Bringing life experience to the dance

[Sara]

Hello everyone! ^_^

Since I have only just returned I have been looking through loads of threads and posts trying to catch up with the world of belly dance. But as I was gandering I stumbled upon a lot of people talking about their experience of life dancers bring to the table. And it made me wonder...:think:

When I dance my mind and my body seem to become one. I feel like a big human bubble of music and freedom :dance:. Growing up I found that dancing was the only thing that truly made me happy. When people insulted me/my heritage or called me Gipo (or anything related ) I would dance. It made me feel proud to be Romani when other aspects of my culture didn't necessarily move me as much. My gram told me that music and dancing makes us free and strong and that music brings us to life.

When I dance I feel like I shine. I dance to the music, but I don 't think and I don't know if I bring any of my life experience to my dance. My experience of how dance makes me feel is perhaps the only true experience I can bring.

So as I was mulling all this over, I decided it would be worth posting my thoughts. I am curious to hear your thoughts on life experiences and dancing. I think it is a confusing subject, but I hope you can help me get my head around it all.

So when we are actually dancing, what experiences are we bringing to the table? And how do you bring these life experiences? I know many of you believe that older dancers have more life experience to bring to the dance, but how do you convey those experiences?

Thanks for reading my ramblings. Hope it all made sense, lol. ^_^

 

[Belly Love]

I think this is a great subject!

I've noticed that when discussing bd, everyone brings something worthwhile to the table and depending on their life experiences, their views of bd differ. For me, I have a history of fashion and performing so these are the things that stand out to me in the dance. I don't think it will always necessarily be that way, but since I'm new to the dance, these are the things that seem to evoke my attention more easily.

I love the dance for the dance itself, but a huge part of what draws me in is the drama of the fashion combined with the music. This may not be the same for someone who is an expert in say, the history of Turkish belly dance music. They may not necessarily care so much about esthetics as they do the music. Music may be their primary focus in the dance.

For me, I don't understand the music whatsoever and it seems like a difficult subject to take on (I feel like I need to go to bd music college ) so I see this as something I will get into much more as I get deeper into bd.

 

[Sara]

I never even considered the fashion side of it before now! But I guess that is a good point. I think a lot of the dance community are so creative and so talented at making/adjusting their costumes. I think also that there are people who initially spark an interest in belly dancing partly because of the appeal of all the amazing costumes and the 'glamour' of it all. Lol.

I remeber once seeing a dancer in a fabulous costume which she had made herself, and she was sooo proud of it, and it had been taylored to suit her routine. That really made her performance come alive. She had thought of everything. :dance: Every move was accentuated perfectly.

I agree with you about the music. It is difficult at first. You feel overwhelmed! :shok: But after a while, if you make an effort to learn more outside of class (like here ^_^) you do find that you can recognise various styles and relate a dance style to it.

 

[*Nila*]

Hello everyone! ^_^

Since I have only just returned I have been looking through loads of threads and posts trying to catch up with the world of belly dance. But as I was gandering I stumbled upon a lot of people talking about their experience of life dancers bring to the table. And it made me wonder...:think:

When I dance my mind and my body seem to become one. I feel like a big human bubble of music and freedom :dance:. Growing up I found that dancing was the only thing that truly made me happy. When people insulted me/my heritage or called me Gipo (or anything related ) I would dance. It made me feel proud to be Romani when other aspects of my culture didn't necessarily move me as much. My gram told me that music and dancing makes us free and strong and that music brings us to life.

When I dance I feel like I shine. I dance to the music, but I don 't think and I don't know if I bring any of my life experience to my dance. My experience of how dance makes me feel is perhaps the only true experience I can bring.

So as I was mulling all this over, I decided it would be worth posting my thoughts. I am curious to hear your thoughts on life experiences and dancing. I think it is a confusing subject, but I hope you can help me get my head around it all.

So when we are actually dancing, what experiences are we bringing to the table? And how do you bring these life experiences? I know many of you believe that older dancers have more life experience to bring to the dance, but how do you convey those experiences?

Thanks for reading my ramblings. Hope it all made sense, lol. ^_^

Hello Sara,
I also think this is great topic. Well, I always thought and I still do that life experiences you bring to your dancing ( or any art ) is something you have inside you, you don´t need to think about it to bring it to your dance. I think if the dancer is dancing from her/his heart, and doesn´t think too much..like what should be my next move, or how does it look like etc....then her personality and also life experiences are visible in her dance...It is just part of the dancer...
Well, it seems like big mess, I hope it makes sense...I can´t explain my thoughts very well, moreover in english

 

[Amulya]

It also depends who your audience is and what they expect. ME audience expects something different than people from the west who hired you for a birthday party. The audience in a theater setting might expect something altogether different too. And dancing for other belly dancers gives you much more freedom.

 

[goddessyasaman]

Life experiences...well for me I have learned a lot and have gone through a lot for a 26 year old, when i dance I do bring this all in. I have been hurt by people in my life and I lost my father when I was only 12, I had to grow up faster then some so a lot of my strength as a person and a woman has come from my life experince, when I perform I always tell a story. Really I write a short story for each dance as i create it, this comes from my expirence as a writer.

