Young Brunette Girl Wearing A Violet Head Cap With A Fringe Of Beads In The Bathroom

In most belly dance styles, the focus is on the hip and pelvic area. Due to the diversity of styles and 'origins' of the dance, many of the moves are referred to by a wide variety of different terminologies. However, from an observer's point of view bellydance includes certain key elements.
Important moves are:
• Shiver or Shimmy – a shimmering vibration of the hips. This vibration is usually layered onto other movements to create depth in performance. The simplest shimmy is created by moving the knees past each other at high speed, but contractions of the glutes, thighs or lower back may be used instead to create different qualities of movement. The shimmy can be performed in different directions - up and down, side-to-side, or in a forward and back swinging motion. The same move can be performed using the chest and shoulders, sometimes called a shoulder shimmy.
• Hip hits – A staccato movement of the hips out from the body. This can also be performed using other body parts such as the shoulders or chest. The move is usually achieved by isolating the hip area and contracting the glute muscles to move the hips up or down. The dancer's weight can either be distributed across both legs or on one leg with the toes of the other foot pointed.