The other day I was talking to my students Julie and Amy and I told them that this one combination came to me in the shower of all places. But another student Judy inspired the combination but why the heck did it evolve in the shower? Another group of dynamic turns came to me in a dream but I woke up before I figured out how I did them. I remember saying to myself  in the dream that I had to remember the turns and I woke up actually talking to myself.

That was a little creepy having a conversation with myself and than answering myself!  The other morning lying in bed I worked out a 6 week course curriculum and figured out how to make each class lead into the next.  Is creativity possessing me through choreography?  If so it is the kind of possession that never leaves you alone and can turn you into an eccentric old dancer who toots her own horn even if nobody is listening.

A wonderful quote says:

“Everything in the universe has rhythm. Everything dances.”-Maya Angelou
So maybe what is happening is that when we open the mind to inspiration it’s like opening the flood gates to creativity that rushes in with the power of the ages. I suppose that it would be easier if creativity came at the same time everyday but than wouldn’t that be a stagnant way of creating?  So creativity comes visiting  in my dreams, in the shower, in the car, when I’m dancing with students or without . And since creativity is directly from the Universe than this explains why there is a constant stream of ideas and moves coming my way.

How many of you feel this kind of divine unrest? It’s almost as if everything you look at has the beginnings of a movement. The tree branches blowing in the wind can be  either slow and sinuous  or fast and powerful movements. It’s all in the eyes of the dancer and how the tree is talking to her.  Students do this to me all the time. The best combinations I have ever come up with have been the inspiration of dance students who inspire me with their talent!

“One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.” -Friedrich Nietzsche

So a choreography state of mind is what keeps the dancer alive and in her element.  I didn’t understand this years ago because I didn’t see movement anywhere I went. I think when a dancer finally embraces her own individuality she can finally see what was hidden from her. It’s almost like being in a magical land that at first appears barren and devoid of life than all of a sudden things appear before you that you never saw before. Maybe the possession creativity has on us just keeps us seeing the magic in life and than we see her rhythm and than we dance to her melody.

“We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams.” -Anonymous

So for now my students crack up laughing at my madness and I keep on tooting my own horn but the best part of all is my students hear me and they don’t mind listening!

Years ago when I first saw belly dancing the dancers who stood out the most were the ones who understood where “their” dance moves came from. Nothing was forced and they glided, gracefully across the stage and than all of a sudden out of nowhere a sharp combination or soft accent would appear and take your breath away.
As a novice I could see that this would be necessary to understand and incorporate into my dance. Now, I didn’t understand at that time how to go about doing it so I spent many years researching this so I could pass it along to my students.

What is a signature move you may ask? It is your personality and style that brings life into a group of combinations. It is you in a move and your dancing is done with your life experiences expressed through each gesture of the hand, arm, walk or turn. You are up on that stage 100%, therefore there is no carbon copy of another dancer only you. So as a dancer performs she has a select few moves that are combined and put together her way that reflect her view of the world. This view is only hers and as a consequence a signature move is born.

This year started out with a bang in signature moves. Currently I am working with a fantastic singer Kymberlyann Lopez who has just finished her new cd that will be released this year. We are working on belly dance moves that she will be incorporating into her dance along with her hiphop, breakdancing and jazz moves. She is the new generation of singers coming out knowing that dance combined with singing can be a powerful tool to get your message across to your fan base and what better way than to teach them your own style of dance. I’m not talking about choreographed moves done to music, I’m talking about instinctive moves that accent words and get the message across in ways that the fans understand.

It is a silent code of movements that belong to the fans and bond them to the singer. Kymberlyann will be touring this year and her belly dance signature moves will make a difference and pave the way for future singers who dance to create their own distinctive moves.
Judy Maloof is another professional dancer who is taking private belly dance classes with me and we are incorporating sensual and classical moves into her ball room and salsa dancing. Judy is a risk taker and she understands that bringing in moves that speak volumes is the key to making a broader
statement to her admirers. She is one dancer that can hold her own with the best of them.

Think of ways to be yourself when you dance while you are learning to dance. I know this sounds a little crazy but if you don’t start putting in your personality and style in now than when it really counts you won’t be able to hold your own with the best of them. The best are so because they and their dance are one.

I know what some of you may be thinking; ok so how do I figure out what is my signature move?

