Bellydance Like Shakira

Though its origins aren't clear, according to some sources, belly dancing's roots can be traced to the Middle East and North Africa around the time of the Pyramids.[1] Today, belly dancing has found a home in the booming beats of modern pop and dance music. Colombian pop star Shakira is credited with popularizing her own Latin-tinged style of belly dance. With this easy guide, you'll be able to move like Shakira "whenever, wherever" you want!

Steps

Getting Started

  1. Groove to some good belly dance tunes. Shakira's love for belly dancing started at age four when she heard traditional Arab music in a Middle Eastern restaurant.[2] Traditional Middle Eastern and Mediterranean music is great for belly dancing, especially if it's accompanied by a strong beat from the doumbek, a traditional Arab drum.
    • Many modern dance and pop songs also work great as backing tracks for your belly dance routine. Any mid-or-uptempo dance song should work well. Shakira's music is often heavily Latin-influenced, so for inspiration, you may want to check out modern Latin hip-hop and reggaeton hits.
  2. Assume the fundamental belly dancing stance. Belly dancing is all about keeping your core well-supported and not stressing your spine. Keep an erect posture - make sure your back is straight and your chest is out. Don't slouch. Gently pull your shoulders back to give yourself an at-attention look. Bend your knees slightly and don't lock them while you're dancing. If you do, it's very hard to comfortably make smooth, undulating torso movements.
    • When you begin dancing, align your hips under your body. Shakira is world-famous for her sexy ability to throw and bounce her hips. You can gently imitate these moves, but always return your hips to an aligned resting position. Prolonged hip "mis-allignment" can give you lower back pain.
  3. Start to "shimmy." A belly dancer is almost always in motion. Practice a basic shimmying motion. The shimmy is a good foundation for more complicated belly dancing techniques. If you ever find yourself lost during a dance routine, you can return to this sexy move with ease. This move takes a little practice, but for a killer belly dance routine, it's worth it.
    • To shimmy, first bend your knees slightly more than you would for your default stance. Straighten one leg, using this motion to lift one side of your hips up towards your body. Return your leg to its bent position as you straighten your other leg. Practice isolating this basic movement, then slowly increasing the speed of your shimmy until you can do it to the beat of the music at a high speed.
    • Be sure to keep your feet flat on the ground throughout the shimmy - don't go up on your toes.
  4. Keep your arms up. By default, your arms should stay parallel to the floor or above when belly dancing. This is for several reasons - for instance, elevated arms stretch the stomach muscles tightly, giving your belly a more taut appearance. More importantly, elevated arm motions can be incorporated into your dance routine. Try recreating wave-like motions with your arms, shaking them to the beat, or even making flirtatious "come hither" gestures!
    • Follow this rule with moderation. Shakira often lowers her arms to do modern, hip hop-influenced dance moves (see her popping arm motions in the video for "She Wolf.")
  5. Accent your dance with leg and hand movements. It's time to seriously spice your belly dance up ! Belly dancing is a full-body activity - with coordinated movement all four limbs, you can give your dance any sort of personality you choose. Maybe you want to keep a mysterious air about you - in this case, try gliding your hands in front of your face with wrist flourishes to hide yourself from the audience. Or maybe you want to give the impression that you're fiery and aggressive - use your legs to do dramatic leaps and spins. The possibilities are endless - here are just a few you can experiment with:
    • Go for a regal "Cleopatra" look - stretch one arm in front of you, as if admiring yourself with a hand mirror, keeping the other arm behind your head, as if you're doing your hair. Alternate arms to the beat!
    • Take to the floor! Laying on one side, prop yourself up with one arm, extending your other arm and one leg toward the ceiling. Sway your arm and leg to the music - or, if you've got the flexibility, use your arm to stretch your leg toward your head!
    • Add subtly wrist and finger movements to your routine. For a small addition that'll get a big reaction, you can try "rolling" your outstretched fingers to the beat of the music as you twist and sway your arms in front of you.
  6. Keep a flirtatious air. A dancer's attitude can make or break a belly dancing routine. Generally, you should try to appear sexy and flirtatious, yet mysterious. Keep a mischievous smile on your face. Wink at your audience. Turn your back on your audience, then look back with a sly look while you continue your dance. Above all, have fun - your audience will feed off of your enjoyment.
    • To drive your audience wild, single out individual members for personal attention. Try dancing right up next to someone in the front row - his guy friends will go crazy and his girl friends will be green with envy!

