My Very First Performance!

gisela

Super Moderator
Wow! That's a wonderful first solo!
Great hips and costume!
You should be very proud and you don't have any reason to be quite so nervous the next time :)
Thank you for sharing, I did enjoy it.
 

Zorba

"The Veiled Male"
How cool!

The purpose of the first solo is to get you used to the idea of being on stage by yourself and preferably not falling down. :D I'd say you did WAAAAAY better/more than that! Great costume, love the color, great shimmies and hipwork, you were with the music, etc, etc. Very good job indeed!

Now for the constructive criticism: When you discard your veil, discard it somewhere where you won't dance close to it; well upstage or to one side, or even at the very front if you avoid that area. A discarded veil is VERY dangerous. Your audience instinctively knows this - if you dance too close to your discarded veil, they will stop watching your dance and watch your veil instead.

You are obviously very proud of your performance - and I'm glad to see that because you should be!! You had a lot of poise and grace, and looked great. Wish I'd looked that good for my first - or even my tenth! Don't forget to breathe DEEP and SLOW before you go on! Congratulations!
 

Marissa-Julia

New member
Thank you, Gisela!!! :D <3

Thank you, Zorba! And I know exactly what you mean with the veil. Even I couldn't help but worry when I first saw the video...even though I already knew I never tripped! Lol. I wasn't proud at first. In fact, I was pretty mortified. But my audience was so receptive and supportive as are my teachers, I was encouraged to post the video. And to find at least one good thing I liked about my performance. So even though I know I still have a lot to learn (I have less than a year of training :( ), I'm proud that I got up there in spite of my fears :)
 

Darshiva

Moderator
I have less than a year of training

That wasn't evident. You looked new to the stage, but not new to dancing. Congratulations to both you & your teacher. Your teacher for being very good at training students, and most importantly, YOU for putting in a lot of hard work. This is exactly what I mean when I tell my students that you can tell when someone works hard outside of class.

So well done, you've a lot to be proud of.



Also, if I may, I'd like to use your video as a motivational example of what hard work looks like on a beginner student.
 

Marissa-Julia

New member
Oh my! Thank you! <3 My teachers are amazing! And I have really fallen in love with belly dance! I'm glad it shows :D

Also, if I may, I'd like to use your video as a motivational example of what hard work looks like on a beginner student.

I'd be absolutely honored! Thank you! :)
 

Zorba

"The Veiled Male"
Thank you, Gisela!!! :D <3

Thank you, Zorba! And I know exactly what you mean with the veil. Even I couldn't help but worry when I first saw the video...even though I already knew I never tripped! Lol. I wasn't proud at first. In fact, I was pretty mortified. But my audience was so receptive and supportive as are my teachers, I was encouraged to post the video. And to find at least one good thing I liked about my performance. So even though I know I still have a lot to learn (I have less than a year of training :( ), I'm proud that I got up there in spite of my fears :)
Nothing at all to be mortified about - and there's PLENTY to be proud about with that video/performance!

Another tidbit one of my teachers told me after a particularly *BAD* performance on my part: If you're not screwing up on stage, you're not onstage enough! It happens to EVERYONE. It isn't what happens, its how you handle it when something goes wrong. But again - you didn't have anything "go wrong" with this performance - I'm just sayin' for when the time comes that something *does* go wrong!
 

Marissa-Julia

New member
Thank you, Zorba! I now look forward to my first performance going wrong...means I'm really dancing :D

AyaKara! Thank you!!! <3 :dance:
 

Suzanne Azhaar

Active member
:dance::clap::D From head to toe you looked like a dancer~ the hair, the costume, the pose. Lovely dancing and it looked like you were having fun. The audience had a positive response. Great job!
 

Yame

New member
Wow! You're off to a great start. That was 1000 times better than my first performance! lol
 

Marissa-Julia

New member
Suzanne Azhaar, thank you, thank you! :D I was having a great time! I love to dance!! <3

Yame, thank you so much! That means a lot to me! Especially considering you're like...brilliant belly dance genius status :D

Actually preparing for my 2nd performance in a few hours...the nerves have started, but I'm glad I looked on the forums today. All of your encouraging words really help <3
 

Marissa-Julia

New member
Thank you, vera sagram <333

Zorba, it went okay. The stage fright actually seemed worse the second time around. I think it had to do with the fact that the audience was literally...RIGHT THERE. Like, a foot away! :( And I was petrified of my veil getting caught on the rafters and sprinklers on that low ceiling. I just got the video...

Second Belly Dance Performance - Mark Balahadia's Holiday Show - YouTube

You can see at that very last moment, after I strike the pose, as the camera fades out, that look of relief on my face haha. Let me know what you guys think! Constructive criticism is more than welcome! <3
 

Zorba

"The Veiled Male"
I thought you did a GREAT job. You have grace and poise.

The constructive criticism I'll contribute: 1) Slow down just a tiny bit - you looked a bit hurried with the veil, and 2) Watch your arms when you drop them to your sides, they "die" there. Its only momentary, less than a second, but its there. These are nits!

I think you're doing just FINE!
 

LunaXJJ

New member
You seemed a little nervous at first, but once things picked up, if you were still nervous you couldn't tell. You looked confident, and very very talented. I wouldn't have guessed it was your first.
 

Marissa-Julia

New member
I thought you did a GREAT job. You have grace and poise.

The constructive criticism I'll contribute: 1) Slow down just a tiny bit - you looked a bit hurried with the veil, and 2) Watch your arms when you drop them to your sides, they "die" there. Its only momentary, less than a second, but its there. These are nits!

I think you're doing just FINE!


Zorba, I see exactly what you're saying, especially about the "dying hands" lol. And it's really noticeable at 1:53 because they're nice and poised and then they just kinda...flop. And the hurriedness I know I keep doing because I'm so nervous. I can even feel it while I'm up there. Thank you so so much for the advice <3
 

Marissa-Julia

New member
You seemed a little nervous at first, but once things picked up, if you were still nervous you couldn't tell. You looked confident, and very very talented. I wouldn't have guessed it was your first.

Luna, thank you!!! Definitely petrified up there, but man, does my heart sing while I'm dancing! Not confidence, not yet...it's love! Haha. Thank you again <3
 

Selene

New member
wow!!!! GREAT first and second performances!!!! you did really great and you looked so pretty while dancing ♥ LOVE your hip work!

I'm a student and I dont consider myself to be in intermediate level yet (although I've learned a "lot" now my body has to flow with all that I have learned) and I wish my first performance is as good as yours!


Actually, I had 2 performance years ago (when I was in 2 year of high school, that is 8 years ago o__o ) but I wouldnt call them "belly dance" now that I know hhahahaha that was the era when Shakira was my only inspiration, I would imitate the dancers from the brazilian drama O Clone, and only knew 4-5 steps... I thought I did well at the moment, but now I look back and just laugh at how cute I was LOL there is sooooooo much to learn in this amazing dance, and although I can't wait to be on stage (I love performing), I want to do it right ♥ and you showed me it is possible to do great in the first performance!


On the good side, I became confident in making my own costumes with those performances :)
 
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