When I work with dancers the first thing that I do is I watch how they talk and how they use their hands. Secondly I believe the body always tells its own story and if I watch enough movement from a dancer than I can catch a glimpse here and there of the bodies natural way of moving. Than I look at how a dancer holds her rhythm and how she counts to the music.

Even if a dancer doesn’t count evenly with numbers she will have a unique way of moving. So I look at this in the beginning and I can eventually see how a dancer prefers to move to music. To be a natural dancer means that you understand your preference in movements and how to time them to the music. Every dancer times her movements slightly different and this is a key element in understanding how to help a dancer create her signature moves.

Put together life and dance and eventually down the line you will understand your own unique signature moves. And for those who don’t understand or who are still searching, I’m here and ready to help.

Sometimes I will lie in bed and think about past performances and shows that I participated in and I will run through the whole event in my mind. The good, the bad, pretty much everything is thrown in and I start to think about how I could have changed things. Different outcomes would have made for better experiences but sometimes the lessons wouldn’t have been learned. I think we have to let the past be but sometimes it’s good to look at experiences every now and then to remember how much of life we have lived.

In talking with many of the dancers that I have interviewed it occurred to me we are all traveling parallel paths, they just curve, drop and rise differently because various lessons and realities are so different. But one thing is for sure everyone has an accumulation of opinions that creates their point of view and reference. Sometimes we agree and other times we differ in ideologies but disagreements don’t make anyone’s reality less real for them or wrong. What makes our world go round keeping is the endless experiences that each one of us has. It’s all thrown into the pot of self discovery and we all taste a little bit of each others thoughts and views.

The interviews are my way of understanding everyone’s feelings and experiences in our dance field. And I must I have found it very interesting that many dancers-teachers experience the same thing just in different parts of the planet. Why do women dance? It’s an age old question but the answer is never the same and changes with the times.

I had one dancer come into my class who was a ballet dancer and she would catch on to all the moves within minutes of executing them. The other girls would look at her with dismay and I would just smile. She came to class for a very unique reason which was to feel more spiritual because ballet to her was an insolated dance form that didn’t allow for her private expression. She just wanted to feel like herself without apology. Another dancer always wanted to belly dance and her ex-husband would never allow her to. The “allowing” part always got me but she had to figure out how to make up her own mind. Class for her was making decisions for herself

A very beautiful older woman walked through my studio doors looking for a way to capture her youth. She had let her younger years dictate was appropriate for her in her later years.  She felt young at heart and decided to go with the feeling she felt inside. Dancing for her was expressing her new outlook on life without apology for being her age.

I always wonder if I would have kept my studio open how many more reasons would have come through to accumulate with all the others. It seems that our dance plays a huge part for women in uncovering truths that were at one time hidden secrets. Everyone’s journey seems to lead them to a type of self discovery that touches the soul. Belly dance does just that and more because even after all these years I feel it transform my life in a way that will stay with me until my last breathe.

Belly Dance Tip of the Day:

Weight and Feet

Remember that feet are important in your dance. They help execute each move plus they help us distribute our weight in various ways that allows for us to dance. The important thing to remember is that if we are off on our weight distribution the feet can’t help us there.

One time I was performing on a very dark stage and danced right onto a warped piece of wood that bowed down 5 or 6 inches. I couldn’t keep myself from slightly falling because my weight and feet were a tangled mess. Walking off stage was a bit embarrassing and I was to go on again for the last half of the show. Interestingly enough I knew where the warped piece of wood was and I was able to adjust for it with no problem. So what I learned is that once our feet know what’s going on they can keep us from falling over and adjust for any problems.

But even to this day I am weary of the bottomless pit stages that can swallow us up whole!

Yesterday I filmed the first video of the New Year called “Shimmy Galore.” It has drills along with my own methodology compiled together for understanding how and why I do shimmies. About 3 or 4 times a month I have women writing me and asking about shimmies. It makes sense because when I started out belly dancing I had so many questions regarding how to shimmy that I was like the kid that kept asking, “Are we there yet?”

