How to Dance the Twerk Dance

Get into a squat position. Don’t squat too low; instead, squat just low enough to keep your balance and stability. Keep your knees bent and aligned with your toes to avoid knee injury. Stand with your legs spread apart, slightly bend your body forward, and spread your feet wide. This will help maintain balance as you begin moving. This is also the most common and least seductive twerk position.

• Pick a lively, upbeat song to practice to. You can start slow to master the basic moves and speed up once you feel more comfortable.

Push your hips out. Stand in a position as if you're about to sit in a chair — think of the 'Chair Pose' in Yoga. The focus should be on pushing your hips out. Make sure your knees are bent, and your hands rest on your hips. Keep your torso straight and facing forward. You don’t need to look down at the ground to dance well.

• When pushing your hips out, bend your body at about a 45-degree angle, shifting your weight onto your toes. This move is called the "Miley Twerk." To make it less provocative, avoid pushing your hips too far out and try to keep your chest upright.

Sway your hips back and forth. If you keep your hands on your hips while dancing, place your thumbs on your hip bones to push your hips forward when moving forward, and use your other fingers to pull your hip bones back if moving backward. If you’re comfortable dancing without your hands, raise both arms in front of you, bend your elbows parallel to the floor, and sway gently as you continue dancing.

• For the Miley Twerk style, move your hips quickly from side to side, while the standard Twerk involves moving your hips up and down, bending and straightening your back to achieve the best results. Don’t worry if your "booty" isn’t large — anyone can do this dance!
• Focus on isolating your lower body while keeping your upper body steady.
• You can change hand positions, keeping them in front of you, on your hips, or behind your hips.
• Alternatively, you can squat lower, place your hands on your knees, point your fingers toward each other and your wrists out, and shake your hips and hands together for the best effect.
• If you want to go all out, add some expressive flair like Miley or include hand gestures to create a dramatic effect.

Stand about 30 cm away from a sturdy wall. Do not face the wall, but stand close enough that you can still see it in your peripheral vision. This is one of the most dramatic forms of twerking. Be sure not to attempt this dance after drinking excessively, as it could lead to falling. When doing the Wall Twerk, you must be extremely confident in your twerking skills. This move is not for beginners.

• You will need significant upper body strength and good coordination to pull off this move.

Place both hands on the floor. This time, make sure your hands are firmly planted on the ground to avoid falling when you lift your feet onto the wall. Both hands should be placed flat on the floor to maintain balance. Pushing your hips high will make it easier to place your feet on the wall. Your hands should be positioned about 15 cm in front of your feet, with your arms shoulder-width apart. As you place your hands on the ground, your body weight will shift from your lower legs to your arms.

• Your upper body should be supported by your hands, with your fingers pointing outward.

Place your foot on the wall and bend your knee as you shake your hips. First, put one foot on the wall and raise it until you find your balance. Then, place your other foot on the wall as well. Keep your feet spread apart, with each foot about 30 cm away from your hips. Ensure your feet are firmly placed on the wall, and practice arching your back to create the basic motion. Hold your upper body firm and steady as you move your lower body (at this point, your body is upright!). You can think of this as a variation of the twerking move ‘with hands on the floor,’ except now you're doing it on the wall.

• Try to aim for holding your feet on the wall for about 30 seconds, 1 minute, or the length of a short song. But remember, after a while, your hands and shoulders will start to feel sore.
• This is also a great opportunity to find a twerking buddy to join you as you perform these moves.
• Move down gracefully. Take each foot off the wall one at a time. You can continue doing the twerk ‘with hands on the floor,’ or pause the twerking until you're ready to move like Miley again.

Stand with your feet parallel and apart. Keep your legs straight and your upper body facing forward. Your feet should be wider than your hips. If the distance between your legs is too narrow, it will be difficult to bend when you start twerking.

Place both hands on the floor. Spread your toes when you bend down. You can bend your legs slightly inward and make sure at least your fingers touch the ground. If you're more flexible, you can place your whole hands on the floor. This will help maintain your balance.

Push your hips out. Bend your body and quickly straighten your legs, focusing on pushing your hips out as you twerk. Bend your body and keep your legs straight in rhythm with the music. You can sway and move your hips as you dance. To perform the regular twerk, just arch your back and push your hips out, shaking your hips up and down repeatedly. For Miley’s version, quickly move your hips from left to right.

• Avoid wearing jeans or tight clothing to make it easier to lift your hips.
• Always keep your legs spread wide apart while dancing.
• Wear shorts or tight-fitting clothes with good stretch to show off your ‘booty’.
• Dance as if you're by yourself and do whatever feels right when twerking.
• If you're doing the Wall Twerk, tie up or bun your hair to prevent it from covering your face during the moves.
• Be cautious not to fall from the wall when performing the Wall Twerk.
• Avoid overly tight jeans as they could tear.
• Don’t arch your back too far to avoid falling or injury.
• Don't push your hips too hard to prevent strain or injury.
• Break up the rhythm to make your movements more engaging. In other words, you need to vary the speed of your flow (experienced dancers know this makes things easier), so each new movement will accentuate the previous one. Advanced techniques include picking a twerk rhythm and adjusting the music speed (using a computer) to harmonize and sync up the group’s moves, depending on the number of dancers, muscle strength, and flexibility of the outfits.