Maybe it's the lack of coffee, but when I / we work on any piece, gothic or not, it's a combination of traditional moves, creating combos. I look at belly dance like any dance. You have to learn the basics and expand from there. *wondering where coffee went*

That's going to be tough, it seems every move but the shimmy has at least three names for it.

I have been belly dancing since I was a little girl and I do forget the names to moves and combo moves. You would think that i would know the names by heart but I just know the moves by heart. I usually make up names sometimes to explain to friends, so i though maybe i hsould write them down or something if I found a way to know all the names.

Are you talking about basic movements, like chest lifts/slides, pelvic locks, mayas, etc? If you are, I did a quick search and found this: (middleeasterndance.homestead.com/M...ml - although I note that it doesn't use Middle Eastern names that I noticed).

If you're looking for more combinations or layered moves... that's a bit trickier since it's completely different depending on who's doing it.

Take sidewinder, I've had it taught to me five or six different ways between instructors and workshops. For reference, it's most commonly performed as a hip figure eight down to up (or taxim) layered with a rib cage figure eight down to up, in opposition to the hips, layered with snake arms. I've had it taught with/without hips and also with/without snake arms. The most simplistic teaching I ever had was to hold hands parallel to ground and follow them with your head back and forth.

Sashi, who I study with, mixes it up even more with this beautiful tilted sidewinder that uses a horizontal hip figure eight with the torso bent forward (description isn't enough, watch her performances and you'll probably see it).

Long answer. Maybe helpful?

Thanks girls for helping me! Keep being dark buahahahaha! *cough cough* :D

well.. the obvious answer, IM(not so)HO, would be to watch the "Belly Dance for Beautiful Freaks" DVD... as well as "Azar's Belly Dance Workout 1"... both of them are pretty damn good... of course, i am trying to be unbiased despite the fact that one is me wife and the other i remixed the muzik for... ;)

Asharah's DVD is also a very good sampling of everything as well... :)


and if that dun't help... you could look at all the various names for moves as just the same move in a different language... body language.... ;)

-kzz