Alphabet Soup for Dancers
Copyright 2001-2002 BY Fayme Harper
(A PNEUMONIC Tool to help dancers remember major steps).
Video coming soon.


A: Arms
B: Body wave (undulation)
C: Camel
D: Diamond step
E: Eye contact
F: Figure 8 Hips
G: Ghawazee step
H: Hip lifts and drops
I: Isolations
J: Jazz Square
K: Kicks
L: Levels
M: Maya (McDonald's M)
N: Neck slide
O: Hip Circle (Shaped like the letter 0)
P: Pose
Q: Queen walk
R: Ribs
S: Shimmy
T: Twist
U: U-step
V: V-Step
X: X-ray
W: waltz step
Y: Yemenite step
Z: Zaghareet and Zills


A: Arms
Examples: Snake arms, the five arm positions from ballet, as in first, 2nd, etc., or any other
specialty arms styles the class knows.


B: Body wave (undulation)
Stand in centered, neutral body position.
Tilt pelvis forward, followed by unwinding the spine
one-inch at a time, including belly,
then ribs, then head, till you reach the top of your head, release head.


C: Camel
Lift ribs, roll back gradually straightening spine until you get to your hips, release hips. Repeat.


D: Diamond step
Imagine you are standing in a neutral,
centered position on a diamond grid with one point in front,
one in back and one on each side.
Tilt hips to front point, then back to center,
then to right point, then back to center,
then to rear point, then back to center,
then to left point, then back to center. Upper torso should not be moving, just hips.


E. Eye contact
Look at audience member in the eyes or look at your dance partner(s).


F: Figure 8 (Hips)
Sway hips in a Figure 8 movement parallel to the floor.


G: Ghawazee step
Kick right foot inward with bent knee, step left, step right,
kick left foot inward with bent knee. Repeat.


H: Hip lifts and hip drops.
Focus on one hip, then accentuate either lifting it or dropping it.


I: Isolations
Pick one body part and Isolate it. It could be the wrist, the eyes, the head, etc.


J: Jazz Square


Jazz Square is done with the feet. Stand with feet parallel.
Cross right foot in front, put your weight on it, step to the
side with your left foot, step straight backwards
with your right foot, and then cross-over to the front and step with your left foot.
One jazz square completed.


K: Kicks
Any of the kicks used in belly dancing, including kick turn, figure 8 kick, or Ghawazee step.


L: Levels
Learn to incorporate different levels in the dance, such as floorwork, kneeling, tiptoe, etc.


M: Maya
If you could make a letter M with your hips perpendicular to the floor
you would have a maya step. Maya mean illusion.


N: Neck Slide
Any of several neck slides common to belly dance


O: Hip circles
Hip circles in the shape of the letter O, parallel to the floor.
Do clockwise or counterclockwise.


P: Pose
This is your chance to VOGUE. Poses are an eye-catching part of the
dance and great for photo opportunities.


Q: Queen walk
The grand entrance walk, where you sweep into the room,
make a big circle past the front row seats,
making eye contact with the audience. Can also be used as the exit.


R: Ribs
Includes Ribcage slides, circles, rib locks, rib drops, etc.


S: Shimmy
Many types, all fun.


T: Twist
Do the basic sock hop twist, then add a shimmy to it.


U: U-step


Imagine your hip is a paintbrush. Paint the letter U with it, then retrace it backwards.
Can be done standing still or in a circle.


V: V-step


Imagine a big V painted on the floor.
Stand on the tip with the legs of the V behind you. This is the centered neutral position.
Then tilt right hip to one leg of the V, come back to center, then tilt
Left hip towards other leg of V. Repeat.


W: Waltz step
Down Up Up forward, then Down Up Up back
or think of it as Lunge, tiptoe, tiptoe forward,
Then Lunge tiptoe tiptoe backwards. Repeat.


X: X-ray
Freeze mid-step and analyze your posture. Is it good or bad?
Do you need to left your ribcage higher?
Suck in your abs? Drop your shoulders?


Y: Yeminite Step
Stand centered. Step to the side with your right foot; shift your weight to it.
Step left in place, then bring right foot back to centered position.
Repeat to other side. Has the same timing as cha, cha, cha on each side.


Z: Zaghareet and Zills
Zaghareet is now more commonly known as the "Xena yell" .
Noisy and fun.
Zills: Have you played your finger cymbals today?






HOW TO USE THIS SYSTEM:




One of the biggest problems I had with beginning students is they would forget the
steps when they tried to practice at home, so they weren't improving very fast.
We spent a lot of class time relearning forgotten steps, especially if students missed a week or two.
Knowing how well pneumonics works in other areas of life,
I devised a system to use as a memory aid when students were away from class.
To use it, you just call out each letter
and usually the step will come quickly to mind. Then you practice that step
and move on to the next letter.
Then I realized the system could be used to create new choreographies,
by calling out letters in random order and working out transitions from one step to the other.
It works like a charm for improvisation as well. Or let each student pick four letters
and work out a section of a routine. Then add all the segments
together from 5 or 6 students or more,
and you end up with a whole new dance.
Everyone feels like they participated, from the
shyest to the most bold.
As long as they keep a record of which letters they used,
they tend to recall it at home during practice time as well. Try it, you'll see.

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