Instructors! Some questions.

[Kashmir]

How far will travel? Just as a point of curiousity...

However far the airfares and accomodation are covered Realistically within New Zealand - I used to travel overseas alot for my day job but no more. Often managed to be at the right place at the right time for some good workshops and festivals.

 

[goddessyasaman]

There are a number of people out there who do specialty workshops on history of particular styles or regions. Some names to get you started:

Sahra Saeeda
Faten Salama
Artemis Mourat
Robyn Friend
Helene Eriksen
Habiba
Aisha Ali
Hadia
Andrea Deagon
Barbara Sellers-Young
Hassan Khalil
Mahmoud Reda and Farida Fahmy

There are a lot more out there and the information available is amazing. Also check out the music/dance/folklore camps and weeklong intensives. The IBCC is also a great place to learn more about history is you can make the trip there.

Thanks for the list, I was wondering if there were any, I always thought it a big part of the art from, To learn the history and to understand the music. Thats why I took years studying it, I did give a workshop on it at the last location I taught at, I think I would like to do another one.

 

[Jane]

Shanazel's statistical mechanics of Belly Dance probability has me pondering.

 

[Elfie]

I agree with Miss Vega that we people in rural areas have to think outside the box when it comes to learning this dance. I'm still actively trying to get people to sign up for the class, but I don't know if things just went South for everyone after Christmas or what... but all the 100% "I absolutely will take a belly dance class with you" girls among my friends, all have backed out. 2 due to pregnancy (I told them it was safe and that pregnant women belly dance all the time... even sent them youtube links, but they're young and scared, so I understand), but to be honest most of them have lost their jobs/sources of income. It's getting scary in this economy. And while I want the classes so bad I'd almost sprout wings and fly to them, I can't afford to pay everyone's fees for them. Not with paying for the studio room, mileage and everything else. I've spent tons of money on paper and ink printing up flyers and forms and I have no idea if the teacher has gotten any of them back at all.

For those of us in the country, finding ways to do things outside our normal American culture can be hard. The only real Italian bistro style restaurant around here closed; we have maybe two Chinese food places and one Japanese steak house. Diversity in Southern West Virginia is not common.

The thing is, the online course I took (they were free yes, but I loved the variety of teachers from all around the world that sent in instruction clips) moved through the basic movements, several variations on those moves and how to travel with the move. The teacher who put up the videos said that each video moved from beginner to advanced with the move and that anyone watching should take it slow and move through the series slowly. But even spending a month drilling four moves, constantly, five times a week, it only took me 7 months to go through the entire course. As I think I've said before on here, when I find something I love, I work at it with crazy amounts of determination. My husband has been playing the guitar for 13 years (for our entire relationship), I've been playing guitar for four years. It isn't conceit that says that, even with his many years more experience, I'm a better guitar player than he is because I play more than he does. I played for multiple hours every day when I first started to learn the guitar and when I first started belly dance, it was no different. I used it as a workout (with a rigid schedule), but also as stress relief. Whenever I'd start to get angry or lose my patience with my kids, I would throw on some music and dance until I wasn't angry anymore. It worked too, but eventually I had to start dancing less... I was losing way too much weight and my hip bones were protruding to the point of me looking emaciated. I'm 5'8" tall, so my ideal weight is about 135-145. When I got down to 103, I decided to cut back on belly dance (at first I cut back to an hour workout everyday, now it's about half an hour), reduce my stress, and increase my calorie count.

When I started taking my writing seriously, it almost killed me to find out just how bad I was at it. But, I worked hard, edited the crap out of my works and was published within months. I work hard at everything I do... and I play hard too.

So yes, a lot depends on the student, no matter what they are working at. I won't accept less than 100% from myself when I'm trying to do something or learn something new. Now I have a pretty body and I think that maybe I can actually do this stuff... but I want to know how well. The one thing about writing fiction and playing music is that I get feedback from the people who read my work or hear me play and sing. I don't have that with belly dance and I'm really feeling the need for it.

If the class thing doesn't work out, I think i'm going to try the Gypsynet classes Aziyade suggested. At least I'll get feedback once a month on how I'm doing, you know?

 

[Amanda (was Aziyade)]

Shanazel's statistical mechanics of Belly Dance probability has me pondering.

BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!!!!!! Love it.

