Intermediate Shoulder Shimmy
Ok, let's do an exercise to understand what is actually happening in the shoulder shimmy, and to make the movement a bit more Mid-Eastern... 
Pinch the pencil in the middle between your index finger and thumb and hold it level with the ground. Now by rolling your finger and thumb slightly from side to side, you can make the ends of the pencil waggle back and forth.
Notice a couple of things:
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1)
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The ends of the pencil move the farthest and fastest |
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2)
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The center of the pencil where you have it pinched hardly moves at all |
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3) |
The section between the end and your fingers moves less than the end and more than the center |
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4)
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The ends are always perfectly opposite each other, the pencil is always straight |
Think of a shoulder shimmy this way:
What if that pencil extended through your shoulder line from one side to the other, point sticking out one shoulder, eraser sticking out the other.
Now do your shoulder shimmy... just like the way the pencil moves. Keep the line straight from one shoulder to the other, as if they were a single solid unit.
This achieves several things:
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A)
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You can now focus on the shoulders as a unit - instead of right then left then right then left - and this will keep them moving in natural opposition to each other and improve their synchronization. |
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B)
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It tends to connect the shoulder movement to the rib cage, rather than allowing the shoulders to move independent of the ribs. This means that all the shoulder movement gets translated into bra fringe movement... which was the point of doing this move in the first place... (although your bra fringe still isn't moving as much as the fringe on your shoulder epaulets, but we'll get back to that...) |
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C) |
It also has a side effect of making you use your front and back chest muscles more evenly and it engages your abs and mid-back muscles for support. Result: Smoother, more coordinated movement, more even shimmies and fewer stalls. |
Here's our geometric dancer again, ready to demonstrate the improved technique.
First, she moves the right shoulder forward, keeping the line between the shoulders straight and letting her chest follow along...
Then she moves the left shoulder forward in the same way. Notice how the chest pivots as well...
Here's the complete movement with improved fringe movement and coordination...
And at full speed...
Let's take a look at these two movements side by side:
Beginning Technique
Taking each shoulder forward
Movement not connected to chest
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Intermediate Technique
Taking the shoulder forward
Movement centered in the chest
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Ok, waggle the pencil again. Notice that:
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5)
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The movement is generated in the center |
Remember where we started on this? Move one shoulder forward then the other....
But we really don't generate the movement in the shoulder... it's just the flag. What we move is in the center - the pectoral and upper back, and, supporting that, abs and mid-back muscles.
The movement is generated in the center, just like with the pencil.
So now, try your shoulder shimmy again, keep the pencil image through your shoulder line straight and think about moving it from the center, the same way you do the pencil. Let the entire shoulder-rib-back-chest area move as a unit oriented at the center point inside your chest, with the RESULT that the shoulders move back and forth.
This is now getting in the neighborhood of the mechanics of Mid-Eastern movement... movement generated in the center, results at the outside edge.
You will probably notice several things once you get the hang of it:
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1)
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You are not working as hard |
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2)
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You can stay more relaxed |
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3) |
You can get gentler, more subtle movements |
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4) |
Your movement is more even and probably faster (or it will be with a little practice) |
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5) |
You are getting better fringe movement |
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6) |
You are now using your abs and mid-back as much or more than your pectorals and upper back because you are rotating the entire rib cage, not pushing a shoulder forward and back. |
In fact, I think the name "shoulder shimmies" is a western misinterpretation of the move. They might more correctly be called rib cage shimmies or chest twists...
Hop to the Top
URL: http://www.ZillTech.com
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Designed and built by Aziza Sa'id herself, with assistance from her engineering alter ego Megan Marti'n.
Last Revised: 3/25/01
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