I remember back in my early days that whenever I saw any dancer who was able to do a shimmy, she was automatically placed in a heroine character called “Wonderwoman.”  For many years I worked on my shimmies and not until I understood that the muscle areas had to be felt did they start to make sense to me thus my shimmies started to be more noticeably wiggly and jiggly. It was a break through moment because shimmies are the definitive signature of a belly dancer; the ultimate difference between mortal women and dancers.

I simplified as much as possible and put the shimmies into three categories;

1. ¾ Shimmy

2. In place Shimmy

3. Layering Shimmy

The layering shimmy and ¾ shimmy actually have some traveling steps in them and turns so I decided not to add in traveling shimmies. Besides the drills I put in are enough so that you can work in walking and combos with your shimmies. I felt that the shimmies themselves need to be understood in a way that simplifies them and takes the mystery and confusion away. There are some shimmies that work best for restaurant rather than stage or nightclub. It just depends on a dancer’s perception and experiences with her audience. Too long a shimmy can take away from the proficiency of the shimmy itself. I remember at a restaurant in Ft. Worth a dancer who performed one full song only doing full body shimmies. The restaurant owner actually told me she was boring and he got up from his table and walked away. I had to agree with him and that night I learned that just because a move is hard doesn’t mean it can’t be over done.

So I’m excited and “oh my God”……..do I feel it today!!!

Many women ask me how I learned how to choreograph dances and when did it make sense? I have to say for most of us this is more then a legitimate question; it’s an obstacle that until addressed, can offset a career in the making. It’s also a hard question for me to answer because I didn’t really pay attention the day I just started to create my own choreography, I just did it.

I remember one workshop in particular with Suhaila Salimpour that not only inspired me but at the same time knocked me off my rocker. I realized that with all her intricate ways of incorporating body movement, I was last woman standing because I felt like a blob learning to move her way. It was great to learn and almost accomplish the moves but I realized that this amazing and talented dancer had years on me in this dance field. Plus some of what I learned just didn’t feel good even when I could finally do it. After that particular workshop I went to Egypt and decided to go another route, one that made the dance more of a personal journey instead of going to workshop after workshop. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with going to workshops; I just wasn’t feeling my direction of inspired individuality. Here was my chance I thought to find out what I really should be doing. Little did I know there would be more choices than Carter has liver pills!

After I came home 6 months later from Egypt, I realized that I was energized and completely committed to belly dance but I still wasn’t sure how to work in movement to music. I sat on my bedroom floor so frustrated one day that tears were coming down my face. It was a turning point for me because I realized that if I couldn’t create my own unique dance then I needed to move on and do something else.  So I picked myself up and started to listen to my music. I think it was Leylet Hob and I listened to it over and over and over again until I was ready to throw the CD out the window. But then something happened and I realized that I was instinctively moving to the music because as I was listening to it I was spontaneously dancing. Then as I was looking in the mirror I saw a move come out of me and I went, “Wow,” to myself and that was the first move I put down on paper. As I went through hours of spontaneously dancing (no exaggeration, because I was a dancing fool) I would see moves I liked and I would write them down on paper. So now I had a rough draft of moves that I liked and the moves looked pretty good to the music.

From the rough draft I decided to see what move was my most favorite and from there I started to integrate more moves that came from my spontaneous dancing that fit the music. As I pieced the moves together which meant fitting them here and there and then changing it all up, a choreography was born! She looked something like a Picasso painting of a woman with an eyeball on the side of her face but at least it was my eye ball and I was a proud momma or I should say “choreographer.”

Maybe this is my way of answering the choreography question that was so hard to answer before. As a result I thought I would put together different moves to a short song and show you how I count to music. With a variety of moves I think I can show you how you can put movement to music in different ways and then pick the one that’s right for you. Hope this helps those of you who are dealing with the choreography brain freeze or fight the short circuit feeling of not being able to put together your own unique dance.

Here’s some short Text that will go along with the video:

Arms are basic out to the side for the hip work. Bring arms down when you start working in the pelvic roll/chest circle/ab sway.

