Shimmy shocker?

Oh no! My shimmy is…

Likely issue

Remedy

…jerky and is not isolated in the bottom half of the body; I have trouble speeding up to a faster shimmy

Knees locking back

Always keep the knees slightly soft – avoid pushing all the way back to a locked knee position. The movement of the knee should be quite small. Stay relaxed and keep the upper body lifted

…clearer and stronger on one side, shimmy is uneven, hard to sustain and causes difficulty when overlaying a move

One side of the body stronger than the other

Practice slow shimmies in front of the mirror with the aim of keeping it steady and even – master this first, then build up slowly. Also try shimmying only on your weaker leg to develop it.

…always a small, tight shiver

Too tense

Slow your shimmy right down, breathe slowly and let the tension melt away. Don’t worry about making it fast, keep the knees soft and the abdomen (stomach) as relaxed as possible

…stops and starts a lot, making it hard to overlay moves

Too much tension - or maybe too little practice!

This is a common problem early on, so try the relaxation solution above but also try to incorporate more shimmy practice into your day-to-day routine – even if only while you are washing up, waiting for the bus etc!

…has no “oomph”!

Weight is too far forward

On the whole (though not for everyone), a powerful shimmy is harder to achieve if your weight is too far forward – try to rock your weight back into your heels and drive the energy up from the floor. Also try it a little slower than usual – a powerful shimmy is often slower than you might think

…ok, but I can’t overlay moves

Trying to overlay a shiver - or trying too much, too soon!

First make sure you have a strong, relaxed shimmy – a shiver is a tenser move and harder to overlay. Then break the move you want to overlay down into smaller parts and practice just layering those first before building up to the full move