Practising at Home

Hi,

I'm trying to sort out a practice routine for in between my belly dance classes (I take 2 classes a week) and was just wondering if anyone was prepared to share their ideas/routines with me?

My aim is more to drill the stuff I already know rather than learning new stuff, my specific aim is to improve my shimmies. I would also like to improve my dance improvisation skills.

At the moment the rough layout I have for my practice seems too long - I can only really spare an hour a couple of nights a week so I need to make sure I keep it concise, but I can help feeling I'm trying to squeeze a lot into one hour - yoga warm up, technique drills, shimmy drills, "free dancing" and cooling down - or does that sound about right?

I would really appreciate any advice anyone has to offer as I really want to get the most out of practising.

Happy dancing! :D

xxx
 

~Diana~

AFK Moderator
That sounds good to me. I don't really have a set plan as I'm very busy but I try to get drills in, practice various moves repetitively, as well as stretching to increased my flexibility.

However at the same time, I also practice smaller things like chest lifts and drops, and arm and hand undulations while in the car. I practice my shimmies and hip circles while I wash dishes or in the shower. etc.
 

Amanda (was Aziyade)

Well-known member
my specific aim is to improve my shimmies.

I'll tell you what worked for me:

Get a metronome and use it! LOL.

Seriously, get one -- either download one or buy a tick-tock kind. You will use it for everything once you get used to practicing with it.

Start it at a slow tempo. And I mean slooooooow. Start your shimmy SLOWLY. If you can hold that shimmy for one minute without a problem at that tempo, then make it just a hair faster. Keep "kicking it up a notch" until you get to the point where you can't hold the shimmy for one minute. THAT tempo and the tempo just before it, are the speeds you need to practice with.

Also, current thinking in adult education says that you will progress faster if you practice in short intervals daily, rather than 1-2 hours twice a week. You might consider practicing 20-30 minutes EVERY day and see if that works for you.

If your practice schedule is too long, break it up into daily tasks.
Example --
- Monday practice your shimmies for 5 minutes, and slow moves for 15 minutes.
- Tuesday practice your shimmies for 5 minutes and sharp moves for 15 min.
- Wednesday, for 20 minutes, take ONE or TWO movements you know and improvise a short dance using only those movements (a GREAT dvd for improv practice is Nadia Jamal's Improvisational Toolkit. This is a suggestion from that dvd.)
- etc.

If you break up your tasks into manageable chunks -- reserving specific skill drills for specific days of the week -- it might be easier for you to accomplish everything you want.

You can also create a practice "choreography." Take all the moves you want to practice and put them together in short combinations to an easy upbeat song. Don't worry if it's not a performance choreography -- this is just a way for you to remember and practice everything you want to practice.

Hope this helps :)
 

Shams

New member
Personally I'm practicing every day at home for 1-2 hours (it depends on how much free time i have), but i don't have any specific plane for my practice.

Usualy it goes like that: i turn on the music, try to feel it and do those movements that i feel like i want to do whle listening to this music ( it goes like warm up), then i'm starting to take experiments like putting shimmi and hip drop together =) after this kind of warming up I'm starting to practice those movements that i don't know, and only after that i repeat ALL the dances that i have ever learned :D
 

adiemus

New member
I'm getting more systematic in my practice.
I have a general cardio warm up to something with a good beat, a bit of skipping and a whole-body warmup, then a few stretches long and slow to get the kinks out.

Then I choose a bit of music that has a medium tempo and do 'accent' movements - trying to get timing good and crisp movements. I include arm movements too so I get practice at coordinating the two bits of my body (they get a bit discombobulated at times!).

If I don't have much time I might slow down then and do some smooth, curvey movements and some arms, and end with a stretch.

If I have more time I'll loop some bits of music and try out different combinations in an improv session. I've found this is great if I have a bit of time, and I can have the same 60 - 120 seconds of music looped and try different movements, variations and layers over and again.

And then I finish with an improv to something random on my collection from emusic! with a stretch to finish with as a cool-down.

I've tried to integrate bits and pieces of movement practice throughout the day too - like arm patterns (trying to get my arms to go exactly WHERE I want WHEN I want!) when I'm walking through the house to open the curtains in the morning (don't do it in public, people look at you funny!), 3/4 shimmy up and down stairs and along the hallway, figure eights while you wash your hands or do the dishes...

