Performance facial expression

Caroline_afifi

New member
Don't know if this will help Karena but I'm one of those who rolls eyes and everyone knows when I've made a mistake. I now tell my students - and myself - to smile harder when they/I make a mistake.

It's helped me mask the eye roll a bit!:)
what kind of advice is that!

All say 'CHEESE' when you make a mistake??

:lol::lol::lol::lol:
 

AngelaJP

New member
I, too, find it impossible to teach him how to hear the beat because it seems so natural to me.

When I get immersed in the dance, I lose my rythm easily. When I tried ballroom dancing (not as a hobby), the dance instructors always asked me to listen to the rythm. I'm very sure I'm also that way in belly dancing, that is why I need to always count the steps, otherwise I get lost! :confused: How do you not lose the rythm? :think:
 

AngelaJP

New member
when she goes wrong her face has "oops" written all over it! When we got told NOT to telegraph when we went wrong you could see "oops I went wrong" followed closely by

Oooopss and scared rabbits :lol:

I unconsciously smile and stick my tongue out so rapidly like a frog when I make a mistake and was told to please avoid it and just continue as if nothing went wrong. It's difficult to kick that habit but gotta do it!
 

CarolineT

New member
not say cheese! :lol:

But the effort in trying to smile stops me from grimacing automatically it just stops the lip from curling and the look heaven ward I do when I've messed up - but then I've always been a bit strange!!;)
 

da Sage

New member
If you rehearse in front of a mirror, or at half-stretch, or with your eyes downcast, then when you get on stage you'll feel uncomfortable because something is different. Result - strained and unnatural facial expression!

See, this is my problem...I feel my facial expressions are usually OK, but I really want to improve my eye direction and head angle. I actively work on those, especially the head now that I am working on balancing skills more. But of course eye direction and head angle are part of your facial expressions! So the line is blurry - I can't just throw it over and say "I'll just do what I feel!", when I am preparing for performance.
 

da Sage

New member
Dear Oz,
One thing though, is that belly dance is a completely different form of art than ballet and the same "rules" do not apply. Belly dance is meant to be a very natural and not a supernatural process. It deals in humanness and not in story lines in the way that ballet generally does. There is less acting involved in the process of belly dance and more pulling from inside ourselves the feelings and responses that the music calls forth. A rehearsed face is not an asset in this case, because the music and one's personal response to it is in the moment.
Regards,
A'isha

I feel there is nothing wrong with learning to move your face in a way that helps others understand your feelings. That is what language is, after all - and most people consciously choose to use "local lingo" as they deal with different groups, and people in different parts of the country/world. Why should emoting during dance be any different? I disagree with the idea that "practiced" is always equivalent to fake.
 

karena

New member
I feel there is nothing wrong with learning to move your face in a way that helps others understand your feelings. That is what language is, after all - and most people consciously choose to use "local lingo" as they deal with different groups, and people in different parts of the country/world. Why should emoting during dance be any different? I disagree with the idea that "practiced" is always equivalent to fake.

The way I see it, people who say you shouldn't need to work on it are people who it is easy for. But I'm not someone who does say that, so what do I know really about the people who do.:think:
 

karena

New member
Don't know if this will help Karena but I'm one of those who rolls eyes and everyone knows when I've made a mistake. I now tell my students - and myself - to smile harder when they/I make a mistake.

It's helped me mask the eye roll a bit!:)

It's food for thought. You see maybe smiling when you do will actually end up neutral as you have a bit of smile and a bit of grimace. s+g=n (where s = smile, g = grimace):lol:
 

Aisha Azar

New member
Facial expressions

The way I see it, people who say you shouldn't need to work on it are people who it is easy for. But I'm not someone who does say that, so what do I know really about the people who do.:think:



It is not a matter of knowing or not knowing "how" to have a certain facial expression. If you look at the videos of the dancers from Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, you will see everything from outright grimaces to angelic smiles. they allow themselves to respond naturally because they fully accept that it is not about looking pretty or having a pleasant expression, This is much more difficult for westerners for the most part because they have a different expectation of how they should "look" while they are dancing. The natives very seldom worry about how their face looks, so you get a gamut of expressions. There is no such thing as the "right" expression.
I know dancers who have spent so much time worrying about how their face their hair and their fingernails and toe nails and their costumes look, which angle to turn so they "look" just right etc, that they completely forget to dance! It is good to try to look nice, but there is such a thing as worrying too much about that instead of dancing. Now, if you are like the person who stuck her tongue out without knowing it, this is a little different. But, I would advise all dancers to look at some videos of the native dancers to see just how important it is to let your face respond naturally, as your body should, to the music.
I have been and still am that person who's face is never perfect. Just go to my website and look at the photos to verify that. I guess I could stress myself out over it, but after I have seen the natives in action, I realize that it a non-issue.
Regards,
A'isha
 

karena

New member
they allow themselves to respond naturally...

imo they are able to and know how to respond naturally. Not everyone can do that. Honest.

let your face respond naturally, as your body should, to the music

My natural body movement to the music would not be bellydance. It would be some frankly ridiculous awkward flailing. I work hard to learn the tools to be able to respond to the music in a way congruent with bellydance. I would like to extend this to all my body, and for want of a better word, soul.

