Up coming solo

BigJim

Member
I haven't posted anything in a while so I'd just thought I'd give an update. Danced at a hafla in a bar in Nov. It was an improv with just a drummer. I was slightly nervous as we just were doing it on the fly. Was a great learning event for me. The bar was packed and I went out and danced through the crowd. Turned out O.K. Next up is a solo in April at one of the main shows in Regina... I have picked the music and am going to use a cane. Never performed with one so will have to see how it goes....Hoping to hear what others have planned for this year.... Jim
 

Zorba

"The Veiled Male"
Very cool - and kudos to you for dancing to a live drummer!

1st 2016 performance for myself tonite - which will be a "dry run" for my Rakkasah performance to Light Rain LIVE! WOOO-HOOO! I luv me some Light Rain!
 

Duvet

Member
Good to hear that you're still out there, BigJim. And great that you're pushing your comfort zones. Good for you - and for the audience no doubt! Hope you have many more pleasant dancing experiences to come.

I've just performed solo to a live band for the first time myself. Lovely musicians. A great night all round - raising money for Cancer Research. But my first performance of 2016 was last week at a private party for Burns Night - a bellydance come Scottish jig affair (replete with sporran, owl, and chocolate mousse!).
 

Shanazel

Moderator
Way to go, y'all. I quit performing myself a couple of years ago but my students are working on a choreography to Ask Hic Bizmet that I think will be nice. Never dreamed a strictly improve dancer like me would end her career choreographing ensemble dances.
 

Farasha Hanem

New member
Way to go, y'all. I quit performing myself a couple of years ago but my students are working on a choreography to Ask Hic Bizmet that I think will be nice. Never dreamed a strictly improve dancer like me would end her career choreographing ensemble dances.


Honey, I'm hip deep in mud and the tide is coming in, but thanks for the vote of confidence. ;)

I'm not sure about Liking these posts! :(
 

Roshanna

New member
I haven't posted anything in a while so I'd just thought I'd give an update. Danced at a hafla in a bar in Nov. It was an improv with just a drummer. I was slightly nervous as we just were doing it on the fly. Was a great learning event for me. The bar was packed and I went out and danced through the crowd. Turned out O.K. Next up is a solo in April at one of the main shows in Regina... I have picked the music and am going to use a cane. Never performed with one so will have to see how it goes....Hoping to hear what others have planned for this year.... Jim

Cool :) performing improv with a drummer is a lot of fun! And doing it on the fly is the most fun, IMO. I also had the chance to do it at the last hafla I danced at, with a drummer who is a good friend of mine but who I don't get to perform with often, and massively enjoyed it (my favourite photo from the hafla - https://www.facebook.com/RashaBelly....1454328607./1031555373549960/?type=3&theater ).

My dance mission this year is to seek out more opportunities to dance with live bands. So far, I've managed to get two lined up, in April and May, with several live music workshops to attend in the next couple of months for preparation... It feels like a bit of a breakthrough, since in the past the only way I've been able to get on stage with a band has usually been by entering competitions, with all the limitations and stress that competitions entail. I'm very excited, and also a bit nervous, since I really want to do the opportunity justice...
 

BigJim

Member
Not sure why trying to post off my cell phone creates problems but I really did address the previous post to Roshanna
 

Aniseteph

New member
Solo improv with a live drummer is one of my favourite things. I've only done it a couple of times in workshops. It was the belly dance equivalent of extreme sports, terrifying then you want to do it again. Disclaimer: never done any extreme sports, only ever danced with lovely tame drummers.

I'm performing at a hafla next weekend; trying to get up the self discipline to choreograph rather than just wing it. I multitasked in the gym this morning by exercising to my music - slow baladi is great for doing weights when you have to do 8 reps. I only shimmied a tiny bit.
 

Daimona

Moderator
I multitasked in the gym this morning by exercising to my music - slow baladi is great for doing weights when you have to do 8 reps. I only shimmied a tiny bit.

:think: Hm... Why didn't I think of listening to baladi music while at the gym? Maybe it will make the whole thing a bit more bearable? Thanks.
 

Aniseteph

New member
Why choreograph when you can wing it?