But while these make the movements more defined, they don't make the flow from one to another better which is why I've started the loop practice. Having a short piece of the music has helped me work out a whole bunch of different options without it having to 'mean' anything, or fit into a bigger picture. I think it's helping with 'musicality' and really FEELING the music instead of doing a choreography.

Oh and I have a bunch of stretches/strengthening exercises that I do to support posture changes I need - and I do these a LOT through the day (pelvic tilts to reduce my lumbar lordosis and increase thoracic extension, pull the tummy in and do the pelvic floors!). You know, the funny thing is that by doing them a whole lot during the day, over time I've actually noticed a really big change in my posture, and it hasn't even been hard!
 

Darbla

New member
my specific aim is to improve my shimmies.

I don't where I read this so I can't give you a reference for it. But I read that one of the pros sits on the floor and does shimmies in that position for an hour each day. You can watch an hour long TV program while you do it. Just alternate your knees just like you would while standing.
 

adiemus

New member
and while you clean your teeth, do the dishes, brush your hair, wait for the jug to boil, while you wait for the photocopier to copy, do shoulder shimmies when the lights are red in the car - amazing where you can practice as long as you don't mind looking a little odd!!
 

Muneera Dance

New member
Oh yeah waiting for the bus too is a great time to practise shimmies - If you dont mind the funny looks from other people. In fact, in the winter it is great because while doing a shimmy it just looks like you are shivering to try and keep warm..... ;)

What I usually do for home practise is take one or two of my favourite moves learned that week in class and practise on those. Specific combinations rather than just one certain move. Sometimes it is combining the moves that is hardest. Well, for me anyway ;)
 
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candi

New member
Put Egyptian music on and dance and listen to it lots. get to know the phrases and the formulas of the music this will help you so much. yes you can drill and you should, BUT you can drill moves forever but if you can't apply them to the music-its no good
 

Machiavellia

New member
I try to get my personal drill practice in for half an hour or an hour three or four times a week.

I usually start with sumo and ballet squats, then I do posture/shoulder/arm/hand isolations, then I drill actual moves. I then go to the chest, where I do slow and fast range of motion exercises, then alternating speeds, then I work on chest squares and circles (then, you guessed it-- alternating speeds). Then I do slow and fast range of motion exercises in the hips, then the alternating speeds, then the pelvic circles and squares. Then glutes and shimmies-- alternating exercises, and if I have lots of time, a good ten or twelve minutes shimmying (with layers!)

Then I take it all walking! I am dipping my toes in the Suhaila pool, so I drill this for two reasons-- for the language (so I do an exercise and then afterwards sit down and work it out to be something like-- half time singles on the up, walking forward releve quarter time) or I decide to do that and then figure out how to take it from my mind in the language to movement.

After all that if I'm not too tired I'll work on a specialty move for awhile-- over the last few months it's been overshimmy and walking half time with this crazy hip combo I did at a workshop. But the fun stuff comes last :p

My practice used to be much less defined before I started working with my current teacher on a regular basis, and I honestly can't believe the impact it's having on my attitude, work ethic, teaching and performance :D
 

cathy

New member
question for the super disciplined drillers

OK all you who say you do drills for 1-2 hours per day (!) or 4 hours per week or whatever. When you do practice your choreographies and develop new choreos?

Is that tacked on the end and you didn't mention it? Are we now talking 3 hours per day!?! :lol:

Or maybe you improvise all shows and never do any choreos. Even then, I would think you would want to practice that actual music quite a lot before a performance.
 

Machiavellia

New member
OK all you who say you do drills for 1-2 hours per day (!) or 4 hours per week or whatever. When you do practice your choreographies and develop new choreos?

Is that tacked on the end and you didn't mention it? Are we now talking 3 hours per day!?! :lol:

Or maybe you improvise all shows and never do any choreos. Even then, I would think you would want to practice that actual music quite a lot before a performance.
I have four hours of troupe rehearsal per week, where we work on troupe choreography, and I work on my own personal choreography/improvisational skills outside my drill time. I think both are absolutely crucial to becoming a well rounded dancer. Between classes I teach, classes I take, troupe practice, personal drilling and personal choreography/dance time, I dance about fifteen to eighteen hours a week. But it's starting to show in my movement, so it's worth it, and hopefully it will lead to more of my income coming from belly dance over the next few years.
 
Thanks for all the advice

Hello guys,

Sorry this post is late but been mega busy!

Just wanted to say thanks for all the advice - it's drawn my attention to things I didn't really consider before, like how my practice could impact on my musical interpretation. This is something I want to improve on so I think I will base my practice more around that than jut standard drills.