I sometimes dance a slow dance to show the grace and love of a mother, or the saddness of a daughters loss. Maybe a fast pace drum solo to show a fighting spirit, I guess it sounds odd but this is how I bring my dance to life with my life experience

 

[Greek Bonfire]

To be honest, the first thing that attracted me were the moves - they were so feminine. And also, I was dazzled by the costumes. Now that I've been dancing for several years, what I like to bring is my complete joy when I am dancing and I think that shows a lot in my performances - how much I am really enjoying myself as well as how passionate I feel about this dance. If this was a dance that I was not supposed to smile to, I would be SOL!

 

[Sara]

I find it so interesting to read about all your different experiences. I am starting to understand more now how life experience can play a part of dancing. Before I was unsure and thought it was a bit of a grey area.

I think if the dancer is dancing from her/his heart, and doesn´t think too much..like what should be my next move, or how does it look like etc....then her personality and also life experiences are visible in her dance...It is just part of the dancer...

This made perfect sense. ^_^ I suppose that is what I was trying to say how I felt. I don't feel like I am trying to bring my experience to the dance but that it does just happen. I also like the idea of telling a story. Do you write idea's down before you create a routine or is it just instinctive while you're dancing to create the story?

Belly dance I think in general allows for the dancer to express so much energy and emotion (particularly joy) I think I see more real emotional expression in belly dancers than I do perhaps in street dance for example :think:

I think that audience/function is important too though, as it effect what type of music you will dance to and the essence of your performance.

 

[goddessyasaman]

(posted by Sara) I also like the idea of telling a story. Do you write idea's down before you create a routine or is it just instinctive while you're dancing to create the story?



Sometimes I do it both ways , most of the time I think of a short story, then I listen to music that would help to tell my story then I dance the story, Like my up coming performance I did this for, my dance style is based from my Native american heritage and I do this for every dance I perform in this style.
It brings great spirit to my dance for me

 

[Belly Love]

I sometimes dance a slow dance to show the grace and love of a mother, or the saddness of a daughters loss. Maybe a fast pace drum solo to show a fighting spirit, I guess it sounds odd but this is how I bring my dance to life with my life experience

I like the idea of dancing to a story... I wonder how common this is or if you would know it by watching one's performance. For now, I'm still learning basic moves and layering but I don't think I will ever be a "dance to a story" type of person but more of a "mood of the occasion/music" type of dancer... if that makes any sense :think:

I'm curious as to whether most seasoned dancers dance to a story or just dance to the feel of the music?

 

[LadyLoba]

Hello Sara...I am Romani too...one quarter Rom on my father's side. (my Dad is also part jewish, my mom...we're not sure)

I've never seen any romani dancing...the only thing I have of my rom great grandparents is a clock from their wagon and some old photos. If you have any clips or videos...I know I would love to see them.

 

[Farasha Hanem]

I haven't danced for very long, but last year in class, I had a moment when I completely broke down.

We have one routine that I once absolutely hated; the transitions between movements seemed so awkward in places, and one move I thought was downright silly. The whole dance didn't make any sense to me at all.

Then one night as I was changing from work clothes to my yoga outfit for class, I got a phone call from Mom. My step dad had been ill for some time, but we were still in hopes of getting to bring him home. However, when I answered, Mom was crying. Dad has passed away that afternoon. I tried hard to be strong for Mom's sake, but inwardly, I was heartbroken and in need of comfort. After she hung up, my friend came over to pick me up for class. I was so numb, I went on ahead with her, not talking very much.

I kind of ran on auto-pilot throughout class, just going through the motions. Then it was time to practice the veil routine. As we danced, everything we were doing all of a sudden took on a whole new meaning for me. It's supposed to be a "happy dance," but I no longer try to interpret it that way. Towards the end of the routine, there's a move where we reach up, and snake one arm back down, following with our eyes. I imagined reaching up to Heaven, and my dad looking down on me, as if to say that he will always be with me. Silent tears ran down my face, and by the time we finished, I had a full-blown meltdown.

It still hurts for me to do that dance. I'll never look at it in the same way again:

 

[goddessyasaman]

I like the idea of dancing to a story... I wonder how common this is or if you would know it by watching one's performance. For now, I'm still learning basic moves and layering but I don't think I will ever be a "dance to a story" type of person but more of a "mood of the occasion/music" type of dancer... if that makes any sense :think:

I'm curious as to whether most seasoned dancers dance to a story or just dance to the feel of the music?

I'm not sure how many do it, I have been like this for a long time :lol: It's not really "dancing to a story" so much as "dancing the story" you are telling a story with your dance , I do dancing to the feel of the music , but I call this Improv I listen to the music and become one with the sound as I dance, I can dance off a song that I have never heard before, I listen to the forumula of the Music, I do so love to dance Improv:dance: