Arabesque?

[SidraK]

This might not help, especially as I know that men aren't as buoyant in water as women, but it might help to think of the leg as floating rather than being thrown. It's if you were in a swimming pool and the leg just drifts up when you let go of your conscious control of it. I like how Aniseteph characterizes it as "passive".

Your leg is not an actor in this drama, it is simply carried along in the wake of your movement.

 

[khanjar]

I understand your idea as yes most men are not as buoyant through a distinct lack of that thing most women don't want, but times are changing and with interest perhaps if women get thrown into the water unconscious they stand more chance of survival through the fact women float face up and men face down, it's the buoyancy aids you see most men don't have them.

But perhaps swimming is an idea as water dampens movement and so perhaps in a pool one could practice some movement to get the feel of it ?

 

[Kashmir]

Neither thrown nor floating; gently lifted and placed.

 

[Darshiva]

What I really hate seeing are two things:

1) the flamingo (knee bent with leg at a right angle)
and
2) the hip-wrench (kicking the leg out & around in front & the look of bewilderment of 'why didn't I turn too/' and 'this hurts so much & slows the choreo down, why is it in here?')

I tell my students to lift with the lower abs, to have the foot clear of the ground and to turn without moving the leg (just let it come along for the ride). They are often concerned that they aren't getting a high enough lift but I tell them that being clear of the floor is enough, the height will come with practice. Besides, you don't want too much lift, it doesn't look bellydance.

 

[SidraK]

(Listen to the teachers here. Much more useful than the strained metaphors of fellow students!)

 

[Aniseteph]

Oh I'm a student and happy to throw a few metaphors in. For me, sometimes it's the craziest thing that someone has said that clicks, so you never know that what helped you isn't going to do it for someone else. Of course one could talk complete drivel and wrong things, but the lovely teachers here will pick that up straight away.

I can see how if the music said so you could add an exaggerated leg swing and maybe a bit of a sway into it with the upper body. But it's not the basic core movement. Ask your teacher exactly what she's after if there's confusion.

It does look like the leg is doing something, especially if it's describing quite a big arc, because it draws the eye so much. But as with a lot of belly dance, effects can be deceptive!

 

[Kashmir]

It does look like the leg is doing something, especially if it's describing quite a big arc, because it draws the eye so much. But as with a lot of belly dance, effects can be deceptive!

If the leg work is obvious under a full skirt you are probably doing too much - or it's some type of fusion. A belly dance arabesque is subtle. It is a means to an end not a move to be observed.

 

[Shanazel]

What I really hate seeing are two things:

1) the flamingo (knee bent with leg at a right angle)

If I understand what you are talking about, this move actually works well under a long full circle skirt when you want to dramatically flare the hem of the skirt. I agree it looks "off" when the leg is clearly on display. Personally I hate seeing a lot of leg on display anyway. Legs work so hard to make the rest of a dancer look graceful and can look so awkward during the effort.

 

[Aniseteph]

If the leg work is obvious under a full skirt you are probably doing too much - or it's some type of fusion. A belly dance arabesque is subtle. It is a means to an end not a move to be observed.

I absolutely agree - I guess I was thinking of class situations where the teacher is wearing leggings and has not (yet ) explained it in a way that works for you. You see this bit of the body move and fling yourself into doing the wrong thing or at least mentally focusing on the wrong thing. Even if she says "I am not actively moving this leg" it can be hard to stop your body doing what it thinks it is seeing.

I think I've had a similar thing for an embarrassingly long time with some backwards camels - something to do with the undulation and changes in body angle and maybe how it looks on my teacher's physique, but I see this BIG travelling move, and try to copy, and then find it really hard. Turns out it's not so much because my teacher is super skilled and I'm a klutz, it's because IMO I'm doing it (subtly) wrong by mentally focusing on the steps and putting the energy down there. If I bring my focus to waist level, ta daaa! it works, looks heaps better, and is much easier.

I don't blame my teacher for this because how you think about a move is a kind of flakey personal thing that probably makes no sense to some people, and even if it does it must be very hard to pin down in someone else.

 

[Darshiva]

If I understand what you are talking about, this move actually works well under a long full circle skirt when you want to dramatically flare the hem of the skirt. I agree it looks "off" when the leg is clearly on display. Personally I hate seeing a lot of leg on display anyway. Legs work so hard to make the rest of a dancer look graceful and can look so awkward during the effort.

I thought that was more of a gentle kick-out and less of an arabesque (ie: a totally different move) and yeah, that would look kick-arse with a nice big boofy skirt. But when doing an arabesque, you do want nice clean, elegant lines and no wild kingdom charades!

 

[Shanazel]

Agree about the arabesque elegance. I use that bent knee thing to make the skirt form a wave across my lower body during a dramatic turn. Not really a kick, but a lift with a bent knee to put the skirt up and out. Saying "hem" gave the wrong mental image. Sorry. That does involve a gentle kick of the foot.

 

[Darshiva]

I'll agree that that keeps in line with the elegance thing, but I still probably wouldn't refer to it as an arabesque. Maybe this is just a difference in terminology thing (how broadly you'd describe an arabesque). One lady teaching a workshop I took on the subject called any lifting of the foot an arabesque. Since it was her workshop, I kept my mouth shut, but it's certainly not something I agree with (else ALL footwork is an arabesque!)

 

[Shanazel]

Modern dance arabesque:

View attachment 5704

This is roughly what I'm talking about but with the lower leg lower and to the front.

 

[Darshiva]

Oh, okay. I saw something similar on a tribal instructional and they just called it a skirt kick so I never even made the connection. Thanks for the visual!

 

[khanjar]

And from the last class this year, I now understand why we have been drilling Arabesque, I guess it is part of the veil choreography for next year, as it works with the veil.

 

[Aniseteph]

Classical ballet-wise, if your knee is bent it's an Attitude not an Arabesque. ((very) ex-bunhead in the house). Are we confused yet?!!

 

[Zumarrad]

I'll agree that that keeps in line with the elegance thing, but I still probably wouldn't refer to it as an arabesque. Maybe this is just a difference in terminology thing (how broadly you'd describe an arabesque). One lady teaching a workshop I took on the subject called any lifting of the foot an arabesque. Since it was her workshop, I kept my mouth shut, but it's certainly not something I agree with (else ALL footwork is an arabesque!)

I've come to accept "arabesque" in oriental dance as "anything that involves a weight change while extending one foot" because that seems to about cover ALL the bases, teacher-wise!

 

[Darshiva]

See, now that makes sense. At least more than any foot lift. But I think I'll stick with my arabesque for the terminology & just go my usual route of description for all the other variants.

 

[Shanazel]

Classical ballet-wise, if your knee is bent it's an Attitude not an Arabesque. ((very) ex-bunhead in the house). Are we confused yet?!!

I was a late life (late teens) bunhead-wanna be and the terminology obviously escaped my brain through an ear!

 

[Kashmir]

Flashback of an old cartoon of a bunch of ballet students and their teacher shouts "I don't like your attitude!"