Shaking it Like Shakira

  1. Keep a toned midsection. The central focus of belly dancing is, naturally, the movement of the dancer's belly. Shakira has a long, flexible, toned stomach - it's a big part of what makes her belly dancing so incredible. A strong, lean stomach makes belly dancing's undulations and hip movements easier to perform (and more visually striking to whoever's watching.) People of all shapes and sizes can belly dance, but all aspiring belly dancers can benefit from a healthy core workout.
    • Keeping a strong core and a toned stomach doesn't mean doing endless crunches. Practice a well-rounded workout that works all of your core muscles - the stronger they are, the stronger your physical foundation for dancing. See: How to Strengthen Your Core. Try to work at least the following muscle groups:
      • Abdominals
      • Back
      • Hips
      • Legs
      • Glutes
  2. Wear an appropriate belly dance outfit. Your stomach is the center of attention here - pick clothes that emphasize an all-around view of your midsection. Traditional belly dancers often wear richly ornamented bra-like tops and flowing gowns (sometimes with slits on the side to show the legs) or loose-fitting Arabian style pants. Shakira sometimes wears traditional-inspired outfits (see the famous video for her hit "Hips Don't Lie"), but often, she takes a more modern approach, wearing bikini style tops and low-cut jeans or skirts (see the video for "La Tortura.")
    • Both the traditional and modern outfits Shakira is known to wear expose most of the waist and torso - don't be shy!
    • Traditional belly dancers are known for sewing small bells or pieces of metal to their outfits to create a rhythmic, jingle bell-like sound while dancing. Some also incorporate veils to give the dancer an air of mystery. Experiment!
    • Ab and back stretches
  3. Practice individual hip and torso movements. Shakira has incredible control over her core muscles - she's able to make amazing shaking and rippling motions with ease. Beginners should work on basic, isolated belly dance movements before working them together into a full-body routine. Here are some fundamental belly dance moves:
    • Hip rolls. Hip rolls are belly dancing's sexy bread and butter. Make small circular motions with each side of your hips - at first, move one side at a time, but eventually work up to a continuous rolling motion, alternating sides.
    • Stomach ripples. On a toned stomach, this move is especially striking. Practice clenching your upper abdominals, then your middle abdominals, then your lower abdominals to make a wave-like motion with your torso. When you're confident, support this move with back-and forth hip motions.
    • Hip pops. Famously featured in Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" video. Lift one of your heels so that you have one foot flat on the ground and one foot on its toes. While you make this motion, pop your hip out to the side. Practice this move, slowly increasing your speed until you can repeat it quickly to the beat of the music.
  4. Emulate pop and hip hop dance moves. As noted above, Shakira's dance style is heavily influenced by modern pop and hip hop music. A dance routine modeled after Shakira should incorporate elements of these styles of dance, like, for instance:
    • "Drop it to the floor" moves. Drastic booty drops followed by slow, languid rises can make your audience members' jaws drop.
    • Chest pops/circles. Amazingly, Shakira can move her upper chest independently of the rest of her torso. Practice withdrawing your chest, then popping it out gently but quickly. Accent this with forward-and-back arm motions. For an added challenge, try rotating your upper chest in a circle along the line of your shoulders!
    • Dramatic bends. Shakira is uber-flexible, able to contort and bend into sexy, dramatic poses (see her "trapped in a cage" scenes in the "She Wolf" video.) Keep lean and limber - strong, flexible core muscles are a must.
  5. Use Shakira's moves. To truly get a sense of Shakira's unique, highly influential dance style, you should spend some time studying her body of work. You'll soon notice that the above steps aren't hard and fast rules - Shakira's style changes from song to song. Generally, her dance moves are influenced by pop, hip hop, Latin, and traditional/world music. In many songs, you can find traces of all four. When watching her videos, note individual moves you'd like to work on.
    • A good place to start is with the videos for her biggest hits, like "Whenever, Wherever," "Hips Don't Lie," "She Wolf," and "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)."
    • Shakira's 2007 performance of "Ojos Así" in Dubai features a lengthy, Middle Eastern inspired musical breakdown that gives Shakira an opportunity to show off her classical belly dancing skill. Watch it!
    • Don't forget to add your own unique touches. Shakira is a great dancer to emulate, but the best belly dance routine are the ones that are uniquely "you."



Tips

  • Don't give up!
  • Watch yourself in the mirror.
  • Be patient. Remember that Shakira has been learning belly dance for more than 10 years now.
  • Make sure there is a lot of extra space.
  • Dance with passion and put your soul to your dance!
  • The most important thing to remember is to keep whatever body part your moving isolated. Isolation is key to making it look as good as Shakira. If you're moving your hips, try to keep your chest and arms still and vice versa, it makes your movements look more controlled.
  • Flaunt your curvy shape and use it as an advantage to practice bellydancing. One day, you might be in a Latin performance!
  • Realize that you will probably not be able to dance exactly like Shakira. Don't be too hard on yourself, because you'll get there!

Warnings

  • Don't overdo it - you can get seriously injured or sprain something.
  • Make sure there is nothing breakable around.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.nps.gov/cham/historyculture/belly-dancing-an-ancient-art.htm
  2. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20090429094152/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/shakira/articles/story/5937750/shakira
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