Product Review

When advanced belly dance is taught, the emphasis is often on deconstructing and remixing your moves, on speed, and on amassing accents, rarely on technique. As a result a lot of our advanced choreographies are performed with beginner technique.

Advanced belly dance technique is characterized by depth and fluidity produced through maximal abdominal and spinal engagement on every move, by precise upper body support for hipwork and arms, compound (rather than over-isolated) movement trajectories, use of preparatory & transitional trajectories, and full command of the movement continuum as opposed to breaking dance into individual steps.

To cultivate this level of control and sophistication in your technique, New York-based belly dance star and acclaimed instructor Neon has created this 3-hour program: 7 Shortcuts to Advanced Belly Dance - 2 hours of instruction and 1 hour of non-stop practice with music.

Neon offers detailed explanations, exercises and dance practice to help you enhance your technique level through the following 7 Shortcuts:

1. Replace all 2-dimensional trajectories in fluid moves with 3-dimensional trajectories to boost abdominal and spinal engagement and add volume and depth to your movement.

2. Support hipwork with defined upper body trajectories to battle over-isolation and stiffness.

3. Replace all straight-line trajectories with curves in percussive hipwork to deepen abdominal articulation.

4. Establish and use preparatory trajectories and transitions that result in maximal completeness of each move s trajectory by creating an in and an out for each move. Combine moves based on compatibility of their in and out transitions.

5. Stop thinking moves , start thinking movement continuum to blend your moves into a seamless flow.

6. Layer a fluid hipwork or a spinal articulation trajectory on every transitional step.

7. Focus on initiating arm movements as opposed to placing arms in space. Eliminate static framing.