Dance Tutorial Time: Chaine Turn & Variations #worldfusiondance #menahtinspiredmovement #bellydance

Hello, my dance friends! Today, we review a fast traveling turn known as the chaine turn! This is a full turn over your shoulder that requires spotting (finding a placement for your eyes for quick recovery as you turn), a strong core for balance, and momentum from your arms for speed.

If you feel comfortable with the chaine turn, we take the last section of this speedy review to practice a circular turn on yourself using this format to create a new pattern of travel!

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Spotting:
Find a place on the wall to zero in on with your eyes as you turn, ensuring that your eyes return to this spot as soon as you can rotate your neck and body to complete the turn. It's best if this spot is at eye height or even a little higher, which will allow you to create your travel pattern to the side wall and maintain your balance and focus as you create this fast turn.

To recover from your turn:
For me, Mira Betz put it best when she directed me to "use the Jedi force" to bring yourself back from any feelings of dizziness or disorientation. This meant to keep your eyes open, focus on a point ahead of your heart center (or stare into your own eyes if looking into a mirror) and use your will to bring everything back into focus and create stillness as you breath to center yourself.

Chaine Turn:
Spotting over your left shoulder, take a slight step out to the side with your left foot--this is merely to take the weight to your left leg. This allows you to bring your right foot in, wrap it around your left, and do a complete turn over your left shoulder, resetting to your original position. Try this in the other direction.

You will need to be in releve (on your toes) for this turn to create the speed to travel, and it's helpful to utilize your arms to add momentum to your turn, opening the arms as your heart center faces front, and closing as your heart center faces back during your turn. Arms correlate with leg work (ie, if traveling/turning over right shoulder--open right arm as you step out right, close left arm as you cross to turn over right foot).

Keep thighs and low belly strong for this turn so that you are able to maintain balance during the turn--if you feel off kilter during this practice, work to maintain a strong core as you turn.

Turning on Self:
To create a circle with this turn, instead of traveling to one side, use spotting to create your turn. When turning over your shoulder, you can either bring the spotting point in (slightly to the front of your shoulder) or widen it (slightly behind your shoulder). As you change your spot, you create a new travel pattern. Practice creating your spots on the walls, and break these up by adding in the corners of the room--this would mean you start at the wall, then spot to the corner, and continue in this way until you've made a complete circle on yourself.

This is common movement I practice as a World Fusion or MENAHT-inspired Fusion dancer (also referred to as "bellydance") and I'm so excited to share this combo with you!

If you'd like more thorough instruction, please check out my Patreon page for online classes:

As always, if you have any questions about this combo or any movement you'd like to see in these tutorials, please leave me a comment and let me know!

I will always start off with a brief overview of safe posture, and suggestions for pre-dance time warm-up and post-dance time cool-down.

**IF YOU HAVE ANY INJURIES, be sure to consult your physician before performing the movement in this video**

HYDRATE:
Be sure to have loads of water before, during and after dance time!

POSTURE:
--Find your hip bone (anterior superior iliac spine, ASIS) to gauge your hip width
--Place your feet directly beneath your hip bones. This will ensure adequate wiggle room for your body.
--Deeply bend into the knees and ensure your weight is equally distributed on your feet
--Relax your shoulders
--Keep your chest stacked above your hips

PREP:
Some suggested warm-up drills are:
--Squats
--Shoulder rolls
--Side reaches (keep chest parallel to mirror/front wall and extend torso)

Some suggested cool-down stretches are:
--Hip Flexors
--Hamstrings
--Lower Back
--Balance Challenges

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MUSIC
Sahra by Alexis Southall