How To Belly Dance for Beginners: Hip Turns (courtesy of ExpertVillage.com)

Now, you’re gonna learn how to hip-drop,kick, turn. You’ve learned how to hip drop, how to kick – now, you’re gonna learn how to turn!

So, the same position, on the diagonal, with your front leg bent and your back leg…sometimes it’s straight, sometimes it’s a little bit bent. It depends – when you start your turn, you know. Dance doesn’t have a lot of strict rules! Once you have ballet training, everything else goes in place. So, basically, you’re gonna start the hip drop that you know already, and you’re gonna incorporate the kick, and your back leg is gonna be doing the turn and the front leg gonna help, OK? And, that’s the turn.

Once again, you start with the hip drop, you’re gonna incorporate the kick. Now, you’re gonna turn! And, you just learned how to hip drop, kick, turn!

How To Waltz (courtesy of byyoursideproductions.com)

The waltz was danced in the ballrooms of the Hapsburg court as early as the 1700s, and was once considered scandalous and violent, due to its close hold and rapid turning movements. However, by the end of the 18th century, opposition had faded away. And, during the 19th century, it was said to have been a favorite of Queen Victoria. Today, the waltz is considered graceful, elegant and a Cinderella dance of all the ballroom dances.

Lesson 1 – The Box Step

Are you ready to learn the waltz? Great! Waltz music is played in ¾ time, and has a very distinctive boom-tic-tic rhythm. Now, the dance waltz has a rise and fall which goes right along with that boom-tic-tic rhythm, and it looks something like this: boom-tic-tic, boom-tic-tic, boom-tic-tic, tic.

Now, another aspect of the waltz is that it’s a traveling dance, and travels counter-clockwise around the dance floor. But, before we move into the first step of the waltz, let’s review our dance position.

OK, as you notice, I am on his right-hand side, so I’m all set from his tie level, over.

If you look down at our feet, my right foot is pointed between his, and his right foot is pointed between mine, so that we are on our own tracks.

His right hand is on my shoulder blade, and his elbow always remains up, like this. And, my left hand rests on his arm without putting a lot of weight on it.

Now, this man is at my eye level, and between the two of us. It’s not gonna be too much this way and it’s not going to be too much this way. We’re gonna keep it right here in the middle, and I’m gonna slightly lean in to him, so that we have a pressure point here in this hand, a pressure point here in this hand, and he’s holding on to my back pretty good.

OK, now. What we’re going to do is we’re gonna demonstrate the very first step of the waltz, which is the Box Step. Ready, and…1-2-3, 1-2-3 – now, as we’re dancing, notice the rise and fall. 1-2-3, down-up-up, down-up-up, down-up-up, down-up-up.

OK, now that you’ve seen that, let’s see the man’s part! Ready, and…forward-side-together, back-side-together, forward-side-together, back-side-together. Let’s try that one more time! Left-right-left, right-left-right, left-right-left, right-left-right. Good! Now, let’s count it out! And… 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3. Good! Now that you have the man’s part, let’s do the ladies’ part!

We have…back-side-together, forward-side-together, back-side-together, forward-side-together. Now, let’s try this one more time! Right-left-right, left-right-left, right-left-right, left-right-left. Now, with the proper timing. And…1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3.

OK, now, let’s try that together! And, we dance…1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3. Now, once you feel comfortable with that, you want to rotate the step counter-clockwise, just a little bit at a time. So, we will do the same steps, and…rotate-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3. One more time, and…1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3. Good!

OK! And, there you have your Waltz Box Step!

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