Rejuvenate your dance by following one or more of the following:
- take some dance movements that are at home in your body and put them to new music.
Sometimes 'old' movements that are almost habit in your body or movements done specifically to one song can find new life when you put them to new or different music. Let the music be your cue and see if the music tells you to modify the moves to suit to the new tunes.
- make some new dance combinations or movements.
Put on a song that you simply LOVE and move to it without censoring yourself. See what phrases or movements are repeated throughout the song. Does the chorus beg two hip accents just before the singing starts? Is there that little bit at the beginning that needs you to shimmy to it?
- go back to basics.
Once we move onto a new level in classes or conquer that new movement that's being done, what is left? How about going back to re-introduce yourself to the basic hip, chest and arm movements? Learn to refine and isolate more, use fewer muscles - every time you repeat a movement, make it even more 'perfect'. Go slowly and thoroughly...
- watch someone else dance.
Check out someone new on Youtube or borrow a new dvd from a friend and see what's new and exciting out there. Or, go the other way - check out some tried and established 'greats'. Look for Samia Gamal, Tahia Carioca, Nagwa Fuad, Nadia Gamal, Naima Akef, Souhair Zaki...
- check out some folklore.
Find out where what we know as belly dance came from. Try Tanoura, or some male dancing (not trained dancers, but just men dancing who were caught on tape...), celebratory dancing, wedding dancing.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Happy new year!
I've been reading a lot lately about what other dancers think of tribal fusion or fusion belly dance, the scene and it's dancers. It's been about the disappointment they've been feeling about the lack of 'sisterhood' in the dance and the craze to discover the latest cool thing to fuse into belly dance to make them the newest sensation. The lack of originality and of true passion for the dance.
Frankly, I try to keep myself a little out of the larger tribal fusion scene in order to concentrate on my own scene. I'm not shoving my head in the sand in any way. I do take the odd workshop here and there to see other dancers, I watch YouTube every now and again, and I talk to my friends who are some of the makers and shakers in the TF world.
For the most part though, I read about dance (not just belly dance), I find and listen to new music and choreograph what I feel regardless of what the rest of the TF dancers are up to. I have goals and reasons for each of my pieces that I create or perform (as much of my solo work in improv) and those goals and reasons are constantly changing to reflect the changes in my life. To reflect the things that are important to me and to my dance. To reflect what I have decided to explore for the now. I rarely perform solo to the same music twice.
Long ago, I tired of watching the same dances over and over again performed by one of the 'top' local belly dance companies. Where is the creativity? Where is the self expression? Where is the growth?
To me, belly dance is all about self expression and it's a continuation of my life journey (god, that sounds so new age trashy) and so my dance will continue to change. The others? Ah, each to their own, no?
Frankly, I try to keep myself a little out of the larger tribal fusion scene in order to concentrate on my own scene. I'm not shoving my head in the sand in any way. I do take the odd workshop here and there to see other dancers, I watch YouTube every now and again, and I talk to my friends who are some of the makers and shakers in the TF world.
For the most part though, I read about dance (not just belly dance), I find and listen to new music and choreograph what I feel regardless of what the rest of the TF dancers are up to. I have goals and reasons for each of my pieces that I create or perform (as much of my solo work in improv) and those goals and reasons are constantly changing to reflect the changes in my life. To reflect the things that are important to me and to my dance. To reflect what I have decided to explore for the now. I rarely perform solo to the same music twice.
Long ago, I tired of watching the same dances over and over again performed by one of the 'top' local belly dance companies. Where is the creativity? Where is the self expression? Where is the growth?
To me, belly dance is all about self expression and it's a continuation of my life journey (god, that sounds so new age trashy) and so my dance will continue to change. The others? Ah, each to their own, no?
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