This may also stop things becoming too boring or repetitive,as if I'm totally honest I find drills a bit boring. I like the ones I do in class, but on my own not so much... I'm still going to do shimmy drills though.

I've started dancing with a troupe so it's now even more important to me to show some improvement, so I'm very grateful for everyone's input. Thanks! :D
 

Eshta

New member
I don't where I read this so I can't give you a reference for it. But I read that one of the pros sits on the floor and does shimmies in that position for an hour each day. You can watch an hour long TV program while you do it. Just alternate your knees just like you would while standing.

Lorna told us that Randa does this while watching one of her favourite soaps, hahaha! Maybe that was who you were thinking of? I tried it but didn't keep at it, maybe I'll try it again this week!
 

Eshta

New member
Aziyade, you ALWAYS give such great advice, I spiritually rep you as I have to spread myself around again!

I remember a fantabulous post you made about home practice some time ago, I scribbled down notes from it and use it in my own practice, it totally changed the way I think about structuring my practice sessions!
 

Amanda (was Aziyade)

Well-known member
OK all you who say you do drills for 1-2 hours per day (!) or 4 hours per week or whatever. When you do practice your choreographies and develop new choreos?

Is that tacked on the end and you didn't mention it? Are we now talking 3 hours per day!?! :lol:

Or maybe you improvise all shows and never do any choreos. Even then, I would think you would want to practice that actual music quite a lot before a performance.


My schedule is changing depending upon what I'm working on.

Right now I'm working up for the Suhaila Level 2 next month, so I feel like I'm almost exclusively drilling the stuff that I'm struggling with in that syllabus -- and getting everything up to the appropriate speed. In Suhaila's fashion, I'll drill a movement standing for maybe 5 minutes, then spend the next 25 minutes drilling the same movement with different traveling patterns. The traveling thing is HUGE in Suhaila's format, and it's something I find personally challenging so I like spending time doing that. Lately I'll usually do this for 2 different movements, so that's about an hour. Some days I'll drill basic traveling movements with finger cymbals, or I'll "jam" with the CD, dancing a choreography I know while drilling different cymbal patterns over it.

When I'm not working on Suhaila's stuff, I'll still drill movements that trouble me -- currently it's Sohair Zaki's Tap 3/4 shimmy, Nagwa's pelvic shimmy (always -- I will never get this as smooth as I want), and Randa's pelvic-drop pony thing. I can do both of these movements slowly, but they need to be sped up to look right, and my skill level just isn't there yet.

Because I'm exploring improving my improv skills, I've been working with the techniques in Nadira Jamal's dvd, and spending a couple of nights a week putting on random music and working her exercises for 30-45 minutes. The time really flies and I really wish I could add another hour a night to my dancing (or another 4 to my day!).

When not doing improv, I'm working on Raqia Hassan choreographies -- learning them, doing them, experimenting with changing movements to see if they still represent the music, and playing with making them alternately more "earthy" and more "airy," as a texture experiment. I'm not working on doing my own choreography at all right now (except the class choreos) since I haven't been performing for other dancers, and my public seems satisfied with Shareen el Safy and Raqia choreos. :)

But my day job allows me to pretty much listen to music all day long -- which is what I do -- and that gives me time to study the music. I have a closed windowless office, so I can even dance a bit if I want, and I take the opportunity to do so OFTEN! So I get music study into my day without it cutting into my actual physical practice time.

(I SO have no life. Seriously.)
 

Amanda (was Aziyade)

Well-known member
Aziyade, you ALWAYS give such great advice, I spiritually rep you as I have to spread myself around again!

I remember a fantabulous post you made about home practice some time ago, I scribbled down notes from it and use it in my own practice, it totally changed the way I think about structuring my practice sessions!


Aw thank you!! That makes me feel really good -- thank you! :)
 

Chantal

New member
Hi,

Aziyade had mentioned about Nadira Jamal's Improv toolkit (which i have ordered and i am eagerly waiting for it to arrive in the post. :dance:) So i googled it and found that Nadira is also doing episodes on dance composition which i have downloaded. I have found them very useful, it makes so much sense.I love the way Nadira explains everything so clearly. :D

Here is the link to her taktaba blogspot, you can either download the episodes for free (the downloads are very big but you do have a low resolution option for some of the episodes) or you can order the dvds:

Taktaba: Episode 1: Repetition and Alternation
 
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