Belly Dance Warm Up with Sedona

A warm-up to prepare your for slow and sinuous movements. Can be used with other videos or all on its own. Included are side strengthening and stretching movements, as well as a dose of hip work.

Get ready to get your heart rate up and have some fun in this challenging cardio class. Class is divided into two parts, beginning to intermediate dance drills with mini combos, sandwiched between short bursts of more traditional fitness conditioning.

The gorgeous feminine expression of Cabaret Style Belly Dance can range from light and airy to earthy and powerful. In this class we will focus on seven “classic” cabaret style movements. This class is perfect for someone just beginning to build their belly dance repertoire or for the dancer looking to fuse some authentic Arabic style into their dance. Each movement will be broken down, drilled, then put together into a combination. We will start with warm-up based on Kundalini Yoga and Qi Gong, designed to free up energy in the physical and energetic body, and we will conclude with a short cool down.

This short but effective yoga practice relaxes the deep and superficial muscles on either side of the spine, and supports and hips and low back. This sequence can be used for your belly dance practice or on it's own. This yoga sequence is part of Rachel's class, "Up Tempo Locks and Isolations".

This brief, simple dance warm up requires no mat, and is designed to warm up the legs, arms, abdominals, and back. This spotlight is from Ashley's workshop, "3/4 Shimmy Variations & Layers".

This is a beginning level Pilates workout designed with the needs of belly dancers in mind. The beginning of this workshop is an introduction to the principles of the method, and guides the student through the main points of stabilization and good form, and includes tips for self-correction. This class focuses on strengthening the abdominals, back muscles while stabilizing the body for belly dance movement. This workout features primarily classic Pilates exercises and offers a variety of modifications for beginners.

In this class we will be focusing on gorgeous hand, wrist, and arm embellishments; particularly layering them with gooey, serpentine movements. We will break down and drill various wrist, hand, and arm techniques, then lay them on top of a body movement. Finally, they will all be put together to create a lovely and dynamic combination.

Tribal Style belly dance is known for its uplifted posture, which supports and carries the body and results in a strong, confident presentation.  These pointers breakdown the specifics of posture and explain how great posture can improve dance technique and presentation. 

In this class we will break down and drill the technique for lovely, loose shoulder shimmies standard to Cabaret style belly dance. Once we have a nice, strong shoulder shimmy we will begin to layer them with different step patterns, level changes, and chest isolations. This spotlight is from Sedona's "Super Shimmies & Shimmy Layers" workshop.

This workshop is a 3-part workout focusing on the upper body. Class will begin with a 20-minute segment focusing on upper body strengthening, followed by a 20-minute dance drill segment using upper body isolations and movements, and ending with a 20-minute upper body flexibility stretching segment.

This short, yet effective yoga sequence will help you either prepare for belly dance, or can be done as a complete practice. It's gentle, and designed to strengthen the lower back, abdominal muscles, legs, and hips.

In this short spotlight you will be led in some pre-dance breath work and visualization. This is a wonderful practice designed to assist you in becoming calm, centered, and present in your body. By tuning in and tapping into your breath, the energies of your body, and the space around you, you will be ready to shine bright! This is a beautiful way to begin any dance practice or performance. It is also extremely helpful in combating stage-fright and nervous tension. This spotlight is from Sedona's "Interesting and Innovative Isolations" workshop.

In this Belly Dance Basics class the focus will be on very muscular internal body movements and external traveling moves. After a short full body warm-up you will learn up-to-down and down-to-up-undulations as well as down-to-up hip figure 8’s. Basic hip bumps and twists will also be layered on different foot patterns. All the movements will be combined at the end of class into a great drill style combination. The class concludes with a short cool down. An excellent class for a beginning student or advanced dancer looking to keep their basics strong.

An up-tempo combination with a lot of changes, the Hagallah combo gives both your brain and body a bit of work. In addition to the hagallah, enjoy the Arabic Shimmy, optional level changes, and a few surprising transitions.

The Dancing Tree warm up is a yoga based sport flow designed to bring your heart rate up and add flexibility to your practice. This segment is taken from "Unmata's Level 1 Slow ITS Full Lesson 2".

