Nature originally said that our hips should sway side to side gracefully as our weight shift from foot to foot. I love to watch my dog walking from behind, she along with her fellow 4 legged friends do exactly this. We like our 4 legged friend should be the same but often we are not. Because for most of us it is not natural when we learn to Bellydance we are taught to walk in a stylised way that give the look of natural swaying hip, but it is not natural because the movement does not flow through the bones and the joints. By the time people come to Embodied bellydance I have to do some deprograming. If you struggle with transitions from one movement to another or if you honestly cant layer a shimmy over another movement in a free and flowing way you probably don’t understand your true Hip.
Here is some things you can do to find them.
Find the Hip Joint
The Hip joint lives deep inside the thigh crease, the meeting place of the torso and upper leg. The head of the Femur bone sits inside the hip socket or acetabulum of the pelvic and is know as the Acetabulo femoral Joint. The head of the Femur bone is smooth and so is the inside of the socket. The joint is full of synovial fluid a slippery substance that allows the joint to flow. The Hip Joints has the potential to be very flexible for example, contortionists and ballet dancers. The Hips Joints primary function is to carry weight through our body either when we are standing or when walking, running or dancing!
Think bones
The basic shaping of the hips
The Shaping of your movements is created by the relationship between your bones as they articulate through your joints. Feet, Legs, Pelvic. In that order
Standing on both legs/feet the hips/pelvis are square
Standing on one leg the other leg/hip/pelvis is free to release
Free leg
The pelvis drops down, the knee joint falls forward and away for the hip joint, the hip joint drops down and inward towards your centre
The weight bearing leg Is strong but not locked
The knee is a spring/suspension
The leg and pelvis, hip joint, falls up and outward and away from you centre as the free hip joint falls down and inward.
If you stand on the spot and switch you weight from one leg to the other you pelvis will sway from side to side in varying degree depending on how much it has release.
If you walk the pelvis will sway side to side and it will also roll.
As you place your weight on one leg the hip joint will roll back wards.