Music,  Progressive Move:

Right hip twist forward and back to center 1cnt /backward stomach roll

Left hip twist forward and back to center 2cnt / backward stomach roll

Right hip twist forward and back to center 3cnt / backward stomach roll

Left hip twist forward and back to center 4cnt / backward stomach roll

Right hip twist forward and back to center 5cnt / backward stomach roll

Left hip twist forward and back to center 6cnt / backward stomach roll

Right hip twist forward and back to center 7cnt / backward stomach roll

Left hip twist forward and back to center 8cnt

Right hip twist forward and back to center 1cnt /backward stomach roll

Left hip twist forward and back to center 2cnt / backward stomach roll

Right hip twist forward and back to center 3cnt / backward stomach roll

Left hip twist forward and back to center 4cnt / backward stomach roll

In place Shimmy with a slight side thrust right to left side on 16 cnts to music.

Layering move: Do as many times as you want.

3 choices for opposition hips: 1. Move right leg behind you to start left hip. 2. Move left leg forward 3. Stay on the right hip or left hip without moving to opposite side.

Right hip down/up/out

Backward pelvic roll

Chest circle parallel to mirror

Ab sway forward/back 2xs (Faster speed than prior moves)

Left hip down/up/out

Backward pelvic roll

Chest circle parallel to mirror

Ab sway forward/back 2xs (Faster speed than prior moves)

Shoulder rolls and head spin if desired.

Finished!

I went through my archives and wanted to share some of the combinations that I have put together for students and dance enthusiasts through out the years. I have so much that I decided that I must share it and hopefully give some of you ideas for new moves and combos that you otherwise wouldn’t have thought of.

If any of you have any questions regarding this text feel free to write me. I am always more then happy to be able to talk about dance, combos and ideas for a variety of songs etc. So enjoy the text and happy dancing!

Blessings,

Leyla

PS: If you like these combinations you at the bottom is a PDF document for you to download and print.

Text

Down/up/out-Twist back/twist back

Right Hip

(Arms are to the side or one arm behind head and the other out to the front)

Weight is on left leg and right leg is posed.

Right hip drops/lifts/drops with the right leg extend out in front

(Think of pistons for the first two drop/lifts and for the second drop remember you still need to piston down but it feels different because your leg is out)

Put your weight on your right foot and twist back with the right hip.

Put your weight on your left foot and twist back wit the right hip.

(Think of a prize fighter moving forward and back with his weight from one foot to the other)

#1

Turn to the left keeping your weight on your left leg. (Think of a paddle turn keeping the weight on one leg while the other pushes off)

Right hip down/up/out-twist back/twist back

#2

Turn to left keeping your weight on your left leg.

Right down/up/out-twist back/twist back

#3

Turn to left keeping your weight on your left leg.

Right down/up/out-twist back/twist back

#4

Turn to left keeping your weight on your left leg.

Right down/up/out-twist back/twist back

You will end up facing the audience again.        Alternate left side

Zoheir Pistons/Forward-Back Thrusts/Opposition Hips

Right Hip

(Arms are to the side with the Zoheir positioning)

Right hip piston up/down

Left hip piston down/up

Right hip forward thrust

Left hip forward thrust

Right hip back thrust

Left hip back thrust

Zoheir down piston right/left

Flat piston right/left

Left Hip

Left hip piston up/down

Right hip piston down/up

Left hip forward thrust

Right hip forward thrust

Left hip back thrust

Right hip back thrust

Zoheir down piston left/right

Flat piston left/right

Corners Folkloric Hip Thrust/Chest Lift Walk

(Arm positioning is one arm behind head and the other out in front)

Weight is on left leg and you thrust your right leg forward/forward corner/ side and than you change your weight on the 4^th count.

Left arm is behind head and the right arm is out in front as you thrust your hip but remember not to move your arm with the thrust.

Lift your left heel to get you to go around to the right side. Turn your head to the right side slightly bending it and looking over your right shoulder.

(You want to do half turns to each side with your thrusting but remember again to change weight on 4^th count)

After you do the 4 corner folkloric thrust you turn to the side and do the folkloric 4 corner thrusts in place only having your right hip go different directions (forward/forward corner/side/back corner).

After you do the thrusts to the side start with your chest lift walk.

Weight is on your right foot

Right foot is flat and left foot is up on ball and for every side step you lift/drop. You side step 3 counts and change weight on 4^th count.

Weight is on your left foot

Left foot is flat and right foot is up on ball and for every side step you lift/drop. You side step 3 counts and change weight on 4^th count.

Alternate Sides

Madam Boozy Leg Sweep

Draw a circle with the right leg and place it in place. Remember to add in a side sway or side winder (figure 8 horizontal) to add interest into the move.