In this class we will be focusing on large, exaggerated hip movements. Big Hip Movements are one of the most exciting components in a belly dance repertoire, not only are they fun and dramatic but they also serve as the perfect contrast to intricate interior hip work and tight shimmies. We will break down and drill various favorite “Big Hip Movements”, then put them together to create a combination. The class will also include an extended warm up designed to increase hip flexibility and mobility as well as a hip opening cool down.

This is a challenging beyond-beginner Pilates class designed just for bellydancers. In this workshop, we will practice exercises that target key muscle groups that are essential for bellydance technique as well as offer variations that help to balance the avid bellydancer’s body—addressing healthy spinal movement, range of motion, and offering pointers for injury prevention.

This practice will bring you from a sweaty, heart-pounding state to a relaxed, loose, open and focused presence. You can practice this after a dance practice, or a long day of work.

This is a short lecture highlighting some of the basic information and history behind Pilates, the creator, the form itself, and why its an excellent practice to compliment belly dance.

In this class you will learn Sedona’s signature “Serpent Moon” combination. The combo has a theatrical style and is an interesting fusion of Cabaret Style Belly Dance, Tribal Fusion, and Modern Dance. In learning this combo you will come away with many innovative new movements and hopefully be inspired in creating your own unique fusions. We will open with a special warm up designed to increase spinal strength and flexibility as well as help to improve your balance. We will end with a brief cool down.

This warm-up will prepare the whole body for movement and focus on the lower body, including conditioning for the legs and feet.  This exercise is appropriate for beginner dancers to advanced dancers wanting to develop strength in their lower body.

This class is designed for the beginning belly dancer or anyone looking to revisit and practice some basic belly dance essentials. In this video, we will start by breaking down belly dance posture. Then we’ll work with some basic footwork and traveling, hip locks, upper body isolations, and snake arms. Have a mat ready as we’ll begin with a short yoga and pilates conditioning sequence.

This workshop is from the "Built for Belly Dance Conditioning Series", which are fitness-based classes for belly dancers that build strength, flexibility, and technique. This workshop is a 3-part-power-packed belly dance, yoga, and fitness workout focusing on the lower body. Class will begin with a yoga and fitness routine for strengthening, then we will proceed to bellydance drills and a combo that focus on the legs and hips. The workshop will conclude with a yoga and stretching segment to increase flexibility and range of motion in the lower body. The "Built for Belly Dance Series" also includes workshops on conditioning and drills for the arms and torso.

This shimmy drill warm-up will get you ready for dancing in a hurry, while still being carefully sequenced. First we'll warm up the spine, then the joints, then move to hip work before our shimmy drill. Good to practice with other dance videos or practice, or just to keep your shimmies big and relaxed. Enjoy!

This 20 min full-body warm-up and workout is based Odissi Classical Dance and Ballet. Designed to create, flexibly, strength, and grace in the body; it is a wonderful supplement to any dance practice. Working with this conditioning routine on a regular basis will help improve posture, Increase core strength, and sculpt a long and strong dancers body. This spotlight is part of Sedona's "Super Shimmies & Shimmy Layers" workshop.

In this Belly Dance Basics class we will be focusing on muscular hipwork. We will be working the hips on various planes to create strong lifts, drops and bumps. We will also drill interior hip circles as well as side circles. In addition to a warm up, cool down, break down and drill section, the class also includes a combination of all movements covered.

A strong warm-up to work the muscles on either side of the spine, adding fluidity for undulations and bodywaves, and to strengthen the low back for any movements that include the low back/pelvis relationship for a long life of belly dance.

The Memory Sequence warm up is designed not only to get your body going, it also warms up your mind. Sigil creates an improvised sequence for you, right on the spot. Memory practice is equally as important as getting your heart rate up so the brain and body are ready to work together.

This cool down is designed to stretch and open the hips. It's a wonderful cool down to do after any belly dance practice and especially for those who tend to experience tightness and tension in the hips. It will be helpful to have a yoga mat for this cool down.

This basic full yoga practice was designed for belly dancers, but could be useful for anyone. Practicing regularly will improve your posture, increase spinal fluidity and flexibility, promote stability and lubrication in the joints, and cultivate strong legs.