Beginner Class Recital ideas?

[eden eyes]

i'm going to have my brand new beginner class do a few recitals for "Healthy Woman" which is held once a month at the hospital as a wellness...thing lol

so i made practically half of the choreography already and they love it! only problem is that in the middle of the song it a kind of random part that is slow, and then ends fast and exciting. they are so proud of themselves for doing what they learned so well that i don't want to change the song on them. any tips for that random slow part? it's got a constant background beat and then it sounds like the artist improvises with the other instrument (i think the kanoun? i can't tell )

i don't want to make it too difficult for them but i don't want it to be the same mya or hip circle over and over again lol

thanks everyone for all your help throughout my occupation of this forum!

 

[Kharis]

Whatever you do, don't give 'em slow eights or hip circles to do. Unless this is done with the same count and by experienced dancers, it looks messy as hell. I see it all the time with beginner choreos, and I think it can render a whole performance a mess. For some reason, teachers don't seem to teach students how to count when it comes to slow eights in a group. I'd rather see a very simple but tight choreo than something more complicated but messy and out of synch.

 

[karena]

Could any of them step forward and do a solo improv? Maybe several if there's time, or in pairs if they are scared.

 

[Kiadorin]

It's hard to say without hearing the music in question. I was thinking that something as simple as lifting or lowering the arms might work for a slow section for beginners, either in unison or as kind of a "wave" thing. Or if that doesn't fit the music, I second Karena's improv suggestion.

Edited to Add: I just realized that "wave" might be ambiguous. I meant "wave" with the students lifting/lowering arms one after the other -- not wave like you're saying hi to someone

 

[maria_harlequin]

I have a choreography for Tales of the Sahara that had a slow taxim part in the middle of it and what we do as a group when we're dancing is that we take turns during that particular sequence so it doesn't look messy. Each girl is assigned a part and we would switch dancers when the music pauses.

I think this works out a lot better than having everyone dance to it at the same time. It looks really cool for the audience since they probably don't expect it, each dancer can emotionally express what they're feeling to the music and allows for them to have a shining solo moment.

Check it out in our video:

 

[eden eyes]

love the video maria! yeah at first i was thinking about doing the mya/circle stuff all at the same time, but as you said it could get very very messy and no doubt pretty boring. not sure if they would be brave enough to do a teeny solo, maybe if they were in pairs (thanks for the tip karena) it would be a different story. the duration of the slow part is 1:40 and i have quite a few ladies in my class so i think there would be plenty of time for a little solo-stuff.

thanks for the advice everyone!!

wish i had a link to the song...

it's called "Shatti Ya Dnyi" and it's Lebanese

 

[da Sage]

i'm going to have my brand new beginner class do a few recitals for "Healthy Woman" which is held once a month at the hospital as a wellness...thing lol

so i made practically half of the choreography already and they love it! only problem is that in the middle of the song it a kind of random part that is slow, and then ends fast and exciting. they are so proud of themselves for doing what they learned so well that i don't want to change the song on them. any tips for that random slow part? it's got a constant background beat and then it sounds like the artist improvises with the other instrument (i think the kanoun? i can't tell )

i don't want to make it too difficult for them but i don't want it to be the same mya or hip circle over and over again lol

thanks everyone for all your help throughout my occupation of this forum!

Can they tuck veils into their skirts and pull them out for the slow part? Only if it works with the taqsim. If you pick the easiest veil moves, this could be really pretty. If you pick the harder ones, someone will get tangled up for sure.:lol:

 

[eden eyes]

no they don't have veils. i am a guest instructor for 6 weeks total this summer at the local clinic and the main wellness lady was hoping we could do a recital. so they have hip scarves but that's it. i don't have veils for them, and i don't know where we could get really cheap chiffon ones quickly. if you have any ideas PLEASE let me know!! i would loooove to incorporate a veil piece for this song...

 

[da Sage]

no they don't have veils. i am a guest instructor for 6 weeks total this summer at the local clinic and the main wellness lady was hoping we could do a recital. so they have hip scarves but that's it. i don't have veils for them, and i don't know where we could get really cheap chiffon ones quickly. if you have any ideas PLEASE let me know!! i would loooove to incorporate a veil piece for this song...

These are about the cheapest I've seen, and I personally think plain white veils look lovely.

Habotai Veils

Otherwise, you could check Walmart for $1.50/yd chiffon, but then you'd have to hem them - kind of a pain in the ass. I would also recommend UniquEssentials on ebay, but they don't seem to be around any more.

 

[Kashmir]

If there is room, you could use the slow part for floor patterns - circles, eights, one half going left the other right sort of thing.

Can you lend them a couple of your veils? The back row could then hold them while walking (probably not time to add anything fancy)

 

[Aniseteph]

I have a choreography for Tales of the Sahara that had a slow taxim part in the middle of it and what we do as a group when we're dancing is that we take turns during that particular sequence so it doesn't look messy. Each girl is assigned a part and we would switch dancers when the music pauses.

This sounds really cool - if the kanoun is in little sections it wouldn't be too hard to know which is your (or your group's) bit while everyone else pauses. It makes the audience look at different people too.

 

[eden eyes]

kashmir, i was supposed to have some other veils come in about 3 weeks ago but i'm giving up on that company and looking at other, so right now i have two veils: an orange one and a rainbow one lol

i need to find out how many girls are doing it as well...(right now i have like 20 in my class..) but i'm sure i will have at least 5 brave enough to get out there. thanks for the tips everyone!!

 

[Aurelia]

I like Kashmir's idea of floor patterns. I was at a Jim Boz workshop this weekend, and one of the lightbulb moments for me when he was talking about choregraphy was: "Sometimes, all you have to do is just walk."

Obviously not for 1:40, but maybe some proud graceful walking, in interesting patterns, them some coordinated arm movement. In one of our troupe's choreographies, for example, we pair up and walk around each other, keeping direct eye contact with our partners, then do a coordinated isolation combination, then walk away from each other, etc.

Good luck with the recital -- good for you to have so many students who want to perform! :clap:

 

[Rassi]

I was thinking some sort of floor pattern as well. Maybe they could do a simple princess type walk and end up in a different spot to finish the dance. That way anyone in the audience taking pictures would get a chance to get good shots of all the dancers.