Thread: Most creative explanations for dance moves...

Heeeheee... the recent "Fish??????" posting reminded me of this...

We've all had to describe dance moves to our students, our colleagues, ourselves.

What have been your most amusing, "unofficial", dance move explanations?

I can think of "swallowing the pill" (downward undulation) and "throwing up the pill" (upward undulation).

I've come across lots of "throwing up" descriptions!

I also say to students when I'm explaining a large, parallel to the floor hip circle: "When your hips rotate to the back, engage your lower abs like you're looking over the Grand Canyon. If you release your lower abs, you're likely to fall in."

..c::

when I was teacing horizontal figure-8, we compared it to a 'rollercoaster (the Dutch word for rollercoaster is roughly translated as an 'figure eight ride') so when we did figure eights with tempo changes and height changes, a student remarked 'the ride is getting rougher'.

So the explanation stuck, which suprised me. I did a workshop last weekend and the teacher told us to do 't-rex arms'with a specific turn, which I also found very amusing.

My boyfriend used to be a Latin American dancer (ex UK champion – I’m so proud!) Anyhow, his dance instructor, while trying to get a serious wiggle going in his stiff Irish hips, used to tell him to pretend that he had a piece of toffee between his bum cheeks. “Now, CHEW THAT TOFFEE”, he would shriek!

I always found this hilarious, until this very week, when I was teaching a particularly challenging group of beginners a pelvic hip circle. It wasn’t going too well (Irish women over a certain age have, under certain religious influences, spent their youth effectively disconnected from the waist down, if you know what I mean…). So, I thought about the toffee – explained it to the class, and lo and behold .w.: It worked! I know there's a whole lot more to a pelvic hip circle that squeezing the glutes, but it got them moving in ways that had just never occured to them before - and it broke the ice ..l;,

My first teacher used this image, which I've always used, to isolate the rib c age: you have crayons on your nipples. Now, draw a straight line across that wall.

Kitty

I claim no authorship for this one- it's all down to the Jersey Jewels..., also, you need to remember this is British English, not American English.

The reverse undulation (where the pelvis circles up, forward, down & back) is the Fanny over the Fence move.

*thinks before posting, does bhuz have a language filter?*

We use "chest on the shelf" or "boobs on the shelf" if it is just the old timers. This for the upward undulation with a small downward chest pop at the end..g.: .

I've had a break described to me as a chocolate bar combining 'crunchy biscuit' (muscle control) and 'caramel' (the gooey flow). This can be applied to other moves too and although its a bit of an imaginative feat, I do find it a really useful analogy.

Last night in class, my teacher described her own movements as being like 'an old git on a bicycle'! :)

Love that 'fanny over the fence'! I have so got to use that one. I use a term similar to 'boobs on the shelf'. I've likened it to lifting your boobs onto the tray ready for a mammogram. Arghh! Not that I"m really qualifed to say this, as I've never had a mammogram...yet...and of course there's no squish at the end of a reverse undulation.

Originally Posted by beafarhana

the Fanny over the Fence move.

*thinks before posting, does bhuz have a language filter?*

I love that one!

One of my favorites was a combination that a group of my beginners came up with based on goofy move descriptions I'd used in class.

I described the horizontal figure 8 in part as "now imagine you're stuck in a giant round vat of icecream with icecream scoops on each hip...scoop from front to back on one side, slide through the center, scoop on the other..."

I described a medium/horizontal hip circle "you have a tray that fits around your hips/pelvis. On it is your favorite drink...as you circle your hips around the core of your body you have to engage your muscles to keep that tray flat so you don't spill your drinks all over the floor."

So...my wonderful beginners (who liked to sometimes go to the bar across the street after class) came up with a wonderful little combination they called the "grasshopper":

1 figure 8, 1 horizontal hip circle and a shimmy --or--

SCOOP THE ICE CREAM, SCOOP THE ICE CREAM, DON'T SPILL YOUR DRINK AND BLEND!!!!

hip slides--pretend your stuck between two walls and you're trying to hit a chair on each side with your hip.

I just find this amusing because if I ever were stuck between two walls, I'd probably be panicked.

Grasshopper! ..l;, Gonna have to remember that one. ..g.:
I remember one that a group of women from the US SE (I believe)some years back came up with. Pigeon pooh: a series of several small downward ribcage locks.
Trying to think if I have any of my own. Drawing a blank (maybe not enough coffee yet).
One thing I DO use is the concept of chocholate for those mooshy gooshy melty moves (when I'm trying to get my students to really try to get into and feel the movement). And not just any chocholate. Dark, winter weight (less wax more melty chocolate, I know weight is not the correct term - remember lack of caffeine?) Belgian chocolate. Mmmmmm........ The thought is how the chocolate feels (and tastes too for that matter) as you hold it in your mouth/on your tongue - slowly melting and oozing and suffusing its awesome taste and texture throughout your entire mouth. Mmmmmm....... Dang! Now I need chocolate.
At one seminar I taught I used that visualization in the movement breakdown part of the day. Later when we'd moved into the actual choreography (without really thinking about it) I called out to the class, "Now take it to the chocolate!" (Didn't realize I'd said it, but cracked everyone up.) That night for the show, they brought two bags of Dove dark chocolate for backstage...l;,

For hip bumps, I tell my beginners to pretend they just came back from a great day of shopping. Their arms are loaded with clothes and shoes and when they shut the car door, it didn't shut all the way. I ask them what would they do, and most of them bump their hip to the side. So we joke about being in a parking lot with many un-shut car doors that we have to go around a shut with our hips.