I think it's been said before, that it's not about being able to have the perfect face. I think that looks like insincere nonsense. One of the reasons I can't be bothered with the BDSS. It's about learning to be able to let go and express emotion. To use a popular term, the 'essence' of being British is about not expressing emotion. We're very good at that. Just watch the Queen and see how 'naturally' she is able to be devoid of emotion.
 

Caroline_afifi

New member
not say cheese! :lol:

But the effort in trying to smile stops me from grimacing automatically it just stops the lip from curling and the look heaven ward I do when I've messed up - but then I've always been a bit strange!!;)


I am pulling your leg of course... but the thought did make me howl as I have seen this done. I have seen people go into ultra sexy mode to distract away from a mistake too! :lol:
 
Just been reading through this thread with interest...Warning, long response alert!

Here's my take. Most people, even very outgoing people, when stood in front of a camera and told to smile, feel very observed and vulnerable - and struggle to smile naturally. On the other hand, take a camera out discreetly when everyone is having fun and snap everyone before they notice and you have lovely natural smiles.

Same goes for dancing. Get together on a night out with a bunch of friends and dance and I am sure most of us aren't thinking about who might be watching or what facial expressions we are making - and are more relaxed and natural as a result. But when you first start to perform, you know you are being observed and you are hyper-aware of this fact. You know you need to act naturally - i.e. as if unobserved - but of course you can't because you know you are being observed!!

So the answer is simple - if you can lose yourself so that your only thought is on the dancing, not what people are thinking of you, or whether you got it "right", then your facial expressions will be the last thing on your mind - and you will be expressing the music in a natural and relaxed way.

So simple - yet so very hard to achieve! Because to do this we have to allow ourselves to be vulnerable. We have to let people see our emotions. We have to commit to what we are doing 100% regardless of what our audience may be thinking. We have to just dance - even though people are (gulp!) watching!

Of course there are natural performers who can do this quite happily. But for most - and particularly for us repressed Brits! - I think this is one of the hardest things. Someone can show you how to do a dance step, but how can you show someone how to let go emotionally? I honestly don't think anyone can because it is such a personal thing for each of us. We all have to find our own ways there, though someone might facilitate it or be the inspiration to take that step.

I've been down this route myself. Like Karena, I felt myself to be too prone to over-analysis. I couldn't switch my internal voice off from saying "you didn't get that bit right, oh and look, that person is frowning at you, maybe they aren't enjoying it". I tried various workshops with various teachers, but just felt silly trying to follow their suggestions. I could feel the block in my own dance and knew this barrier had to be overcome to take my dance to the next level.

But without realising it, the change was already taking place. Seeing my Moroccan teacher enjoy the music so much every time she danced, whether it was in rehearsal, at class or during a performance, helped. Performing more regularly and became more used to being observed helped. Picking music that really spoke to me, that I just adored and listened to constantly, helped.

And then finally, I reached a point (I suspect in my life, not just in my dance...) where I started to be able to let go and give of myself and experience the music and live in the moment and not worry so much about if I am right or wrong...

The Arabs call it "tarab" - lost in musical ecstasy. And while there I gurn away happily, oblivious to what I look like!

Good luck!

h xx
 
But what ifyour natural hABIT WHEN NO ONE IS LOOKING IS TO DANCE WITH YOUR JAW!

Ok, I am curious - how do you dance with your jaw?! Do you mean you have too much tension in your jaw, or that you stick your jaw out? Please explain because I have some very odd images in my head of someone doing shimmies with their jaw..! :D
 

jenc

New member
Well my head slides are very definately jaw slides - but that's common. I stick my jaw out and mirro movements in my body - if i'm concentrating hard!! Particularly upper body moves!!
 
Ah, a concentration face! We all pull daft expressions when we are thinking hard about something. My boyfriend always laughs at me when I am working on something new because I purse my mouth in a particular way!

I guess the only way round a concentration face is to practice till we don't need to concentrate so hard! It is easy to forget that we need to practice improvising as well as individual moves or choreographies.

You could also try incorporating some facial movements in with your normal warm up - it looks pretty silly but it might help! Actors do this to warm their face before a performance.

Try each of these a couple of times: making a small pursed "o" with your mouth and then stretching it wide like you would for a big smile, making an exagerated chewing motion, raising and lowering your eyebrows. Finally, screw up your whole face then stretch it wide, then relax. Finish by gently rubbing/massaging your cheeks, then pattering the fingertips across the face like "rain".
 
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