00:00Hi, my name is Zaheera and welcome to my online belly dance studio.
00:06Let's look at another fantastic shimmy in our collection of shimmies.
00:10This week we're going to do the Hagala.
00:13The Hagala shimmy is a three-quarter shimmy on the down with a twist stepping on the second down.
00:22Did that make sense?
00:23A three-quarter shimmy on a down with a twist stepping at the end of the movement on each side.
00:30So let's break that down.
00:31Three-quarter shimmy means that we're doing three accents of four and we're leaving one blank.
00:38On the down means that our accents are going down and down as opposed to up and up with a
00:43twist.
00:44So we're twisting here.
00:46And where we step is on the second down.
00:48So we're going to go down and down, pause, down and down, pause, down and down, pause.
00:52And it's the second down when we step.
00:55Okay, so let's see if we can break this idea down.
00:57I'm going to start on my right side and I'm going to think down, up, down is when I step.
01:04And now my left hip is conveniently up, which is perfect because I want it to go down, up.
01:10I'm twisting forward, down and I'm stepping on that foot.
01:13Right hip is ready to go.
01:14Down, up, down.
01:16Left hip is up, ready to go.
01:18Down, up, down.
01:20One more time here.
01:21Down, up, down.
01:23Let's look at that idea one more time and then I'm going to break it down another way
01:27because one of the two ways always tends to resonate more with people.
01:31So here we go.
01:31We're going down, up, down.
01:33Other side.
01:34Down, up, down.
01:36Down, up, down.
01:38Down, up, down.
01:40So that's me thinking about one side doing the down, the up and the down.
01:43Here's another way to think about it.
01:45And if either of these ways is confusing, just forget I said it.
01:47Yeah?
01:47The other way to think about it is to think about your weighted side and then the other side.
01:55Right?
01:55So let's say I've done my down, up, down here on the right.
01:58I'm going to kind of break it down a different way starting here.
02:00I can think about this weighted side I'm standing on my right.
02:03I can think about this side going up, down, and then my unweighted side coming over and
02:08going down.
02:08So now you're kind of splitting your thought between two sides, but sometimes this works
02:12for people better in their minds.
02:14Now my left hip is down.
02:15I'm going to think about that side that was just the active stepping foot and I'm going
02:20to go up, down, and step over and down.
02:23Thinking about this active side again, up, down, down, up, down, down.
02:30Okay?
02:30Let me break it down one more time that way.
02:33I'm thinking about the side that had just stepped.
02:35So my right side has just stepped up, down, down, up, down, down, up, down, down, on the
02:43left, up on the left, down, and then down on the right, up, down, down.
02:48Hopefully that's not confusing.
02:49Take whichever one of those works best for you.
02:51I'm going to go back to the way I like to think about it, which is single side only.
02:55I think down, up, down, down, up, down, down, up, down, up, down.
03:00Couple things to notice.
03:01When you do this movement and you walk forward because of the twisting action, it's very
03:05likely your feet will kind of bring up pigeon toed.
03:08Depending on the dance you're doing, if you're doing something very folkloric, that might
03:10be totally cool.
03:11If you have a big skirt on, you might not notice it.
03:13I try to keep my feet basically pointing forward in my regular posture and try to let
03:19that twist come more from my obliques than from my feet.
03:23So try to keep your feet trained forward, but know that they have a tendency to turn
03:27in ever so slightly.
03:28Don't forget that twist because that's what kind of makes this cool, up and over.
03:32And because it has that up and over in that walk, it most likely moves forward all the time
03:38very easily.
03:39When we drill it, we're also going to try it going backwards because that's kind of a fun
03:42brain tease.
03:44So let's do it nice and slow and slowly ramp it up because it is a three quarters.
03:48It's got that little pause in there which gives you a second to breathe, right?
03:51I'm going to try to do it in place as much as possible so you can watch my feet.
03:55Six, seven, eight.
03:57Down, up, down, down, up, down.
03:59On the right, on the left.
04:01Down, up, down, down, up, down.
04:03Down, up, down, down, down, up, down.
04:04Twisting forward.
04:06When you step, that hip is down, right?
04:08So be sure you're on the down and not on the up.
04:12Down, up, down, down, up, down.
04:13Down, up, down, down, down, up, down.
04:15You get two hips each side.
04:17You want to be sure that that first and second one are as equal to each other as possible.
04:21Bend the knees.
04:22Use your feet.
04:23This is very folky.
04:24The Haggala is a folk dance.
04:27And so you want to really think about using the feet to create this movement.
04:32You're using your knees.
04:33You're using your legs.
04:35Down, up, down, down, up, down.
04:37Twisting forward.
04:38Down, up, down, down, up, down.
04:40Now I'm going to take it on the road.
04:42Down, up, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down.
04:45Be careful not to stick your booty out in the back.
04:48Right?
04:48It's not the merengue.
04:52Down, up, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down.
04:55Upper body is fairly steady.
04:57Arms are relaxed.
04:58Down, up, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down.
05:01Let's try a little bit faster.
05:03Down, up, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down.
05:05So my feet will move a little bit less.
05:08I'm still really using my knees to make this happen.
05:10So I don't feel like I'm doing a lot of abdominal or oblique contractions.
05:14My legs are pumping.
05:15My knees are pumping.
05:16That's helping the movement happen.
05:18If this is too fast, slow it back down.
05:20You want to kind of slowly, incrementally ramp it up so that you can continually challenge the speed of this
05:26movement.
05:27So let's go ahead and put on some music and see what happens.
05:35So this is your tempo.
05:38One, two, three, four.
05:40Down, up, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down.
05:42Uh-huh.
05:44Five, six, three, go.
05:46Down, up, down, down, down, down, down, down, down.
05:56Getting that twist.
05:58Stepping on the second down.
05:59Making sure your accent is down.
06:02As I step, that hip goes down.
06:03I'm going forward.
06:06All right.
06:07If you want a real challenge, try walking backwards.
06:11Remembering that the twist in the Haggala always goes forward.
06:14Right?
06:15So bizarre.
06:16I'm walking backwards.
06:16My hip is twisting forward.
06:18You can save that for another day if you'd like.
06:20Work on the walking forward.
06:22Yeah, that's a little bit more natural.
06:23So walk it forward.
06:24Let's take it around in a circle.
06:26Down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down.
06:29Upper body is fairly neutral.
06:33Nice big hips.
06:34Big, big, relaxed, loose hips.
06:42Let's do it a couple times slow.
06:44Down, up, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down,
06:52down.
06:52Speed it up.
06:53Here we go.
06:55Two, three, four, five, six, relaxed hands.
06:58And a one.
06:59And a two.
07:00And a three.
07:00And a four.
07:01And a five.
07:02And a six.
07:02Taking it forward.
07:03Arms coming up.
07:07Taking it back.
07:07Arms coming down.
07:11Taking it around yourself to the left.
07:17Down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down.
07:20Taking it around yourself to the right.
07:25Four more.
07:26Here's four.
07:27Three.
07:28Two.
07:29And strike your pose.
07:32And that is your Hagala Shui.
07:34Two.
07:34Two.
07:35And you, Dr.
07:37Two.
07:38And you've got to be here.
07:39Two.
07:39And a six.
07:41One.
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