Tribal arms

[Taslin]

Has anyone here done a tribal workshop? (rachel's in particular?) How is that on your arms??

Ummm, ive mostly been acquainted with Turkish and Egyptian styles of dance, im very comfortable w/ those arms.I also will hold my arms in in a different yet correct position when i get tired....which brings us to the question at hand-tribal arms. Yeah , i sound like such a newbie but i only really know the one basic tribal arm position-elbows up arms to the side and its very hard on me.I totally want my soft wide "w" arms,lol. I have soooo much trouble. Im not strong enough for these consistently throughout a class, so i literally put down my arms and shake them out when i tired, and go right back at it, since no alternate positions have been taught-and since strength building may be the instructors point

Ive been doing some privates w/ a teacher certified by Rachel Brice and my other class we often do the basic tribal arms as well. My other instructor who gives a class where she also touches on tribal (educating mostly) per request. I haven't paid much attention to it at all in all of my massive researching and BD browsing.

So to call me a newbie-or even non tribal is accurate, however, i am thirsty for BD knowledge so i am totally excited that Rachel brice is holding a workshop 5 minutes from my house-like i would miss that!!....What to do about those arms?

Can anyone point me in a decent youtube link describing tribal arm postions well in really simple terms...i know rachel has the dvd, i dont have time to order it and dont have net flix.

Can anyone give me a run down, or somewhere to look for a quick crash course, and while yes im sure ill get one there-i am one who likes to be prepared. I just never really thought id do anything much w/ the style and now am like "yelp!". She's an awesome performer so id like to be prepared as i can and enjoy the opportunity.

p.s. no im not attending the intermediate/advance classes,lol.

 

[Taslin]

Hopefully someone(s) can help a girl out w/in a few days. thanks in advance

 

[Darshiva]

Practice, I'm afraid, is the only way to do it. Workshops can be a long hard slog, and I have found over the years that it's a really good idea to train for them. Practice with your arms in position 2-3 times as much as you ordinarily would during a day, but also wear some heavy arm jewellery & a nice big pair of zills. When you do the workshop, have bare arms. That way you'll have built up a nice endurance.

Please bear in mind I'm only a noob to tribal myself, but this is advice I give to my oriental & egyptian students when it comes to practicing arm poses, and it's something I did myself whilst drilling them early on.

 

[Taslin]

Thanks Darshiva....this was my fear, i am going to start working now w/ the tips you gave. i've been half-heartedly preparing (tribal arms for part/okay a small part of my home practicing). starting tonight 24/7 "weighted' tribal arms it is. twice a week i do 2 hour practice sessions i have the week off from work so im going to make preparing for this a priority.

 

[Amulya]

You get eventually used to it, I use tribal arms regularly in my dancing, just because I find the tribal pose of the arms nicer when they are on shoulder height than the regular pose at shoulder height of the arms in belly dance (does that make sense?)

 

[Taslin]

Ive read this 4 times,lol. I think ive got what you are saying, please correct me if not...tribal arms you find more visually pleasing when done at shoulder height as opposed to the W arms? But for example The a-line arms (lower) you might prefer to tribal arms as you prefer them at shoulder height?

That does make sense, i actually like the a-line arms and arms held down, out to sides, rounded the best-cuz im weak and lazy. Once i get some strength built up we will see what my preference is.

Darshiva, thanks again for those excellent tips. You must be an excellent teacher. I feel like a swimmer weighting myself down at practice prior to a meet, such smart training technique!

 

[LilithNoor]

This video may be of some use to you- it's Rachel's own dvd devoted to arms!

edit- or, yanno, I could just read the whole post!

Tribal fusion tends to have a lot of concentration on 'finishing' arm movements, taking them right from shoulder to fingertips and back again. The last workshop I did the teacher spent ages drilling different exercises to loosen up our arms and get a wider range of movement. A lot of the tribal stuff I've seen involves static poses with just one arm moving, so sloppy arm work really stands out.

Most teachers will teach their own methods and moves, as it's not codified like ATS, so I wouldn't worry about knowing 'the moves'. So long as you have the basic posture and knowledge of simple cabaret moves, you'll have the tools needed to learn tribal style moves.

 

[Greek Bonfire]

I think tribal arms also prevent that upper arm wobble so a lot of dancers use it even if they aren't dancing tribal.

