Hi dancers!! Let’s review the commonly missed detail in the arm transitions of the Forward and Back (Turkish) Shimmy 1/4 Turn arms.
As we know, each ¼ turn happens after the right foot steps back on count 3, with the left foot landing in the new direction on count 4. The little mantra I keep in my head is:
“1 – 2 – 3 – turn – 4”
Here’s the key: if the turn happens before count 4, and the arms take 4 full counts to change, then the arms are NOT changing during the turn. They hold their position all the way through, and change position count 1 of the next direction in the move.
In other words: you turn first, arms follow. You can see it below in a clip of Yuri’s new class, Fade Away and Back – Forward and Back (Turkish) Shimmy 1/4 Turn and Fade
For my fellow spreadsheet nerds, this visual may help:
And yes….keep your dance angle in every Turkish Shimmy variation 🙂
Our Forward and Back (Turkish) Shimmy is a thread that connects us to a rich cultural tradition, to real people and real places. When we dance it with that awareness, something shifts. It stops being just another movement in the vocabulary and starts feeling like a connection across time and culture.
That’s the magic of FatChanceBellyDance®Style. We become better dancers, yes.
But more than that, we become more curious, more connected, more human. Keep learning, keep asking questions, and keep dancing with your whole heart.
Happy Shimmies!!
