When I first started bellydancing, back in 1981, there was a classic move that dancers would typically use to finish their dance.
Nowadays dancers will signal to musicians that they are ready to stop by doing a long spin, but back then, they would often use a twist move (I’ve also seen it called a swerve) going round in a circle.
I think of it as a classic Golden Era move and I associate it with wonderful dancers like Mona Said and Hanan (my two personal favourites).
It’s a great move for when the music gets very fast (such as at the end of a baladi progression) but it’s not used very much any more, although personally I always use it when I dance baladi.
In this short tutorial video (below) I show you how to do it, but I start out by teaching a lovely variation on it which feels more modern and is really good for layering and travelling.
I hope you enjoy the tutorial… and enjoy adding the moves to your own repertoire if you don’t already use them!
