.com/miramar/ - go to on-line dance lessons there are several articles about dancing there.
http://www.zilltech.com/onlinelessons.ht... - Another old, well, respected website full of information you should check out. She offers a few instructions for several basic moves.
http://www.kawakib.com/page-30.html... - more of a technique lesson but might be helpful after learning some basics.
http://www.raqs.co.nz/moves.html... - has some descriptions of select movements.

BOOKS
Belly Dancing Basics by Laura A. Cooper (ISBN: 140271078X) - newer book, not great but not bad either.
The Art of Belly Dancing by Dahlena with Dona Z. Meilach - This book is out of print but shows up on amazon and e-bay from time to time. It's ok but it's written for a different time the history part is especially questionable but the moves are pretty straight forward.
Grandmother's Secrets by Rosina-Fawzia Al-Rawi (ISBN: 1566563267) - An interesting read has several descriptions of dance moves as well.
A lot of books have been coming on the market recently and most of them (excluding out of print books) are available at Barnes and Nobel or borders books as well as other chains and smaller stores.

ON-LINE INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS
http://www.trybellydancing.com/... - Like a mini instructional video available online. It's not bad quality.
http://www.expertvillage.com/interviews/... - Several mini instructional segments on various moves as well as zills, costuming, and musicality.

VIDEOS
Precision Motion Workout Series by Suzanna Del Vecchio - offers good posture basics as well as quality instruction on many moves.
Bellydance for Fitness Series by Neena and Veena Bidasher - this series is very cheap and available from major retailers like target, walmart, borders, and Barnes and Nobel but the quality of instruction is low. This is more of a workout for beginner dancers who already have had some training. The videos are a good quality as far as picture and sound but these are not good for an absolute beginner.
If you have any questions about bellydancing or want to know some more in-depth suggestion about a certain aspect of improvement please feel free to contact me through my site http://www.middleeasterndance.net...