What do you dance with

Wow Rebecca, double cane? How does that look? It sounds really cool but I've never seen it before.

Yshka said:

Wow Rebecca, double cane? How does that look? It sounds really cool but I've never seen it before.

Click to expand...

Double cane gets really interseting. In class when we first started doing this, I'd smack myself in the back of the head or leg a lot. It took me the longest time to be able to twirl both at once!



I've never done a youtube thing before, I don't know if that will work... I'm actually not huge on her presentation of double cane, but you can see what twirling two canes at once looks like.

It doesn't look like my youtube thingy worked, so here's a link:
YouTube - Double Cane Dance

Thanks for posting the link. I liked the turn she did with the linked cane at about 1 minute or so, but except for the very end, most of what she did was single cane work with the two canes held as one. Somewhere on the forum is a wonderful cane dance done by a gentleman who uses canes as I can only dream of being able to do. He spun them around his neck, across his back, balanced them, bounced them... I will try and find his video and let you know where to look for him.


Later: I am sorry, I'm not finding the video I wanted. You might like to look at a clip in the video section, thread entitled: Check out this stick dance, posted by Tarik Sultan. It is a double cane dance in a street scene. I think maybe Tarik posted the other one as well. The dancer was wearing a long white robe which hindered his movements not at all. Tarik, you out there? Know the one I'm looking for?

Yshka said:

Haven't tried candles/trays, shemadan, Isis wings and sword yet. I think I would like to learn sword as well. Would like to try Isis Wings also but I don't know wether I will be able to handle those lol. Shemadan I think looks very impressive.
:

Click to expand...

Dear Yshka, I bet you will do well with Isis Wings, since you do well with veils. Manipulating Isis Wings is very similar to using veils. You can dance with the sticks in or take them out for a cape effect.
Yasmine

zils of course... everyone IMO should dance w/ zils... they are not really a prop... and they will improve your dance immensely! (at least practice alot with them... then add them to performance when comfortable)..
I love sword (double or single)... but my first prop=veil... occasionally double... but, I don't do that as much anymore.... as the swords have taken over...
also candle... but hardly ever... would like to get more into that.... but I am lazy about dragging around/cleaning up after (wax on costumes anyone??) certain props... same reason I never got into fire dancing, or shamadan... (lazy about dragging all that stuff around..... plus fire laws everywhere now..) would like to get more into cane.... that is something I have never really performed (except we have a troupe dance....)
I guess I "know" cane, but don't feel comfortable improvising... so I will not perform it solo.... what about the rest of you... what does YOUR comfort level have to be before you will perform in public....??? I think maybe because I am a teacher.... I feel I have to be very professional level at something before I can be seen doing it, as people expect more from me now than when I was a student... so trying new things is way more scary than it used to be.... what do other teachers think about this... how do YOU add/try new things???

I went prop-crazy for a whille, wanting to learn all of them as quickly as possible...

Then I got bored of the gimmicks and went back to the dance! Don't misinterpret me, props can really add to the dance, but they shouldn't be what the dance is about, and I think I lost sight of that for a while. now have a cupboard full of props that only occasionally come out to play!

I do however has a natural affinity with sticking things on my head and balancing them. When I was a kid I used to carry my books between classes on my head just "because"! So sword is my favourite.

I can't stand candle dancing. I guess I'm missing the point? I just can't see any point to it! Sorry all you wonderful candle dancers out there....!

Something I'd really like to have a play with is Isis Wings - if I can get a pair short enough lol

I'm practicing with the sword a lot lately--does anyone have any tips on spinning with the sword on your head? I have no problem spinning while balancing it on my head--the tricky part is when I stop spinning and the sword doesn't. The way I've discovered to mask this is to always turn clockwise and throw my left arm up in some dramatic pose at the end of the spin in front of the sword, so the still-spinning sword hits my forearm and stops rather than flying off my head into the audience somewhere. But what if I want to stop without touching the sword?


PS: Somebody mentioned trouble with silk veils. When it comes to veils and which fabrics to use, some say to use "naked" silk to maintain that silky-floatiness, and some say that it's important to decorate the edge of your veil (silk or not) with enough trim so it can maintain a proper weight to dance with. Go figure.

Hi Nani, I don't know if any of us can alter the laws of physics at will, since the movement of your body and the sword is related to the forces of gravity and velocity. However you have come up with the very good solution(and one I use too) already, so I would say don't worry bout it.:wall:
Yasmine
.

