Belly dancer at The Silk Route

Saji - Bellydancer at The Silk Route 28/9/2008 (Copyright Dave Halley 2008), originally uploaded by Dave Halley.

The movements in belly dance involve isolating different parts of the body such as hips, shoulders, chest, stomach etc. which appear similar to the isolations used in jazz ballet but performed differently. In most belly dance styles, the focus is on the hip and pelvic area. In Shimmy movement, a shimmering vibration of the hips, a vibration is created by moving the knees past each other at high speed, although some dancers use contractions of the gluts. Dancers also put one leg to the side and then shimmy is performed by vibration of the leg which bears the weight. Shoulder shimmy is also an important element of belly dance. In ‘Swinging arms’, an important expressive move in belly dance, the move stresses on the beauty and flexibility of the dancer. In many cases hands are used to frame around the moving part of the body to stress the expression of that part. In ‘Hip punches’, a basic move, dancers alternate the weight on the legs and create impression of the swinging pelvis. And in ‘Undulation’, rotating movements of the chest forward, up, back and down, create impression of riding a camel.