Dolls

Dance Moves

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Dance competition in the name of charity

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They came from as far north as Niagara Falls and as far south as Philadelphia. Dancers gathered Saturday in Elmira Heights to compete to be called the best, but as our Bill Mich tells us, this competition was held with much more than winning in mind.
What are good belly dance moves to teach children?

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I am a belly dance instructor, and I have been chosen to teach a belly dancing camp for younger girls around the ages of 8-10 years old. I am going to teach them one new move a day, and near the end, we will learn a very simple choreography. I was just wondering what moves I would teach them and how. For example, I chose the hip circle as one of the moves they'll learn, because it is simple and easy to teach. Any help or comments would be greatly appreciated!
Please be mature.

Hip circles are a great idea!

Some other stuff that would probably be fun for girls that age:
Proud walking in a chain
Simple veil work (assuming you can get appropriately sized veils -> something like a figure eight with their arms while holding a scarf would probably be neat)
Snake arms
Step together step footwork

Unconventional Dance Moves

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Tips and Ideas for Learning How to Dance

You get a little jealous when you see your friends on the dance floor, but you have yet to gain the courage to join them.  Before you hit the floor, you want to learn how to unlock your inner dancer.  This is easier than you might think.  Most people have dancing skills, but they don't know how to use them.  You can figure out how to tap into your skills by following a few simple steps.

First, you need to learn rhythm.

Rhythm refers to the beats in the song.  Most songs come in beats of four, but occasionally you will find songs that come in beats of three.  You want to move to the beats when dancing, which means you need to practice.  Turn on the radio and listen for the rhythm in the song.  Once you hear it, start counting it out.  Then, clap out the rhythm.  After you master clapping to the rhythm, tap your feet to the beat.  Lastly, bob your head to the rhythm.

In each case, you should be on time with the notes of the rhythm.  Don't be discouraged if this takes some time.  You can learn rhythm, but it might take several tries before you get it down.

Once you learn rhythm, you need to start moving to the music.

The key to dancing is to move in harmony with the rhythm. Be sure to move your hips, legs, feet, arms and head.  Move in a way that makes you comfortable while remaining mindful of the beat.

After you become comfortable moving to the beat, you need to lose yourself in the music.  This is where most people have trouble. They strive for perfection instead of expression.  You don't need to be perfect unless you are dancing ballet, jazz, or tap.  Instead, you need to let the music take you to the place it wants you to go.

Just stay with the beat and disappear in the music.  When you do this, your body will loosen up and your dancing will quickly improve.  In addition, you will begin to express yourself through your movements, which is a big part of dancing.

You will continue to grow and evolve as a dancer.  However, even as you get better, you need to stay true to these basic principles.  Remember the rhythm, get lost in the music, and most of all, have fun.  If you can do these things, you will have a blast on the dance floor.

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