The Anti Prop

[Mahin]

I don't think a year is too soon to dance with a veil. If it is for a student performance, presumably there is a choreography with the veil that includes actual dancing. I think dancing with a veil should be like playing - experiment with it, dance with joy and abandon with it, mess around. Do it just for fun in private, some things you do will stick and you can do them for performance later.

I think there are some advantages to introducing the veil early in a student's training. It forces them to be aware of where their arms are and what they are doing. It also helps teach body line awareness and framing.

Mahin

 

[Zorba]

It's zill or dance for me, not both.

I understand where you're coming from. However, please don't let this block you from future possibilities! As we grow in the dance, impossibilities tend to morph into possibilities, then morph into "gotta do its"!

 

[Zorba]

Also, when dancing with a veil, remember to use it for framing your movements as well as for spins and turns and general "swishing about."

Oh PLEASE DO!

I'm so over watching 5 minutes of veil swirling. I'm also - hopefully - over DOING 5 minutes of veil swirling. Frame and dance too! They're beautiful that way... :dance:

 

[Zorba]

(frankly, as much as I love veils, I'm convinced they're all carnivorous dancer-eaters, but what the hey ).

Sounds like you need my veil workshop "When Good Veils Go Bad"! :lol: Too bad we're not closer together!

 

[Shanazel]

I almost always drag out the veils for my first semester beginning classes. It's great fun for students, they get an appreciation for how difficult handling a veil can be, and pumping chiffon gets their arms in shape.

 

[Mahin]

I almost always drag out the veils for my first semester beginning classes. It's great fun for students, they get an appreciation for how difficult handling a veil can be, and pumping chiffon gets their arms in shape.

"pumping chiffon"...
Love it!

Mahin

 

[lexiconlush]

So if I dance with my cello...

I started to acknowledge the musical instrument aspect in the original zil post but decided, nah, a prop by any other name...

A joking statement has become reality...sort of. A German belly dance troupe actually did a duo piece where one dancer was "accenting" the main dancer's performance while playing the violin.

 

[BigJim]

Just got on to this thread so am a little late with a comment.
Zils worn on the fingers are a prop.... but as soon as you start making noise with them they become a musical instrument. As such you should be playing them within the structure of the music.

If you pulled out all your pots and pans and gave a 2 year old a metal spoon to hit them with it might be cute for 10 seconds but after that... chaos.

Doing some simple exercises and having some patterns to work with will improve your skills quickly... as a dancer you shouldn't miss out on a really fun part of bellydance...

I'll be doing a workshop at the end of Sept (first time I'll be doing a workshop)on zilling so I'm hoping to convert at least a few dancers to the Path of the Zil ... LOL

 

[Mahin]

I love this! I'll be sharing this video in the Monday Musicality edition of the "Daily Bellydance Quickies". Thank you so much for posting it!!

Mahin

 

[Farasha Hanem]

A joking statement has become reality...sort of. A German belly dance troupe actually did a duo piece where one dancer was "accenting" the main dancer's performance while playing the violin.

:shok: *whips out own violin and starts playing "Sitt Akull"*

I WANNA DO THIS!!! :dance:

 

[walladah]

I like props, particularly zills...

but i really get annoyed when i watch a dancer dancing with a prop and really she forgets about dance itself.

Wings and veils are the ones which are the most revealing about the dancer's skill and imagination: most people when they use them, just stand there or walk doing things with the veils, as if they are showing "look, this is the new veil i bought yesterday". Dancing means that the prop has become an extension of your body and dances with you. If you cannot dance like that, then it is better not to dance with a prop.

Same with the zills - and actually this is more difficult: if the zills do not add something to the music too (let alone to your dancing) are not supposed to use them, because you are just annoying the ears of the audience.

I have watched several performances with modern arabic or turkish music , where zills do not fit at all as an instrument, or worse: there are already zills in the orchestra/recorded music, but the dancer insists in duplicating them!!!

Zills or tambourines are so nice, but you should be sure that you do not play them at times when you should silence your instruments, f.ex. when there is a kanun in the orchestra, you do not play zills or tambourines while the kanun has the leading part in the music, otherwise you just bury the sound under the zills...

As for cane, sword, or balancing things on your head, well, in case you cannot really dance with them, it is better to avoid them till you can.

And yes, the main rule is: does the music makes it absolutely necessary to add a prop? if it is not absolutely necessary, then a dancer cannot hide her lack of skill and/or imagination behind a prop. Actually, no matter how she pretends to impress the audience, the missing parts are obvious...

 

[Bellydance Oz]

There are too many props and not enough "plain old good dancing" these days.

One veil looks lovely, so ten must be BETTER! One cane is nice, I need FLAMING ONES! ...
Just because you can, does not mean you should. There is so much prop crazy-ness and gimmicks that just dancing well is getting lost.

Yes! Yes! Yes! Every man and his dog in Sydney is dancing with fan veils. Apart from the fact they're Asian, not Middle Eastern, it's almost impossible to actually belly dance with them - you have to keep your arms constantly in vigorous motion, so there's no time to use the rest of your body. I am so fed up with them.

What I think is worse is that teachers are teaching fan veils, double veil etc in beyond beginners/elementary classes. OK, so it means the teacher can create an impressive-looking troupe number for the hafla, even if the students can't dance for toffee - but surely that's not the point?

I understand the need for variety when doing a full set, and the advantage of a prop in creating a dramatic entrance. But more and more, I'm seeing entire dances choreographed around a prop - and it's all about the prop, not all about the dancing.