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hard drawn bellydancer

Illustration by Alison

Donia's Warm ups - Version 1

View as a pdf file

Breathing, Neck, and Shoulders

  • Hang forward (bending knees, if desired). Take 2 deep breaths. Roll slowly up.
  • Roll shoulders (back x8, front x8)
  • Ear to the shoulder. Other side. x2
  • Roll head from side to side. x3
  • Look over the right shoulder. Look over the left shoulder. x2
  • Head slides
  • Roll shoulders back, alternating shoulders.
  • Roll shoulders back, alternating, with arms out to the side.
  • Snake arms - first right arm x8, then left arm x8, then both together x8

Torso

  • Chest lifts x8 slow, x8 fast
  • Chest slides (side to side) x8
  • 4 Points of chest - lift, slide left, release, slide right x4 (then change direction and reverse)
  • Circle the chest - following path of 4 points (then change direction)
  • Expand/contract to stretch out the chest (push forward to expand, pull back to round out the spine) x4

Lower Body and Hips

  • Ankle circles
  • With feet hip width apart, sit as low as you can without your heels coming off the ground and then rise up on your toes x8
  • Hip slides - gently side to side
  • Rock hips forward and then back (with a flat back) x4
  • 4 points of hips - forward, slide to the left, back (with a flat back), slide to the right
  • Big hip circles (following the path of the 4 points)
  • Small hip circles (flat back when circling through the back)
  • Unweighted Hip lifts - done 8 per side, 4 per side, 2 per side, and then alternating every time for 8 more counts
  • Unweighted Hip twists - same pattern as above
  • Weighted Hip lifts – done 8 per side and then alternating every time for 8+ more counts

Shimmies

  • Knee shimmy – create an up and down shimmy by bending and straightening the knees (start very slow and deliberate)
  • Twisting shimmy – Twist the hips straight from right to left to right (slowly) x8, increase to twisting shimmy (or as fast as possible)
  • Shoulder shimmies - start with shoulder pushes slow x8, double-time x8, increase to shoulder shimmy (or as fast as possible)

 

hand drawn bellydancer illustration

Donia's Warm ups - Version 2

View as a pdf file

Breathing

  • Hang forward. Take 2 deep breaths. Roll slowly up.
  • Hang over right leg. Take a deep breath and then roll up.
  • Hang over left leg. Take a deep breath and then roll up.

Shoulders

  • Roll shoulders, plie every time (back x8, front x8)
  • Roll shoulders back, alternating shoulders.
  • Roll shoulders back, alternating, with arms out to the side.

Neck

  • Ear to the shoulder. Other side. x2
  • Chin to the chest. Look up (keeping the neck long). x2
  • Look over the right shoulder. Look over the left shoulder. x2
  • Head slides

Torso

  • Reach out to right, bending at waist. Reach out to left, bending at waist. x4
  • Snake arms - first right arm x8, then left arm x8, then both together x8
  • "Helicopter" twisting from the waist with the arms loosely out to the sides (allow heels to come off the ground to avoid torquing knees)
  • Chest lifts x8
  • Chest down x8
  • Chest slides (each side) x8
  • 4 Points of chest - lift, slide left, release, slide right x4 (then change direction and do another set of 4)
  • Circle the chest - following path of 4 points (then change direction)
  • Expand/contract the chest (push forward to expand, pull back to contract) x4

Lower Body and Hips

  • Ankle circles
  • With feet hip width apart, sit as low as you can without your heels coming off the ground and then rise up on your toes x8
  • Hip slides - gently side to side
  • Rock hips forward and then back (with a flat back) x4
  • 4 points of hips - forward, slide to the left, back (with a flat back), slide to the right
  • Big hip circles (following the path of the 4 points)
  • Small hip circles (flat back when circling through the back)
  • Hip lifts - done 8 on right, 8 on left, 4 on right, 4 on left, 2 on right, 2 on left, and then alternating every time for 8 more counts
  • Hip drops - same pattern as above
  • Hip twists - same pattern as above

Shimmies

  • Twist the hips straight from right to left to right (slowly) x8, increase to twisting shimmy (or as fast as possible)
  • Knee shimmy - create an up and down shimmy by bending and straightening the knees (start very slow and deliberate)
  • Shoulder shimmies - start with shoulder pushes slow x8, double-time x8, increase to shoulder shimmy (or as fast as possible)