Draw a circle with the left leg and place it in place.

Draw a circle with the right leg and spin back around to your right back and face audience.

Added Move in Place

Weight is on left leg and left foot is flat. Right foot up on ball as right hip goes back and around.

Change weight as you come around and lift left foot so that the left hip can go back and around and weight is on the right leg with the right foot flat. This move is part figure 8 and side sway so if you don’t include both it will look like a full figure 8.

Pistons/Thrusts with Layering

Right piston up

Left piston up

Right hip thrust to the side

Left hip thrust to the side

Left piston down

Right piston down

Chest lift/drop

Pelvic drop/lift

Left piston up

Right piston up

Left hip thrust to the side

Right hip thrust to the side

Right piston down

Left piston down

Chest lift/drop

Pelvic drop/lift

Ommis/Mayas/Full Hip Circles

Ommi right hip

Ommi left hip

Right leg extended to side and ommie right hip to right side 4xs

Weight is on right leg and left leg is extended out

Maya right hip with weight on right/maya left hip with leg extended out

Maya right hip as you come move back to center/maya left hip and come down flat foot

Full hip circle back and around bringing in your right leg to center

Ommi left hip

Ommi right hip

Left leg extended to side and ommie leftt hip to left side 4xs

Weight is on left leg and right leg is extended out

Maya left hip with weight on left/maya right hip with leg extended out

Maya left hip as you come move back to center/maya right hip and come down flat foot

Full hip circle back and around bringing in your left leg to center

Download in PDF

I get asked a lot of questions on belly dance but one that I have found that I don’t get asked  often is regarding “Layering” and what it really is.

Looking at our dance field today, it has changed into an accumulation of personal interests and the pursuit of  relevance for each individual dancer. So layering can be sharp to soft movements or upper body to lower body and many other interpretations in-between. Without layering our dance tends to look a little flat almost one dimensional and you can usually tell an experienced dancer from a novice by her ability to layer in movement.

Layering is also the focal point for the audience that prepares them for each chapter in a story that a dancer tells through out her dance. It’s the dramatic or subtle change in the phrasing in the music interpreted by the dancer.

As with any painting what makes it have depth is the usage of the shadows and color interchanges with subjects either in the background, middleground or foreground. The Abstract purposes that the interpretation of the strokes is just as or more important than the detailed idea. Impressionistic themes want to suggest what the image is without giving it away totally to the viewer. Realistic paintings say it all and leave nothing for the imagination because they become as real as the room you are standing in. Each style takes you in and makes you apart of the painting.

Our dance is a compilation of our own interpretation of what we like and view as beautiful. So to me “layering” is the stroke of our movements that makes the performed choreography understandable to the audience. Put a shadow of an accent to the melody of any song and you bring to life the wordless meaning of the song. Even songs with words don’t have the same impact without a dancer up on stage becoming the mime or interpreter. Sometimes it’s the impact of movement that the audience sees first and the music accompanies the dancer. I have had people say to me that the movement I did  at a certain part of the song was beautiful more often then being asked, what song was I dancing to. There is a romanticism that sets our dance apart from all others because we surrender to our movements tirelessly with each performance. Because of this we have more performers questioning their dance in dressing rooms or darkened hallways; it all has to do with the realism, abstract or impressionistic stroke of their visual interpretation of their dance. Really what they are questioning is, “Did the audience see what I created?”

So “layering” isn’t just the accent of a chest lift or drop or soft swirls of  hip circles with shoulder rolls but an individualized signature that takes your dance from a primitive, one dimensional performance to an explosion of movement. Even in the subtle moments of your dance stroke, you lead the audience where to look as you complete your canvas. With live performing they get to see the canvas blank first and the strokes of movement added in to create an image, story and emotional journey that otherwise wouldn’t exist. They are pulled into its meaning and they become apart of the canvas.  It is and always has been the sharing of energies and imagination that keeps the dancer and the audience connected. But little do they know that it’s the “layering” of a dancers signature strokes that leads them into her dance and into her canvas.

So I have shared with you what “layering” is to me…….share with me what it is for you!