When teaching the top half of a camel (old skool AbCab version, not an Egyptian style undulation), I tell the student to pretend there is a bowl of whipped cream just in front of their bust. They are to then reach forward with the chest and scoop the whipped cream into the front of their bra, then lift up and out of the bowl. While it works really well to illustrate how you should not bend at the waist, it never fails to generate a lot of giggles.

To describe keeping movement vertical, I used the squeezed between two wall image for a long time. But I shamelessly ripped off another anology from my daughter's dance teacher that works even better - pretend you are in the slot of a toaster. There's something about the mental image of the hot coils in front and back that makes keeping the move vertical as possible seem like a really good idea.

Momo Kadous describes one movement as a banana - it is a vertical figure eight on one hip, either with the foot on the ground, or you can let it go to trace the figure eight on the floor.

However, in the workshop I was in, he's doing the move over and over (with no description, of course, just follow his little tush!) and saying "Bananabananabananabanana" over and over. And we were all having a tough time understanding him and saying "flower?" "bread?" "huh?"

How this move relates to a banana, I have no idea, but I can still walk up to anyone in that workshop, years later, and say "banana?" and they instantly crack up.

(PS I love Momo, don't get me wrong, and that was a great workshop, but I can't think about naming moves with out saying "bananabananabananbanana" to myself and laughing.)

Amira's post reminded me (thank you).
No funny name, but to get my students to do correct horizontal forward hip extensions (in preparation for hip circles) I use the following vizualization. Imagine you are at your kitchen sink washing dishes (icky hands). Your silverware drawer is just to the side of the sink (and you have kids in the house). Kid runs up to the silverware drawer, pulls it open, retrieves what ever they are looking for, and runs off leaving the drawer open. Instead of taking the time to rinse off and dry your hands to close the drawer (don't want to leave it open for icky dish water to get splashed in on all those nice clean items) you simply position yourself in front of the drawer (hips in neutral and placed just against the front of the drawer) and push through with your hips (keeping lower back neutral) to close the drawer.

ciggy turn; description for a hip lift with a twist & you are pivoting around. "pretend you are grinding out a cigarette."

any move requiring lifting hip up, out, over; "pretend you are sitting on a bar stool"

chest lift; the cute boys just walked by *lift chest* dang the boys didn't look!! *drop chest*

same teacher by the way. tina

Originally Posted by phillyraqs

Momo Kadous describes one movement as a banana ..."bananabananabananbanana" ....)

..g.:

Yes, I think I was at a different workshop, but I too was at a Momo workshop where he had a "bananabananabananbanana" moment and it took a moment for everyone to catch what on earth he wanted from us...l;,

I do love the man, too. He's a great instructor. The other little verbal thing he did that was so utterly endearing...he of course is a native Arabic speaker...who lives in Germany...and he was teaching in the U.S. So, he'd shift a little back and forth between Arabic, German, and English, most stunningly at one moment when he in a moment of exaperation realized that he'd meant for us to do something on the second count, holding on the first and that wasn't what was happening, he suddenly blurted out:
"NEIN ONE. ETNIEEN!!!"
.w.:
("No one. TWO!" ...only each word of the phrase in a different language.)

...Some were totally confused and had no idea what he'd just said. A few of us caught it but just blinked, stunned for a moment or two, looked at each other to be sure we'd all heard the same thing, then struggled to choke back the giggles.

Like I said, he's a brilliant instructor and choreographer, and he's fun too. And hey, he can teach in multiple languages--sometimes all at once!

lol, we make nipples chalk, and draw an oval on the mirror !
glad to hear other have put stuff on nipples too.
as for a camel ?
you are standing in a door way.right foot in front room, left foot in back room.
into the front room goes chest, pelvis, then into the back room goes shoulder then butt.

The Oooo Baby Sneaks it Home.

When trying to describe the pelvic roll, or it's twin the pelvic scoop, I will use lots of conventional imagery like the wheel in the pelvis - forward or back, pubic bone as pizza cutter...etc, when the light just doesnt come on for them (a mature class of women) I will say..."you guys know this move...make a face and moan and roll eyes with all the gusto I have left to me...OOOO Baby...or for some of you...(reverse to scoop) OOOO Baby". Lights go on!! Then we sneak the oooo baby home across the squeaky wooden floor cause it's 2AM and husband will hear...now, back all that up in reverse gear. We now have a traveling pelvic undulation forward and a traveling pelvic undutation back which we then make smaller and more refined.

