This past week as Daniel and I were discussing our weekly work schedules, we were talking about videos that I needed to do and Daniel like always came up with several ideas. I on the other just looked at him with that look; you know, the look we morph into that comes naturally when talking to our husbands?! Anyways I said, “Look it’s not like I don’t have a lot on my plate but do we really need this one?” Daniels usual response is, “Yes we do.”

So I will be doing a video talking about “Producing” shows and the pit falls that can happen at any moment. Believe me I am an unintentional professional in the pit fall arena only because unlike the poor souls who got thrown into the lions den, I skipped in with a smile on my face.

There is no definite guideline to producing shows small or large so I will go over my thoughts on how to keep your sanity and enjoy the experience. Well, okay I can’t guarantee that you will always enjoy yourself because producing shows can be a very stressful endeavor that for most of us isn’t just a rite of passage but an act of insanity until it’s all over and we can see our achievements. Actually to tell you the truth producing shows somehow completed one aspect of belly dance that seemed out of reach. Once you become a producer a time honored understanding comes over you and you understand even more about the human predisposition to be a star.

Here is a paragraph from my book talking about what I observed from one of the shows I co-produced:

I have witnessed unusual behavior with a few of my former students in regards to a few of the shows I jointly produced. Since I have been very lucky in having very talented dancers come my way I found it perplexing to say the least when a few of these highly talented dancers acted in my opinion selfishly. This is the difference in troupe mentality and the solo attitude.  The troupe dancers who participated in the shows went way beyond the call of duty because they wanted the outcome of their efforts to be successful for each other. This has to do with their sense of responsibility to each other. One person’s actions would affect the outcome of the whole troupe. The few students that I asked to perform in my shows were excited but at the same time they didn’t comprehend the idea of what team effort was. If responsibility lies only with the self, than the concern for the progressive and creative concept for the whole matrix doesn’t exist. Sometimes a solo dancer can’t see beyond her own contribution because it is a guaranteed habitual offering she can take to the bank. A dancer can’t offer what she doesn’t know how to give.

So this video will be a very personal endeavor for me because with the two shows I co-produced, the learning was like a psycho boot camp experience or being a first grader in elementary school and going straight to college. Either way I survived and I have a better sense of myself because of these experiences and I think I understand women better. It’s not all lolly pops and roses but at the end of a producing a huge theatrical show it can feel like winning an Olympic gold medal. With this video in mind maybe just maybe I can help you avoid some of the pit falls, walls and Diva attitudes that came my way. And when I say Diva attitudes I mean this for men as well. Is there such a word as Divo? Just doesn’t have the same impact though…………

Article News Alert!

I just wrote an article for Jareeda’s “Costume Article Contest” and I am very excited because the contest got my writing juices flowing and I wrote about my student photo shoot of last year. I gave it a different twist and it came out like a never before created Margarita with a twang to go with the twist. So cross your fingers for us and hopefully we will be in the running. Here is Jareeda’s website. Please support the Publisher and dancer extraordinaire, Mezdulene and subscribe to her magazine; www.jareeda.com

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 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!

Hip Mastery 6 Video Series

This morning I was thinking about what I would write in my blog and I thought I would bring the subject up of my Hip Mastery videos only because I haven’t really mentioned them much. I tend to create videos and edit them, give them to Daniel and then move on to the next project. The funny thing is that if Daniel asks me a question regarding a video I usually have to go back and look at it because I have made so many besides my curriculum classes that I am not sure how to answer him sometimes.

There are 6 videos in the Hip Mastery series that focus just on the hips. But the best part is that each video connects to the next one. So I didn’t want students trying to figure out how to work in movement and combinations without a guide. It just seemed to me that most women who are passionate about this dance want instruction that will help them get results.

I realized that living the life style of a belly dancer day in and day out means that there is no rest for the choreographer. I constantly think of combinations and different choreographies to share with dancers, it’s almost like a calling. I would rather make videos for dancers or teach workshops then perform because seeing women in the glory of their movement is where the spirit of belly dance lives for me. It’s in the learning process of moving within our bodies where I see the epiphanies come alive for women. To me the stage is the end result of a beautiful journey but it is so much fun watching women learn and grow along their path before they achieve their goals.

Hip Mastery is my answer to the questions that women have asked me about thrusts, mayas and shimmies. Add in soft moves, traveling steps and you can see why this is a 6 video series. To me they make “Belly Dance sense”.

Here’s the website in case you want to check them out. www.hipmastery.com

Drum Solo Choreography”Jibber Jam”

The drum solo choreography “Jibber Jam” is coming along and I am almost finished with it. My daughters first day of school is coming up so I will be able to finish the choreography and get it videotaped. I have to laugh though because I put together what I thought was a simple drum solo choreography and it’s not as simple as I thought. I am excited to offer music never heard before, text and a step by step choreographed video in a way that will make it easy to learn. This will be so cool once I get it done but as with all my projects it is taking a little longer then I thought. Hopefully within the next two weeks it will be done and I can blare my bugle and sing a song but only in the shower!

Where do I begin, it’s like this past weekend was a blur; my life passing before my eyes. Life as a belly dancer is really amazing because each workshop presents new adventures, friendships and opportunities. It’s almost like dance is a flower that opens up unfolding her pedals, fragrance and beauty with each of us. The more experiences we have, the more layers are shared becoming visible for the first time. Imagine being with Isis in all her glory and women becoming empowered in their own femininity meaning to remember ourselves and to know what it’s like to be in the company of women! Workshops help us remember what it was like to be amongst our own gender and relish within the synergy we create by only being together; this is unique and rare now, it is called magic.