 

[Amanda (was Aziyade)]

The thing is, the online course I took (they were free yes, but I loved the variety of teachers from all around the world that sent in instruction clips) moved through the basic movements, several variations on those moves and how to travel with the move. The teacher who put up the videos said that each video moved from beginner to advanced with the move and that anyone watching should take it slow and move through the series slowly. But even spending a month drilling four moves, constantly, five times a week, it only took me 7 months to go through the entire course.

Okay now you have me wanting to look at these. Can you post the link to them?

As I think I've said before on here, when I find something I love, I work at it with crazy amounts of determination. My husband has been playing the guitar for 13 years (for our entire relationship), I've been playing guitar for four years. It isn't conceit that says that, even with his many years more experience, I'm a better guitar player than he is because I play more than he does.

EXACTLY. It's not the years, it's the hours.

Hey ten years ago if somebody told me they wrote a 50,000 word novel in a month (or better yet, in 3 days) I would have called shenanigans on them. Now I do it every year, and one of my group members writes the whole novel on the concluding weekend. It's insane, but it's possible.

The one thing about writing fiction and playing music is that I get feedback from the people who read my work or hear me play and sing. I don't have that with belly dance and I'm really feeling the need for it.

You can always post a video and get feedback from the forum. ?

Of course I would pimp GypsyNet cause I think it's uber-awesome, but you can also pay different instructors for video critique.

 

[Daimona]

If the class thing doesn't work out, I think i'm going to try the Gypsynet classes Aziyade suggested. At least I'll get feedback once a month on how I'm doing, you know?

There are other teachers around the globe that can give you online private lessons and feedback as well if you want it more often such as Darshiva here: Online Class | Raqs Riverine

 

[Elfie]

Okay now you have me wanting to look at these. Can you post the link to them?

Belly Dance Boulevard


I'm not saying they are the best dance course out there, the first thirteen are basic moves by the same teacher, but from # 13 up are various teachers teaching one or two moves. Some teachers have several parts to their lessons too. I loved the course and still use it when I want to brush up on a move or make sure I'm doing it exactly right.

EXACTLY. It's not the years, it's the hours.

Hey ten years ago if somebody told me they wrote a 50,000 word novel in a month (or better yet, in 3 days) I would have called shenanigans on them. Now I do it every year, and one of my group members writes the whole novel on the concluding weekend. It's insane, but it's possible.

NaNoWriMo!!!!!

I know quite a few (meaning a couple hundred) writers that NaNo - some who've gotten contracts with agents and/or publishers off of NaNo novels. I've never braved it myself, but I hope to be able to this year. As long as I get through the submission pile at SNM as well. Our mag is themed monthly, and we review stories the preceding month. There's no waiting in the slush pile unless we think it may fit with a theme later in the year, and we always ask if we can hold on to it for consideration in a later theme.

You can always post a video and get feedback from the forum. ?

I plan to... after I get moved into my apartment. Right now we're in the process of moving and my house is a wreck of boxes, crates and chaos!

Of course I would pimp GypsyNet cause I think it's uber-awesome, but you can also pay different instructors for video critique.

I had a look at the site and I think it looks pretty awesome myself. And since that's sort of how I dance anyhow, I think it would be a good fit. I think I'll still take the course there, even if I do get critiques elsewhere on the occasion.

There are other teachers around the globe that can give you online private lessons and feedback as well if you want it more often such as Darshiva here: Online Class | Raqs Riverine

I was thinking about that. Right now I want to get set in one certain style... I'm afraid I'm mish-mashing Tribal, Egyptian and maybe a little American Cabaret influence with some heavy ethnic undertones... it looks great and lends more to a Romany style, but it's not very set and definitive. Once I get set in one style, though, I do think I'll take more than one online course in different styles. It's good to know different styles of dance, just like music, right? I can play blues, country, metal, rock... I want to be able to dance in a few different styles too. I find the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) differences in stylings interesting.

 

[Nailah_Siti]

I think online classes would be really beneficial for you. It is neat to learn from different teachers, learn their different takes on movement. However, I feel as a beginner it is the most beneficial to have structure and consistency and having one teacher does that for you even if she is teaching different styles. The cool thing about GypsyNet is that you have the opportunity to learn different style variations of basic moves but Ansuya makes it a point to let you know what that particular variation lends itself to. You just don't get that with a multitude of teachers. It is hard to see differences in styling until a teacher points out why and how it is different. It would be great for you to have an in-person class, but if you can't having feedback from an instructor online is valuable.

 

[Shanazel]

Still waiting to look like FiFi...