A bit naughty but were are talking moves generated from the pubis here, after all. :-O

OMG, I LOVE Momo and his banana! ERrr....
One of my favorite teachers ever. I love his "shimmy wizzout limiT."

This thread is a keeper. I love these clever clever descriptions. They do work, I must say. Nothing like a good metaphor!

Another interesting description for merengue (I know, nothing to do with Oriental dance but I loved this description) is you're at the movie theater, trying to get to your seat holding a big bucket of popcorn in the crook of your elbow, and a large soda in the other hand and as you're squeezing past other moviegoers in their seats you're saying as you wiggle your hips "excuse me, excuse me, ..."

I've used boobs on a shelf and full hands myself. When trying to get them to roll the ribs up (down, back, up, forward) I tell them to imagine a cat with a hairball. Not exactly glamorous, but they all get it.

For a travelling maya I have them imagine logs lined up on the ground. They have to step up and over the log, exaggerating the hip.

Credit Shahna: when trying to teach hand position for snake arms, imagine that your fingertips are paintbrushes. As you stand in a doorway, pretend to paint the frame. If your palms are facing front or back you won't be able to paint.

Originally Posted by aamel_MirahAmmal

..g.:

And hey, he can teach in multiple languages--sometimes all at once!

That is hysterical! Yes, I remember a few times he'd speak in German, see our blank faces, and switch to something else.

I think it's amazing that he can teach while using a few different languages to get his point across. I'm still mastering trying to teach while speaking one language!

For a body wave (what some people call upward undulation): Imagine a pregnant woman getting out of a chair. My husband, male that he is, offered this description: go stand so close to a wall that you're almost touching it. Now, f--- the wall.

For a forward-up-back-down rib cage circle (which I usually teach as a building block of an undulation), or the reverse (used in body waves), I say "Imagine your chest is on a Ferris wheel."

For a basic shimmy: "Jiggle the flab on the backs of your legs."

For an earthquake shimmy: "Imagine a small child jumping up and down in a tantrum. Now, keep your toes on the ground but keep the knee action going. Now, keep your heels on the ground too but keep the knee action going."

Originally Posted by *Shira*

For a body wave (what some people call upward undulation): Imagine a pregnant woman getting out of a chair.

For a forward-up-back-down rib cage circle (which I usually teach as a building block of an undulation), or the reverse (used in body waves), I say "Imagine your chest is on a Ferris wheel."

OMG, I use these exact ones, too! ..g.:

Originally Posted by aamel_MirahAmmal

..g.:

Yes, I think I was at a different workshop, but I too was at a Momo workshop where he had a "bananabananabananbanana" moment and it took a moment for everyone to catch what on earth he wanted from us...l;,

I do love the man, too. He's a great instructor. The other little verbal thing he did that was so utterly endearing...he of course is a native Arabic speaker...who lives in Germany...and he was teaching in the U.S. So, he'd shift a little back and forth between Arabic, German, and English, most stunningly at one moment when he in a moment of exaperation realized that he'd meant for us to do something on the second count, holding on the first and that wasn't what was happening, he suddenly blurted out:
"NEIN ONE. ETNIEEN!!!"
.w.:
("No one. TWO!" ...only each word of the phrase in a different language.)

...Some were totally confused and had no idea what he'd just said. A few of us caught it but just blinked, stunned for a moment or two, looked at each other to be sure we'd all heard the same thing, then struggled to choke back the giggles.

Like I said, he's a brilliant instructor and choreographer, and he's fun too. And hey, he can teach in multiple languages--sometimes all at once!

My favourite is when Momo puts on the hip scarf and says "Don't tell my muzza."

Did no one mention the Big Butt Wipe? It's PF's description for a large hip circle...like you're swiping your arse along the wall behind you. Never fails to make me laugh!! ..l;,

I also like Zahra's "wag your tail" though I have no idea what the move is really supposed to be called...if it even has another name?!

Originally Posted by nasila

Did no one mention the Big Butt Wipe? It's PF's description for a large hip circle...like you're swiping your arse along the wall behind you. Never fails to make me laugh!! ..l;,

Does not surprise me that PF has named it Big Butt Wipe. I love that woman.....l;,

A teacher described doing vertical figure 8s (in order to keep the hips from going forward) as pretending there are two snotty nosed gorillas, one in front and one in back and you don't want to ruin your beautiful costume.

I think that's the most creative one I've encountered, but I've heard a lot of good ones for facial expressions that involve sex and food.

When teaching students the forward/back hip sway, I invite them to imagine they are pushing in a silverware draw with their hips.

Originally Posted by kahaz

My first teacher used this image, which I've always used, to isolate the rib c age: you have crayons on your nipples. Now, draw a straight line across that wall.

Kitty

hmmm...if I had Crayons on my nipples, I more the likely will be drawing lines closer to the floor than on the wall ,f::

Nilaja