Shimmy (TV series)

Shimmy is a fitness television series broadcast in Canada on ONE: The Mind and Body Channel that emphasizes the health benefits of belly dance. The twenty-six episode series was designed by and created by Kim Pechet, a belly dance instructor and fitness professional. An original Canadian production, Shimmy premiered October 1, 2007 on ACCESS and CLT in Canada as well as in the United States on Discovery Health and OWN. Shimmy has been broadcast throughout Central and South America, Germany, and India as well as in Canada and the United States.

Episode Structure

Each episode begins with a warm up to increase flexibility and to prepare the body for the teaching section. In the teaching section, each episode leads viewers through four to six belly dance movements. The repeated motions are designed to tone hips, thighs, glutes, and abdominals through traditional Middle-Eastern belly-dance movements. In the performance section, dancers in full costume combine the movements just taught into a low-impact choreography designed to burn calories. The episode ends with a display of freestyle belly dance from the dancers.

Episode list

Season 1

Episode 1: Hips, Hops and a Shimmy

Dance Level: Beginner

Fitness Category: Calorie-Burner

Target Zones: Hips and Thighs

The Shimmy Dancers lead you through a series of fundamental belly dance moves like the ‘Shoulder Shimmy’ and ‘Hip Rotations’ making this a perfect episode for beginners, or those wanting to go back to basics.

Moves taught in this episode: Shoulder Shimmy, Hip Rotation, 1, 2, 3 Hop, Hip Pop, Head Slide

Episode 2: Cairo to Istanbul

Dance Level: Beginner- Intermediate

Fitness Category: Stretch and Strengthen

Target Zones: Hips and Glutes

Nothing says middle-eastern dance like the classic ‘Head Slide’: the variations we teach will give any dance routine an exotic flavour as voluptuous Gillian leads us through the sensual ‘Turkish Figure-Eight’.