I was at Sharon Kihara's Tribal Fusion workshop on the 10th & 11th November, 2007. It was my first tribal workshop & also the most eye-opening one. I witnessed with my own eyes for the first time the famous "glute shimmy" which I have heard but not seen of from various Belly Dance forum topics. And the most exciting part was I get to learn exercises that will enable me to do this challenging shimmy!

What is Glute Shimmy?
Glute shimmy is a hip shimmy in which the movements originated from the glutes. The idea is to keep a bended knee and contract the glute (& only the glute) one by one. It is advisable to practice on the floor or laying down, so that, you can eliminate the usage of your legs completely. Not easy but fun!

I couldn't find my glute muscles when I first started. I have to stay focus, to locate it mentally before I could actually try to contract it. Most of the time, I couldn't isolate the contraction completely. When I try to contract the glute, other muscle group such as the obliques and lower abdomen muscles contract as well. . Sharon told us that it took her at least 1 month with 5 days a week practice to get to where she is now. She asked us to be patient in order to see results. From now on, I need to be friendlier to my glutes, get to know them better & work hard on them.

Of course, besides the glute shimmy, I've learnt alot of other techniques from Sharon. During the workshop, we do alot of muscles toning exercises. There were yoga & pilates movements. The exercises were strenuous, my body was aching all over. Arrgghh... pain at the triceps, upper back, adbomen, legs, particularly everywhere! The reason for all these muscle aching exercises was to help us condition our body & strengthen our muscles for the tribal movements that we're learning as every movements must originate from the contraction of a particular muscle group. For example, hip lifts can be done by contracting the glute of the same hip and hip drop by contracting the opposite glute & many many more. If you have a chance to attend her workshop, you will know what I mean. .

I really adore her. She is so elegant when she danced. She really deserves the title of a Belly Dance SuperStar. I feel so blessed to be given an opportunity to learn from a great dancer/teacher such as herself.