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THE 3X3 OF THE SARABI® METHOD

In all the dancing styles there are 4 essential possibilities to move in space, creating new patterns for the feet on the dance floor:

Basic walking step: alternating right foot and left foot, like walking normally: right, left,… but there are many, many differen other options.
Step-touch: step with the right foot and “touch” the floor with the toes of the left foot, without adding weight on it, then step with the left foot and “touch” the floor with the toes of the right foot and repeat.
3 step-chain: walk three steps and stop once (it is the 4th beat of the music), use this pause to change the feet, just like in waltz.
Jumps: for an instant, neither feet touch the floor (in Belly Dance this is the 4th step, it is widely used, except for a couple of styles like Saïdi or Karsilama)
All the possible step patterns are simple variations or combinations of these four options.

We can apply this concept to the upper body too, meaning that we can use the idea of seeing all the belly dance moves in three dimensions. If you can visualise the move, it is much easier to do it, even if you don’t have a perfect technique for the moment.

Let´s take a look at an example, using the hips:

1. Pendulum (side to side): as an example of moving in a horizontal lateral dimension

2. Hip lift and drop: as an example of moving in a vertical dimension

3. Twist: as an example of moving in a horizontal lateral dimension forward-backward

Therefore by using the following moves:

1. Pendulum

2. Hip lifts and drops

3. Twist

And these patterns for the feet:

A. Basic walking step

B. Step-touch

C. 3 step-chain

We have the following basic options:

1A Walking with pendulum (various possibilities)

1B Step-touch with side to side pendulum

1C 3 step-chain with pendulum (step chain)

2A Walking with hip lifts and drops

2B Step-touch with hip lifts and drops

2C 3 step-chain with hip lifts and drops

3A Walking with Twist

3B Step-touch with Twist (adding a little hip lift will create a classic Egyptian dance move)

3C 3 step-chain with Twist (for example, this combination together with certain arm patterns is one of the most common steps of the Tunis folklore dance).

*Excerpt from the book: "Danza del Vientre" ¨(Belly Dance)