Dont use the sword yet. Have a hard enough time with my cane, veil and zills.
Speking of which, any tips for balancing a particularly slippery cane?

Nani said:

I'm practicing with the sword a lot lately--does anyone have any tips on spinning with the sword on your head? I have no problem spinning while balancing it on my head--the tricky part is when I stop spinning and the sword doesn't. The way I've discovered to mask this is to always turn clockwise and throw my left arm up in some dramatic pose at the end of the spin in front of the sword, so the still-spinning sword hits my forearm and stops rather than flying off my head into the audience somewhere. But what if I want to stop without touching the sword?

Click to expand...

Not that I'm an expert or anything at this point but this is definitely my favorite prop to use at home -- if you're bouncing, if you're not balanced, if you're not isolating properly the sword will let you know -- but I have worked with the sword for the last four years so I have a little experience. If you want to stop without touching the sword, you have to stop your spin VERY slowly, and make sure you allow time/spin for the sword to completely stop before you go on. It will still keep spinning a little even so, but it should stay on your head.

You should also practice spinning in the other direction, I know everyone has a preferred way but it makes for better body alignment as far as muscle and brain development if you do it both ways for practice, even if you only go one way for performance.

I now have two swords, a Saroyan knockoff which was cheap but I don't much care for, and an antique Turkish cavalry type of scimitar which I love but it's super slippery. My goal is double sword proficiency!

I am such a classical type and since I am mostly under arabic influences (in terms of teachers), my favorite is CANE and saiidi style...
I use veil also, but mostly in some basic level, for the enterance...Although I looooove to see dynamic veil shows, like the ones that Aziza makes, but that's not me...
Also love to watch sword dance, but couldn't imagine myself doing it...

I recently bought a melaya, since I had workshops of eskandarani and I hope to learn to dance with it..It's so much fun!!

I got introduced to the cane last night. Not bad - I can see why it's the favourite of many.

I have a question though: How do you stop it slipping when you're twirling it? Maybe it was because it was dreadfully hot in the hall, but after n rotations, I'd have to stop and adjust it so as not to lose it (and have it hit someone.)

And I think it's a lot easier to balance a sword!

(BTW, three months later, I never got my silk veil. Has anyone ever had dealings with Desert Sands Silks? They're no longer on ebay, not responding to emails, and I need to lodge a dispute with PayPal )

Nani said:

Somebody mentioned trouble with silk veils. When it comes to veils and which fabrics to use, some say to use "naked" silk to maintain that silky-floatiness, and some say that it's important to decorate the edge of your veil (silk or not) with enough trim so it can maintain a proper weight to dance with. Go figure.

Click to expand...

It all depends on what YOUR style and preferences are. And the venue - especially outside vs. in. Both viewpoints have their time, place, and dancer.

I have an article, "Choosing a Belly Dance Veil" at:

Choosing A Veil

But it only touches on trimmed vs. not, its more about fabrics.

-Zorba
"The Veiled Male"
Zorba, "The Veiled Male"

leila_yu said:

I recently bought a melaya, since I had workshops of eskandarani and I hope to learn to dance with it..It's so much fun!!

Click to expand...

Oooh, I love melaya :dance: Only done a couple of workshops but I want to have a go at a melaya number one day.

I've had a go at dancing with a cane but I am not a confident twirler - must practice in the garden in the summer where I can't do too much damage. If I tried with a sword maybe I could do some pruning at the same time :shok: :lol:

I dance with veil, double veil, sword, and candle tray. I can also do cane and fans but haven't done it for awhile. I love all of these props.

Marianna

Marianna - Authentic Belly Dance - San Diego

gwinity said:

I have a question though: How do you stop it slipping when you're twirling it? Maybe it was because it was dreadfully hot in the hall, but after n rotations, I'd have to stop and adjust it so as not to lose it (and have it hit someone.)

Click to expand...

Hi Qwinity! We put a rubber band at the end of the cane, where you hold it, it helps a lot. Just make sure it is high enough (there should be room for at least a fist underneath the band), otherwise the band can slip off and the cane flies right out of your hand.

Thanks, maariku! Some of the canes we used in class have a rubber band on the very end of them, but it does seem to make a lot more sense to put the band where you hold it!

And why is it that twirling is easier using the non-dominant hand, I wonder?