Thread: Shimmy/level change?

I have tried to do this move and my legs just give out, or I can’t hold it at the bottom, and it jerky tiring to get back up. I have drilled this move over and over and it’s just not working. Maybe I’m not using the right shimmy? Or foot placement? Can anyone here smoothly shimmy down and then back up help me please?


like Ahava does in the start of this video, but starting from standing

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQncnJdNfyM"]YouTube - Ahava - By Dancers For Dancers Volume 2[/ame]

Hit the gym and do some squats. It sounds like you just don't have the leg strength.

beat me to it :p,

mostly practice, maybe to help, go as far as comfortable, hold it for about 30 seconds, come back up, then next time, go 2 inches lower, and so on

i've also noticed most, put one foot, slightly in front of the other, to keep balance, and help distribute weight.......

once you develop leg strength, it gets easier......take it slow

I should add, don't rest at the bottom, you always keep your muscles engaged so you are slightly lifted off your heels, this will keep you from jerking out of position. But I'm not kidding about the gym. This kind of stuff takes a lot of leg strength. If you can't get to a gym, drill doing squats veeeerrrrry slllooooowwwwly, keeping your abs engaged and your spine very straight. Then do it holding cans or something heavy to add weight, you can mix it up and do that walk where you touch one knee to the ground too.

Make no mistake about it, this is a strength move. No matter what your technique if you don't have the leg strength you wont be able to do it.

Squats, lunges, step ups with weights... all these exercises help build your quads and glutes which is what is needed for this move. You need to cross train.

The grand plie is considered a somewhat advanced move anatomically. Correct alignment of the knees (over the toes... always) and the pelvis (neutral position, not tilted forward or tucked back), an extended spine... (though the correct placement of the pelvis will in most cases help with spine curvature) are all a must

And just to second what everyone said above... don't relax at the bottom of the plie and strengthen those quads and glutes.

your abs need to be strong here too, so ab engagement and back/hip alignment is KEY, as all above mentioned......in my intermediate class, as part of a shimmy drill, i have them demi-plie and hold (heels slightly lifted, as shems mentioned), then gradually come back up, engaged and aligned, next session have them go just a smidge lower......they've told me it's made a difference in their lower abs, glutes and back...........and curse me everytime we do that drill.....but it works....ava fleming has got a great squat based exercise in her warmup as well

oh, the inner thigh muscles also have a role in coming up as well, and helps your knees too

Also, keep your heels on the floor as long as possible to aid in stability...

Originally Posted by atareen

Also, keep your heels on the floor as long as possible to aid in stability...

I disagree with this one. Squats: yes, Legs crossed: yes, strong core: yes, heels off floor: yes.

I might add the upper body carriage is important. Stay "lifted" in the spine/chest/upper back and that will help you maintain balance and get you back up! Level changes rock...

Great answers above!
The tips that work best for me for hip movement with level changes:

- try to drive the hip movement/shimmy using obliques and/or glutes instead of knees or legs
- place one foot slightly behind the other and keep the weight distributed between both feet
- do not go down into a full sit, relaxing the legs there will make getting up too hard on the knees. find your ideal "spot" and gradually try to go deeper with practise without loosing leg muscle control.
- building strenght in quads and hamstrings will help for the level change
- try to keep your shoulders above your hips, good posture will reduce stress on the knees
- try to elongate the spine during level changes, lift the ribcage away from the hips and imagine a string pulling you up from the top of your head. really works :)
- take a deep breath and breathe out while going up

This may be overstating the obvious, but I think this move definitely calls for a hip/glute/inner thigh driven shimmy, as opposed to anything driven by the knees. I tried a few ways and the former was distinctly smoother and easier. More of an engaged, strong, stable feeling than the Egyptian style shimmy.

Agreed, as well, on the upper body alignment and the necessity of strength training.

before you get discouraged and start looking for a gym to join -

yes, it does take a ton of leg strength, but don't feel like you have to get there all at once. you can start with drop-sits (where you just, well, squat down). pause at the bottom, do a little shoulder shimmy or shoulder rolls as you come up. adding drop sits to your performances will gradually make your legs stronger for the descending/ascending shimmies, but will still give you a nice level change to add to your repertoire.

of course follow all of the advice above for posture and all that. I personally find it's easier for me to get back up if I go all the way down and 'hit bottom' when I do a level change like this. I also like the way it looks: if you can do your shimmy down far enough before you have to come up, it looks unfinished to me. and, the drop at the bottom makes a nice accent. if you have an 8 count with an accent on 5, you can shimmy down on 1 2 3 4, stop the shimmy and 'bounce' on the 5, at 6 on the way up resume the shimmy for 7 8. make sense?

another tip that hasn't been mentioned; lift from your pelvic floor as you come up - it really helps!

thanks everyone, I think the problem was my feet placement and posture. When I tried it with the feet one in front of the other rather then side by side I could do it decently. Now all I need to do is drill it and do more squats

This is going better for me now that I work out with weights, the leg press is the machine for this. Also, once you have more power in the thighs, those movements become more fluid because you are no longer at the edge of your ability, strengthwise if that makes sense. It becomes jerky when you can barely do it.