Foundation Concepts and Terminology:
Belly Dance Turn Technique
Flowing Out in
Turns
Unlike Western dance forms, which often
emphasize pulling in and up to turn, belly dance turns flow out, with
a horizontal or grounded feeling. Belly dancers often turn with a
shift, tilt, bend, or twist in the body, drawing spirals or multiple
circles in the air. Layers on turns add still more circles upon
circles through movements like hip circles, reaching arms, head
rolls, or veil work. Turns in belly dance are usually initiated from
a movement in the hips, solar plexus, or shoulders. The most common
exceptions are cross-pivot turns, led by a pull from the free foot
and the hopping pivot of Saidi dance, led by the unweighted leg .
Countertwist
Technique
In the same way that belly dance uses
torso movements to initiate turns, counter-twisting movements of the
hips or upper body are sometimes used in belly dance to stop
rotation, creating a feeling of unfurling energy and then snapping it
back in. Countertwists punctuate the phrasing of combinations,
creating both a visual and emotional accent in the flow of the dance.
On a practical level, a countertwist allows the dancer to complete a
turn with one foot lifted from the floor.
Placement on
the Foot
Most belly dance turns pivot on the
ball of the foot with the heel relatively close to the floor, but
high heel lifts may be used. The cross-pivot turn rotates on both
the ball and heel of the foot. Alternating toe-heel pivots create a
gliding movement sometimes used in fusion. Heel pivots may be found
under movements that shift body weight back, like hip circles or
undulations. Some belly dancers also use heel pivots in turn
technique borrowed from Indian dance.
Defining the
Direction of Rotation
Inside
and Outside
Open
and Close
In Western dance forms, the naming
convention for the direction of a turn reflects movements that are
defined in terms of a working leg and a standing leg and the
technique of initiating a turn by pulling in and up. “Inside”
and “outside” turns are named relative to the side of the body of
the working leg. An “inside” turn rotates toward the standing
leg, and an “outside” turn rotates away from the standing leg.
In belly dance, however, the “working” part of the body is
usually the torso, and most turns originate with a movement of the
hip or shoulder on the same side of the body as the weight bearing
leg, so “inside” and “outside” feel opposite from the way
they are named in Western dance. For instance, a pivot on the right
foot might flow from a push of the right hip, or from an outside
swing of the right arm. From a pure belly dance perspective, an
“inside” rotation turns the working side of the body toward the
unweighted leg, and an “outside” rotation turns the working side
of the body away from the unweighted leg.
In Travel Steps, turns are named as
movements that open or close, relative to the shoulder or to the hip
over the weight-bearing leg, and relative to the energetic feeling in
the belly, solar plexus, or heart . A pivot “open” is a
clockwise pivot on the right foot or a counterclockwise pivot on the
left foot, and follows a movement that opens the front of the body.
A pivot to “close” rotates counterclockwise on the right foot or
clockwise on the left, and follows a movement that closes the front
of the body.
Movement
Breakdown for Turns
In Travel Steps, pivots and steps are
always treated as discrete components in movement breakdowns. Pivots
happen between steps: weight is transferred to one foot in a step, a
pivot moves the free foot over a new location on the floor, and then
weight is transferred in another step. In step-pivot combinations, a
pivot often takes a full count. Count “1” for the step, “2”
for the pivot. Steps and pivots flow together in faster turns and
turns across the floor, but the breakdown is the same. Step on the
count, pivot between steps.
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Travel Steps -Foundation Positions and Movements
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