 

[Amulya]

Ive read this 4 times,lol. I think ive got what you are saying, please correct me if not...tribal arms you find more visually pleasing when done at shoulder height as opposed to the W arms? But for example The a-line arms (lower) you might prefer to tribal arms as you prefer them at shoulder height?

That does make sense, i actually like the a-line arms and arms held down, out to sides, rounded the best-cuz im weak and lazy. Once i get some strength built up we will see what my preference is.

Darshiva, thanks again for those excellent tips. You must be an excellent teacher. I feel like a swimmer weighting myself down at practice prior to a meet, such smart training technique!

Maybe I should have said: elbows pointing backwards instead of downwards. When you do that, you automatically get that line. I don't really like the W arms. If I hold my arms with hands at hip height, but a bit away from my hips I prefer to point my elbows backwards too. Took my ages to train myself to do it that way and not fall back into the W etc styles (I originally did classic Egyptian style, that's why)
Does this make sense? LOL. Sometimes it is so hard to explain, pictures are easier, but I am too lazy to browse for pictures.

 

[Darshiva]

Darshiva, thanks again for those excellent tips. You must be an excellent teacher. I feel like a swimmer weighting myself down at practice prior to a meet, such smart training technique!

Thankyou Taslin, I'm glad the technique is working for you.

 

[Zanbaka]

Hi Taslin,

First of all, kudos to you for exploring more than a few of the styles out there in the bellydance world. In my experience in studying lots of bellydance styles and flamenco (my other addiction!), the main difference between arm positions in various tribal styles and the other styles of bellydance that have been around longer, is what I call “strong arm” vs. “soft arm” positions. Both families of arm technique are equally beautiful and valid

In short, strong arm positions have an emphatic “lift” in the elbow with a firmness in the wrist and elbow joint... when moving through most of the strong arm positions the muscles in the arm hold a shape, while most of the movement comes from rotation in the shoulder. For soft arms, the wrists, elbows, and shoulders are loose, while remaining full of energy.

Hope that helps!

 

[Farasha Hanem]

One thing that helped me keep strong tribal arms throughout my now defunct ATS class was/is lifting hand weights. I have hand weights varying from 1 to 5 pounds. It also helps me when dancing with my heavy tribal sword.

Here are a couple of links that will hopefully help you get started:





Remember to take it easy and start slow. Start off with one pound weights, then increase as you get stronger.

 

[Taslin]

Those videos are helpful Farasha, i coincedentally decided to step it up and started using weights the other day,lol.I have 1 lb and 5 lb.Ive done a few lateral raises?-(arms out to the sides and up) with these a couple times last night and today.

Maybe im too concerned about this, im just nervous that ill be too weak for tribal arms for that long, but i know that parts of the workshop are devoted to yoga +plus a cool down so that will buy me some arm restin time.

Either way im stepping up my work on my arms from here on out, they are such a major part of BD and i have trouble making it through class with W arms most nights, so this is necessary. Plus im signing up for a veil work intensive, that is gonna be killer on my arms as well. Just wished i hadnt waited until the last minute to get "tribal buff":naghty:

 

[Darshiva]

I think you'll find that even two weeks of training will do wonders for your endurance. If you want to keep it after the workshops, I'm afraid you'll need to keep up with the weights. Eventually you'll get there without them, but it's like anything really - you need to use it or you'll lose it.

 

[Taslin]

Wowza, i didn't put my arms down for the entire class during the portion that we used tribal arms-and it was a long portion! Just my luck. Also todays class was 30minutes longer dont know why but i loved it, and my arms kept stamina the whole time. Probably about 45 mins of drills and rythm exercises using tribal arms. I thought my arms would be hurting because ive been working them so hard, but i think they were happy not to be holding weights or exercise wrist bands,lol. I also threw in a veil work DVD before bed so my arms were full fatigued last night,i thought of veil last minute for getting my arms strengthened.

thanks ladies , these suggestions are obviously working. Workshop is tomorrow morning, im pumped :0)

 

[Belly Love]

A really short clip, but it gives you a base to start with...

 

[Taslin]

awww thanks Belly! im in the mirror practicing the arms from this clip now before i head out. Hopefully i look a little less awkward,lol.