Sometimes learning a dance form can lead a student into a matrix mentality that can become an uncomfortable habit. The learning process in anything can be intimidating, scary and unfamiliar territory. For some reason in dance it’s intensified tenfold and the need for a leader, elder or expert is more then necessary but required to continue on.

I remember this feeling well, it’s like swimming in a pool and the next day swimming into the ocean. What’s underneath that can’t be seen is more frightening then the bottom of any pool. And the test of courage sets aside the girls from the women because once a dancer steps foot on the stage, she might as well be in a vast ocean of the unknown.

The best dancers that I have seen on stage all understood one thing. It’s simple and is many times overlooked. Most women want to think that dance is complicated and the training is endless which is true to a point. But the best dancers remember one thing and that is body motion memory. This has everything to do with your timing, step coordination, turns and accents with dramatic stops. If you forget you’re in your body it won’t matter how much you practice at home or studio because just like in water if you can’t float you’ll sink. Fluidity and timing comes from being familiar with moves in a way that extends from your inner soul to the tips of your fingers or the leg extension out to the side. Most women don’t walk like truck drivers because we have a different structure in our hips that make us swing alittle or alot. We don’t question it and for the most part people, men in particular enjoy what comes naturally to each of us.

Questioning your dance, scrutinizing who you are as a dancer or comparing yourself to others puts your own unique design in a defensive mode. How can individual creativity defend itself from itself? After moves are learned and implemented into the body, it takes the courage and fortitude of each individual dancer to take the plunge and see what’s hiding underneath.

So the student looks for a teacher who will help her understand that the plunge is nothing more then learning how to feel comfortable in any environment with her body. We are made up of about 70% of water and the earth is made up of about 75% of water so once we understand this connection then the ocean not only becomes our home but apart of us.

Nothing unseen stays a mystery forever because there is always someone who has the tenacity to venture into unchartered waters to see for themselves the mystery that progressively unfolds around them. So through a  teacher’s guidance the student understands that she gives meaning and authenticity to the stage which exists for the sole purpose of a dancers inspired thoughts, choreographed into individual motion.

Guidance to me  is a key element in a good teacher. My online classes coming up will be an extension of my understanding of dance, inspired thought and creative choreographies. It’s important for all of you who are interested in  taking my classes to know that while I’m in front of the camera, I am there for the sake of your dancing needs. You will know after taking my classes which direction to go once you understand the different elements in dance that motivate you to share your creativity with the world. In the end it is you up on stage confirming your understanding of your connection to divine inspiration. My job as a teacher is to let you know that you are already connected, it’s just a matter of believing you can float before you can swim. And since you and inspiration are one and the same, you just have to believe in yourself thus becoming the single minded dancer.

This blog will be more news of what’s coming up then my melodramas. Actually no drama’s to speak of so life is movin and groovin right along.

Ready, Set, Action!

We just bought a new camera and of course Daniel has big plans for doing a live broadcast which at this point I don’t know exactly what the theme will be but as soon as we get the camera we’ll let you know. We decided that with the changes in classes with adding Belly Stretch-Thrust and Roll and the regular Hip Phylosophy curriculum that we needed an upgrade. Plus I might include another class if I see how these all go. We might as well keep the dance classes going through out the week. Who knows, it might be props, history of belly dance or my talk radio show…….

Music from California Dreams to Sonic Waves…

We just purchased new music for the exercise class that will keep us all rockin, shaking while we sweat. It’s not typical belly dance music and I wanted to change and spice class up abit so it’s all electronic music! On another note Jibber Jab went on hiatus because of the book but I will finish that one up so you all will not only have a cool drum solo choreography to learn but drum solo music that isn’t out yet!

Dance Advice

Any of you who want to write me and discuss combinations or drills please feel free to do so. It’s important to know how your body works with movement and how you are moving to your “own” rhythm. Practicing at home is important but you have to eventually dance in front of people to experience your timing and rhythm style. It’s almost as if performing in front of people releases the control mechanism that inhibits many dancers from feeling the music. Audiences will either bring it out in you or show you what you need to work on and listen to. Music will speak to you, all you have to do is just listen to her.  Also remember music doesn’t know it has to keep up with you or slow down so try to feel the beat and rhythm in your moves, combinations and body.

Keep the fires burning and know that I am here for all of you as well as Daniel! Your support is appreciated more then you all know!