Samira, I am SO delighted that this is working well for you! I wish you many wonderful light-filled performances!!!
Dear Gia, So finally I was able to dance with the candle tray! I used the advice you gave me, and used a hair-band. It worked very well for me (as I have such slippery hair!) Thanks Gia, Kisses, Samira
Dear Gia, Thanks for the reply!! Well, my trip to Athens came at a very bad time.. I don’t know if you have heard, but Athens has been burning for three days now.. So, unfortunately I did not have a lot of time to walk around the shops in Monastiraki (the area where they sell antique stuff, and all the workshops are) as it is was one of the areas targeted by the protesters. I did find a couple of trays that I liked though, one was reasonably priced and I bought it! Now, I confess that I asked the seller (who was also the craftsman of the workshop) to hammer it a little, and give it a concave shape in the centre so it would be easier for me to balance. A little bit of cheating, I admit!! The bad thing is that this hammering produced a rather deep depression in the middle of the tray, much much deeper than I had intended! I don’t know weather hammering it back is a good option. He said there is a limit to the metal’s elasticity and it could break. I don’t know what I will do. I think perhaps I will start practicing with this tray for now, so that I start getting used to holding things on my head. Soon I will go to Athens again and I might find the perfect tray then!! Thank you soo much for the advice Gia! I will certainly let you know how my “progress” goes. Kisses and shimmies from the island of Crete!
I'm happy to help! In balancing, 'heavier' is better because light objects seem to fly off our heads easier! Now...by 'heavy', I don't mean 5 lbs! My sword, for example, is a nice weight of about 2.3 lbs! My tray is probably less than 3 lbs even with candles. Because I don't have a flat head, I often wear a hairband or scarf tied on my head to balance on an 'even' surface...it also helps if you feel the weight of the tray will cause discomfort. The old fashioned brass trays that everyone seemed to have in their homes works well...this is what I use...it's not very big...but it is a good weight that feels SECURE on my head...so...while you're shopping, do pop it right on your head and see if it balances and if the weight feels good...remember that you'll probably add 1/4-1/2 lb in objects to the tray...such as candles or a tea set... LMK how you make out!
Dear Gia, Perhaps you can help me with your expertise. I would like to start training myself with tray balancing. I searched around on the forum and found some old threads about balancing trays. It seems that you recommend buying a tray that is relatively heavy. Why is that? Is it to keep the tray’s centre of gravity low when the candles are added? The reason I am asking is because I will travel to Athens on Monday and visit a street market where such things as old trays are being sold. Since this will be a good opportunity to search around for brass trays, I would like to know what to look for. It seems to me counter-intuitive to look for something large or something heavy, as that would tend to be more uncomfortable. However since many dancers seem to recommend exactly that, I thought I should ask someone experienced in this.. Thank you for your time, looking forward to your response!!
