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Belly Dancing

Belly Dance Music

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Looking for some good belly dance music? Here is a list of 3 albums that all belly dancers should own.

1. 10 Songs Every Bellydancer Should Know

This CD introduces a new belly dancer to the different rhythms used in the music. This album contains songs that most beginners can picture themselves dancing to. However, don’t think this is ONLY the type of music -so much more out there.

2. Tantra Lounge 4

Imagine if east and the west had a child together and that child embodied all that is great from both cultures. Now imagine that love child compiled an album. This would be that album. Enjoy.

3. Sadie Presents 15 Ultimate Belly Dance Hits

Sadie’s Ultimate Belly Dance Hits is the premier collection of sultry to upbeat traditional and modern belly dance music favorites. Encompassing many styles, you can enjoy Egyptian classics, modern raks sharqi, DJ remixes, drum solos, beledi, and sensual music for veil and floorwork. Recognized as one of the world’s most famous and respected belly dance artist, Sadie is a groundbreaking performer, instructor and choreographer. This exclusive selection of music is handpicked by Sadie from her line of best-selling instructional belly dance videos.


Now we know there are other albums out there that are awesome, sadly we don’t have the time to list them. Feel free to post a comment with your favorite songs or albums to belly dance to below!

Wedding Dances

Father Daughter Wedding Dance Ideas

The father daughter wedding dance
The father daughter dance is one of those things you really can’t put into words. It’s emotional for some and to others it’s just another fun moment shared between daughter and father. That being said we can’t honestly recommend what to do or what song to use as that’s something you need to decide on your own. Instead we at danceorigin.com have went out and found some videos of father and daughter dances which you can watch below to give you some ideas on what other people have done.

Here’s a video of a father daughter dance which starts out normal but has a little surprise in-between.

Here is one that is not silly, but more emotional and traditional.

Dance Music

Line Dance Music (The Top 15 Songs)

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We traveled dance floor to dance floor out at our local country bars and asked the people to list their favorite new and old line dance music. We tallied the votes, added our own opinion, and came up with this list.

Here is our list of the top 15 songs to line dance to!

15. Achy Breaky Heart – Billy Ray Cyrus
14. Chatahoochie – Alan Jackson
13. Save a Horse – Big and Rich
12. Footloose –  Blake Shelton
11. Baby Likes To Rock It – The Tractors
10. Book Docks – Little Big Town
9. Backwoods – Justin Moore
8. Copperhead Road – Steve Earle
7. Cotton-Eye Joe – Rednex
6. Fishing In The Dark – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
5. Honky Tonk Badonkadonk – Trace Adkins
4. Good Time  – Alan Jackson
3. Country Girl (Shake It for Me) – Luke Bryan
2. Watermelon Crawl – Tracy Byrd
1. Boot Scootin’ Boogie – Brooks & Dunn

Have any other line dance songs you’d like to name? Post a comment below and let us know!

Hip-Hop

How To One Two Step (1,2 Step)

“Let me see you 1, 2, step”, the famous lines from Ciara and Missy Elliot. The 1, 2 Step was released as the album Goodie’s second single in October 2004, it reached the top ten in several countries worldwide and is heavily-inspired by 1980s electro music production. Throughout the lyrics, Ciara gives a description of how the song’s beat should make party-goers want to dance to the music, and it did, as the song took off soon everyone started doing the 1,2 Step.

How to do the 1,2 Step:
The 1,2 Step is one of the funniest hip-hop dance steps to learn, is also happens to be one of the easier dance steps.

To learn to do the 1, 2 step watch this video featuring Queen Ciara:

Hip-Hop

How To Wobble

To learn to wobble pretty much just pay attention to pay attention to the lyrics, because just like any other hustle that’s where the instructions are:

Mr. Collipark
Umph,oh,umph, Ah Ah, Umph,oh,umph Ah Ah
All The Shawtys In The Club
(let Me See You Chest)
Back It Up, Drop It Down
(let Me See You Chest)
Get Low N Scrub The Ground
(let Me See You Chest)
Push It Up, Push It Up
(let Me See You Chest)

To get the whole idea of the song and how to wobble check this video out:

Now you know how to do the wobble!

Hip-Hop Dances

How To Twerk (Twerking)

Note: Twerk at your own risk, we are not liable for any injuries

There are tons of videos of booty twerking online but none that actually break it down. This twerk tutorial was created to solve this.

To start it off I’d like to clear some common misconceptions up.
1. You don’t need a big rear-end in order to twerk (it certainty helps thought).
2. Yes white girls can twerk 😉
3. You don’t need to be grinding against someone to be twerking.

Now let’s get into the actual twerking tutorial!
How to twerk:
There are various parts of twerking, but only two basic parts you need to know in order to twerk.

1. Popping your butt:
To do this, simply start with your back arched so your butt is sticking out. Now move your butt forward (try not to move your back) once you move a bit, pop it back out.

2. Control your butt with your thighs.
This is the most important part of twerking; it’s also the hardest to describe which is why you rarely see actual tutorials on twerking.
By vibrating your thighs your butt will also vibrate (this is where a big butt comes in helpful, but not needed). Moving your thighs in different ways also makes your booty move in different ways. The best way to get what I’m talking about is by watching the video below by the twerk team:

While watching this video pay attention to their lower half and how they jump, use their heels, legs and thighs to control their booty. Try to replicate different motions with your thighs based on this video and you should have twerking down in no time.
Other “twerking terms”: Jersey turnpike, booty shake, jerking.