 

[Amanda (was Aziyade)]

I think something we tend to forget is that none of our "moves" are really that difficult, technically. I mean we're not doing fouettes, or wings in tap dance -- the most complicated and difficult movements are really just fast versions of easy movements, or compound movements done together.

The HARD part of our dance is putting those movements together into a visually pleasing whole: the transitions and weight changes, the musical expression -- that's the hard part.

I have a couple of students who can execute each "move" brilliantly while standing there. But the minute I string a few moves together, they forget where their weight is, or they move like robots. Real skill in dance is making smooth and seamless transitions, having the muscle control to differentiate between sharp and smooth movements, and having a good sense of the music.

For the above reason, I don't usually say "when you have learned and mastered x number of moves, you are intermediate level."

 

[Elfie]

I think something we tend to forget is that none of our "moves" are really that difficult, technically. I mean we're not doing fouettes, or wings in tap dance -- the most complicated and difficult movements are really just fast versions of easy movements, or compound movements done together.

The HARD part of our dance is putting those movements together into a visually pleasing whole: the transitions and weight changes, the musical expression -- that's the hard part.

I have a couple of students who can execute each "move" brilliantly while standing there. But the minute I string a few moves together, they forget where their weight is, or they move like robots. Real skill in dance is making smooth and seamless transitions, having the muscle control to differentiate between sharp and smooth movements, and having a good sense of the music.

For the above reason, I don't usually say "when you have learned and mastered x number of moves, you are intermediate level."

That's what I learned when I moved from using belly dance moves as exercise to actually dancing. Transitioning was hard! For the longest time, I'd have little pauses between moves while I danced... I was trying to figure out how to go from, say, vertical figure 8s (hips) to a Turkish bump. I started making sure my hips stopped at neutral, and that made transitioning easier. I'm still not sure I transition "correctly" but I know that when I dance now there are only stops and pauses when I do them on purpose.

That's one thing I wish I could find more online videos about. Transitions. I have never come across a video that talks about transitioning at any length.

One thing I have never mastered (in my mind) is the 3/4 shimmy. I can do a 3/4 shimmy walk just fine, but doing a 3/4 shimmy standing looks terrible. No matter how crisp I move or how fluid, my 3/4 looks like I'm having isolated hip convulsions one side at a time.

Something I have noticed about many online videos I've watched and worked with on ehow is some of the instructors saying to pick your feet up off the floor until you get the hang of the move. I think it's lazy. I know with walking or traveling moves, you have to, but for hip raises, you shouldn't have to pick your feet up off the floor. I don't particularly care for this instruction method... they teach you to pick your feet up on moves that your feet should stay planted on or on half toes, and it makes for a hard habit to break. Using your feet/leg muscles for moves that should be core/oblique/hip muscle oriented, to me, seems like cheating.

So why do they use this instruction method? The movements don't even look right when you use your feet and leg muscles as the originator. Why would they use it?

 

[Jane]

Something I have noticed about many online videos I've watched and worked with on ehow is some of the instructors saying to pick your feet up off the floor until you get the hang of the move. I think it's lazy. I know with walking or traveling moves, you have to, but for hip raises, you shouldn't have to pick your feet up off the floor. I don't particularly care for this instruction method... they teach you to pick your feet up on moves that your feet should stay planted on or on half toes, and it makes for a hard habit to break. Using your feet/leg muscles for moves that should be core/oblique/hip muscle oriented, to me, seems like cheating.

So why do they use this instruction method? The movements don't even look right when you use your feet and leg muscles as the originator. Why would they use it?

Sometimes I use the 'pick your feet up off the floor' method because sometimes students have trouble figuring out the weight placement and the working hip. If your foot is up, you can't put weight on it. It's a learning tool only; after it's figured out, you do it normally. One student transferred from another BD school (both teachers at the school were intermediates at best but that's another story) and she had been trying to do her three-quarter shimmy with the weight on the wrong leg. She was extremely frustrated.

You can also use that method to train yourself to move your hip without pushing from the floor. I don't advocate a push against the floor or pull from the waist only technique. I use one, the other, or both depending on what I want to do at the time.

 

[Elfie]

Well see, that makes sense Jane.

 

[goddessyasaman]

hey Elfie there is a good Intruction DvD that helps with the shimmies, it's called "Every Shimmy in the book" she breakes down the 3/4 shimmy standing and travel, this way you can see it and in bits, I would try to say but my written word may not help.