How do you fill in...

[Silvinka]

Dear fellow bellies...

I have a question about choreography. How do you fill in a piece of music that is 9 or more minutes long? Has it something to do with exploring the borders of your own artistic being? Has it something to do with (many) repetitions? Also with experience?

Greetings

Silvinka

 

[Yasmine Bint Al Nubia]

Hi Silvinka. On word. Improvisation. Why choreograph a song that is 9 minutes long? Whew, I would give up after 5 minutes.:doh: One doesn't have to work too hard, follow the music and have a loose plan rather than a dance-by-the count routine. If parts of the music repeats than repeat a few moves but add a different twist such as level change or diagonal postion. I'm sure a 9 minute song has a taxim in it, slow standing undulations, figure 8"s etc. One can also use the first measures of the music as an entrance and the last few measures as an exit as well. Please feel and connect to the music.
Yasmine

 

[Maria_Aya]

Hi there
Clearing that I'm the improvisional type but sometimes life (and dance lol) bring things in a way that have to do a choreo.

So for answering your question it would be helpfull to describe what kind of music you have in mind and also what type is it.
If we are speaking about old arabian - egyptian songs, that are usual LONGGGGGG its very easy to dance them, since you have the knowledge of the music, because there are repeating patterns and the various rythms and style of dance within the same song.
But beyond that experience and great knowledge of the style of the dance AND the music is important.

Maria Aya

 

[Fatima]

A 9 minutes song is nothing compared to a full routine. Anyway, improvisation is one part of it. But you can always consider repetition. That doesn't mean that your going to repeat the exact same movements all the time.

I work pretty much as Yasmine Bint Al Nubia does. I usually divide the music in themes and they usually are repeated. There's usually one theme that caught my attention and that's the one I work with. I make a combination for that theme and the next time it comes around I do it in the other side, or maybe I layer the combo with a shimmy, or do just upper body movements first and the next time lower body movements. The idea is to repeat but with variations. Maybe I can work another theme and improvise the rest of the song making sure not to repeat a combo out of a theme.