Yeah, I know... The internal debate goes like this:
"It will look and feel better if you have a choreography, you could kick ass with a good one, get your lazy act together and do it"
"What's the point? Two bars in i will have blanked out and won't remember it anyway. Can't I just sew sequins onto something?"
"You would remember if you got on with it and drilled it till you are blue in the face, you can remember group numbers just about"
"But I have no self discipline and also we know what happens the minute I start choreographing; it turns into a mire of ever changing notes and notation on spreadsheets and we end up forgetting the lot. I bet Fifi never wrote anything on spreadsheets"
"You are not Fifi, so let's get choreographing..."
"But we do this every time and it really is a massive waste of time angsting about it then forgetting it. We could save angst by not bothering"
"Excuses excuses. You will end up flapping about being rubbish, you know you will."
{Muttering sulkily} "Choreographing baladi is just wrong"


And so it goes. I will go with sorting a few combos out and trying not to forget to do them!
 

Zorba

"The Veiled Male"
Yeah, I know... The internal debate goes like this:
"It will look and feel better if you have a choreography, you could kick ass with a good one, get your lazy act together and do it"
"What's the point? Two bars in i will have blanked out and won't remember it anyway. Can't I just sew sequins onto something?"
"You would remember if you got on with it and drilled it till you are blue in the face, you can remember group numbers just about"
"But I have no self discipline and also we know what happens the minute I start choreographing; it turns into a mire of ever changing notes and notation on spreadsheets and we end up forgetting the lot. I bet Fifi never wrote anything on spreadsheets"
"You are not Fifi, so let's get choreographing..."
"But we do this every time and it really is a massive waste of time angsting about it then forgetting it. We could save angst by not bothering"
"Excuses excuses. You will end up flapping about being rubbish, you know you will."
{Muttering sulkily} "Choreographing baladi is just wrong"


And so it goes. I will go with sorting a few combos out and trying not to forget to do them!

Snort! That biatch lives in my head - give her back! On second thought, you can keep her! :lol:

What I've found to be the best compromise is a "spot choreography" - I will do "this" at "this" point in the music where "this" is REALLY what I want to be doing there because it just fits. Otherwise, I improv it. I found that in the end, it doesn't matter whether you choreograph it or not, if you perform it enough times it turns into a choreography anyway! Sometimes you just need to tell that voice to STFU and get on with it! :cool:

Yea, I go onstage wanting to incorporate the latest combo I learned from {insert Uber dancer here} - and sometimes I even remember to do that - esp. if I spot choreograph ahead of time and practice the routine a few times ahead of time.
 

Darshiva

Moderator
I think that I only ever write choreos for students & drum solos. Layman audiences like my improv better anyway, so what's the point? Choreo as a way to train your mind? Sure! Choreo to perform? Uh, please, not unless I have to!
 

BigJim

Member
Choreography is a very important tool. It's a framework for dancing in a group. Imagine 5 or 6 beginners hitting the stage and just doing what they want.

If you don't know how it acts as a safety net until you become more experienced. Imagine a beginner being told to just get out there and do a solo... Without a choreography 8 out of 10 might hang up the dance shoes right then and there.

Why choreography when you can wing it?... To be able to wing it is the goal but choreography can help you get there.

P S ...Choreography is not my favorite thing as I have a hard time remembering it...
 

Darshiva

Moderator
Imagine a beginner being told to just get out there and do a solo... Without a choreography 8 out of 10 might hang up the dance shoes right then and there.

Actually, as a beginner, I did just that. I found myself a performance opportunity, ignored the choreos I'd been taught & went out guns blazing and danced to some western music in a completely inappropriate costume. Do you know what happened? My dance sisters took me aside and told me how I could do it better, how I could dress more appropriately and how I could be more considered in my selection of music. It was hands-down the best thing I have ever done, just getting up there and dancing, completely improvised.

Why choreography when you can wing it?... To be able to wing it is the goal but choreography can help you get there.

P S ...Choreography is not my favorite thing as I have a hard time remembering it...

Choreography is a useful tool, but too many dancers rely on it and much of their ability is lost to it. It's a great way to show off technique, but so much soul is lost by the repetition of the same movements over and over again. (through practicing choreography or even drilling moves over and over)

I get what you're meaning though. Beginners need boundaries. But that shouldn't come at the cost of creating a reliance upon a pre-created sequence of movements.
 
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