That's the "step » of the belly dance traveling movement step, hip
The seed is intention and attention to your own Venus nature.
The step is to establish your presence, authority, regality and magic.
The step is with a flat foot. Not flat as in dead, but flat and alive, flat and all parts feeling the ground. A sensuous earth foot. Have you forgotten your foot is not just for putting in a hard shoe? This step, barefoot and optimistic, is the foundation of the movement, and should be enjoyed.
Don't be too quick to move on here -
Feel your weight on that first step leg, energy rooting down into the ground with a soft knee. Locked knees can be jarring. Rigid. Send you off balance. Soft knees have a slight bend, and allow the entire leg to be more animal, have more potential. You feel more life force rushing up from your planet with a soft knee, you breathe easier, your body is primed for movement in harmony with the elements & your spirit.
For those who wish a straightforward, less poetic description, supple knees act as shock absorbers so movements do not stress the system or jar the spine.
The ball of the other foot contacts the ground in a "floint" - a point/flex hybrid. « Floint » is the word we make up when pointed ankle energy meets a flex at the toe basin. The heel remains lifted even as you move your knees and hips, as if you were wearing a high heel shoe, but your aren't, you are holding your heel up with your brilliant mind. This a position I sometimes like to call the "Dainty Dominatrix." In this pose, I imagine myself cracking a whip on anyone who questions my authority to teach using poetic imagery. THWACK! Begone.
Finally, the Hip, rising from the skeletal arrangement you have set up so lovingly, blooming like a beautiful rose from the earth soil.
Step, Hip!
Love,
Meli
