KittyCat, I know how frustrating it is when you don't know which muscles to use to execute certain movements. I had that problem before...but then I attended Suhaila Salimpour's WS and it all became instantly more clear to me! It really was like magic!!!
I really recommend all the DVDs that she's ever made if you're interested in learning more technique. Or go to one of her workshops. It will blow your mind!

xxx,
Enni

<< I think I understand it better now but the one thing I want to know in relation to what Bo said is - when stepping back and forth, does the hip lift happen on the weighted foot??? >>

There are two types of 3/4 shimmies--you can 3/4 shimmy on the up or on the down (to use the terminology that I've learned). The 3/4 on the up is the most common one that you'll see and is what Fat Chance calls the walking shimmy. The hip lift happens on the weighted foot. So, step on the R while you lift the right hip. Then drop, lift, hold, and step L and repeat (same old RLR hold LRL hold while stepping R then L).

3/4 shimmy on the down starts with *dropping* the hip of the weighted leg. So, step R while droping R hip, then lift, drop, hold, and step L and repeat. Some dancers prefer to think of this as lifting the opposite hip as the weighted leg (since, if you drop the R hip, the L goes up. For example, If you like the Suhaila glut squeeze method, you're squeezing the L glut as you step R and vice versa).

One or the other may feel more natural to you, depending on if your hips prefer to lift or drop. I think most find the plain ol' UpDownUp easier than DownUpDown.

Then there's that slide, lift, drop method that others teach. I don't find that as easy, personally.

Kitty -

The double lift happens on the foot you are moving on. So if you step forward with your right, as soon as that right foot touches down the hip goes "right right" (this explanation is from Sera's East Coast Tribal DVD, and it REALLY helped click it in for me), and as you're finishing the left foot is getting ready to come forward. When the left foot touches down and your weight transfers, the left hip does its two lifts (with the right in between).

I did this slowly for MONTHS before I could speed up, but one day I just *could*. My body finally made sense of it.

My cabaret teacher taught it as up-down-out. Lift the right hip and leg on 1, drop the right hip and leg on 2, push the right hip out on 3, rest on 4, repeat on left.

She taught the shimmy on the down as down-out-up. Push the right hip down on 1, sort of up and out on 2, then the LEFT hip and foot up on three, rest 4, repeat on left (stepping down with the hip on count 5).

We spent probably a quarter of out class time on these for several classes, with everyone going at half speed in a mass across the floor! Kind of like a bunch of bellydance monsters of Frankenstein, but it worked...

Oooo, excellent descriptions. I do find that when I do it slow I tend to loose control of my lower leg due to momentum. You'd think it would be more of a problem going fast but it's not. 3/4's are most fun ;~)