CWalk, Dance Apparel

The Top 4 Shoes to C-walk in

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The Top 4 Shoes to C-walk in:
Alright! Let’s start the list off at number four:
NUMBER (4)
converse
Ranking in at number four for the top four C-walk Shoes is: All Stars. These Converse high tops are known for (in the C-walk Community) their use by old school walkers. The shoe was a popular find on OG Crip walkers (still can be seen in many videos by people who do the Original Crip Walk). Still today you see many Clown and C-walkers using this shoe.


NUMBER (3)
adidas
The number 3 spot is held by a brand of shoes rather than a specific one; Adidas. This brand is one of the most common shoe brand to Crip walk in. Popular styles include: Gazelles, which came in many cool styles including blue suede. A few other honorable mentions are: Sambas (the indoor soccer shoe), Super Stars (another one of the top Adidas C-walk Shoes), and Good year. The List continues on…

NUMBER (2)
AF1
The shoe that came in second place is one I don’t really agree on, but from an anonymous internet poll our users selected Air Force Ones as one of the top cwalk shoes.

NUMBER (1)
Cortez
Finally, the number one shoe to c-walk in is: Nike Cortez. The shoe is valued from 40 dollars (basic) to 120 dollars (custom or limited edition). The shoe is the most common shoe that C-walkers use and has been voted the easiest shoe to C-walk in by Dance Origin Staff and members.

Background on the Nike Cortez: According to Nike.com a Coach by the name of “Bill Bowerman” wanted to make a better running shoe. He ended up taking a pair of flip flops and drafted then into shoes (running shoes). The Hybrid shoe was dubbed the Cortez and was noted for changing running in 1973; people made claims saying “it felt like running on the moon”.

Picture Credit:
Air Force Ones
Cortez, Adidas,All Stars

Fitness, Other

Hoop Dance Basics (Keeping the hoop off the ground).

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Hoop Dance Basics (Keeping the hoop off the ground).
Step 1

Make sure to stretch properly to avoid any injuries.

Step 2

Second, after you’re done stretching, step inside of the hoop. Next place your feet shoulder width apart and while standing in this positing place a foot in front of the other (partially) and keep your mind, back, and balance straight. While staying relaxed move onto step three.

Step 3

Hold your hoop horizontally, with its opening in front of you (the “left over space”) so that your hoop is touching your back. Now with great concentration give the hoop a spin around your waist (basic hula hoop skills). The spin can be directed in any direction. While spinning you should remember that you’re not trying to move your hips in a circle motion, but instead rocking your pelvis in a back and forth motion (keeping the hoops momentum and centrifugal motion).

Example: if your hooping counter clockwise, you should feel most of the pressure from the hoop rolling around your mid section (torso) when you’re shifting your pelvis/hips forward rolling it over your left hip. The same goes for when your shifting back and it rolls over your lower back on the right (clockwise it’s the exact opposite).
Once you’ve mastered keeping the hoop off the ground move onto step four.

Step 4

Once you have a comfortable feeling with keeping your hoop off the ground (hooping in both directions), try and switch your feet around so the opposite one is in front. Master this as you did with the other foot and move on.

Step 5

Now that you’ve achieved basic hooping skills try to become less stiff and move around a bit. The reason for this is obvious, hoop dancing requires you to dance…. while hooping.

Have fun hooping and make sure to check out our other articles on hoop dancing!

Other

History of the Gangster walk

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History of the G-walk
gangster walk
Gangsta-walking (aka g-walking or buck jump) is a street dance that originated in Memphis, Tennessee (evolved version referred to as: Buck(in) ) and despite the name this dance is not restricted to ‘gangstas’.

Although the dance’s origins have appeared to spawn in the late 1970s, its popularity did not grow until the 1980s along side with “Buck” music. The dance has been suspected to be created by a street dancer named “Capital D” – real name Dima Grinevich (although there is a lot of controversy over the original inventor). Another common mistake is the reference of M.C Hammer’s role in the gangsta-walk. Unlike popular belief he did not contribute any style (he did lead to spin off versions however), the only real role he had was in its growth. Due his mainstream music he was able to reach the mass media with this dance. Despite the lack of knowledge on who really created it, most credit for its evolution is given to a Memphis based rap group by the name of G-style. Its said that the group took a lower evolution of the dance and incorporated gliding, funk, bboy, and other styles into it. From here this more complex version of the dance became the link between g-walking and bucking (due to its sync with the new rap craze of buck music).

The g-walk’s growth can not only be credited to the buck style raps growth. The dance’s popularity is also credited to the positive impact it has made on the community of Memphis. The dance is one of the pastimes that unite members of the community and promote safe living. Like krumping, g-walking offers youth a positive way to release energy while at the same time steering them away from violence, drugs, and gangs which flourish in the Memphis area.

Although the original gangsta walk has since faded due to the more popular styles and spin offs it still lives in Memphis and surrounding areas.