The Goddess herself was apart of our celebration this my daughter and I experienced on the way to Floralia by way of 70 mile hour gusts of wind while driving there!! The Goddess came riding on Mother Natures winds so she could be apart of Floralia. She made her presence known! Such is the life of a belly dancer and why as dancers we can live no other life.

The weekend started off with the film “Belly” a documentary about belly dancing and being women in an ancient art form. It’s about recovery from illness and reclaiming your own individuality in dance while living in a modern world. I loved the film and highly recommend everyone watch it! The producers are a husband and belly dance wife team, Cecilia and Chad Rinn. On Friday we were able to dance to live music by James Yousif. I have not danced to live music for awhile and I have to tell you that there is nothing like an accomplished musician who knows how to play for dancers. That evening James played for his wife Nadia and I must say her grace to his melody was like seeing the Yin and Yang of belly dance. My surprise of the weekend was being in the company of Helena Vlahos who blew me away not only with her dancing but with her vast knowledge of our dance form. She has the grace, beauty and presence of Isis herself!

Friday, Saturday and Sunday classes were full of dancers bustling around the dance floor learning choreographies and movement and props. There was another evening show on Saturday and it was full of dancers from all walks of life performing one right after another either doing solos or troupe performances. My student Mariposa Azul did her dance début and I was so proud of her. She worked for months on a choreography I created just for her and she shined like the star I knew she was.

Belly dance made a statement that night, she said she is here to stay and she is alive and well in every dancer who graces the dance floors and stages with their artistry and talent. Every step, turn, hip movement tells the story of how old our dance form is. It’s wonderful to see how each dancer individually reminds us that dance is about our life stories and who we are as women, mothers, daughters, wives, sisters and aunts.

In saying all of this I cannot forget to mention the one woman who made it all possible and she is Selena Kareena. To have a vision and desire for something is one thing but to make it into a reality and share it with others is another. This just means one thing, only a Goddess could have made this happen. There was a presence to Floralia from the start and this presence was the heart of Selena. Her heart has no boundaries, conditions, limitations; she loves just for the sake of loving. She is a rare find in a friend and one I will always treasure! So from my heart to yours Selena, thank you so much for inviting me to your vision of the divine!

When Are The On Line Classes Going To Start…….

This is Dan, Leyla’s husband with an update about the start date of the ‘live’ on line classes.

Just as a summary and review. Last year we did a test and broadcast a live belly dance class across the internet. This class was very well received and we had dancers from Australia to Romania participate. The video quality was great, there weren’t any show stopping technical glitches and dancers liked the idea of having a DVD of the class for reference after the class.

As a result, both Leyla and I then decided that it would be a really good idea to provide these types of classes to dancers who…..

1. Didn’t have access to instruction due to their location.
2. Couldn’t find instruction that they felt comfortable with.
3. Didn’t want to go to the studio for personal, or other reasons.
4. Didn’t have the time in their schedule to take the time to travel back and forth

So the live classes initiative was born out of the desire to give dancers the opportunity to learn on “their time”.

Well, I’m happy to announce that all of the things that had been keeping these classes under wraps have pretty much been overcome and we’ll be starting these classes really, really, really, really soon. All the technical issues have been overcome, the curriculum is in place with only one thing left to do.

A Dancer Referral Program – The Last Ingredient

See, one of the things that I really have wanted to be a part of the live classes program is an opportunity for dancers to share the opportunity with some of their dance friends and earn a referral from doing so. This obviously helps us and gives you a way to share the joy and at the same time put some hard cold cash in your pocket. I know that dancers often refer different things to each other and this will allow anyone who wants to participate, do so and make some mad money at the same time.

Managing a program like this is a lot of work because it is important to have all the business systems in place that can support getting checks out to dancers on time and in the right amount. I’m a stickler for this kind of detail, so I guess I’m the hold up at this point.

I”m a stickler for detail and getting it as close to right the first time out of the gate and the last thing I want to have happen is for there to be a glitch of some sort that introduces inaccuracy or delays in the process, so before we put the seal of approval on anything we do, we test and then test again. We don’t always get it perfect right out of the shoot, but we like to test to know that at least we know of any bugs and have a work around.

The other thing is that Leyla is “Hip Scarf” deep in preparing for workshop later in April called Floralia, Belly Dance Festival For The Goddess. I can tell you that for every minute of what  you see Leyla do, there are hours of behind the scenes preparation. She’s every bit (if not more) a stickler for detail then I am. The workshop will conclude the first week in May.

Early Sign Up

The start of the classes will be in early May. We’ll open up signup’s for the live classes in the next 7 to 10 days.

We have a special page on Leyla’s main website that you can go to and learn more. It’s a pre-enrollment page so to speak. It’s good to go there if you are interested in live classes and do the pre-enrollment because the first time out of the gate, we’ll probably want to keep the class size small.

So here’s the link to pre-enroll.  Live Belly Dance Lessons Pre-Enrollment. If you pre-enroll, you’ll guarantee your place in the classes but you’ll also qualify for a special offer that we’re going to make available just for those that took the time to pre-enroll.

If you’ve already added your name and expressed your interest there’s no need to do anything. Just be on the lookout for the next message which will be all about how to register.

Hope his helps and if you have any questions feel free to send email, or reply to this post.

Both Leyla and I are always here for you.

So go check it out if you’re interested. It’s going to be a great, great, great program and is going to be so much more then  just live broadcasting.  Here’s the link again for pre-enrollment. Live Belly Dance Lessons Pre-Enrollment.

Dan

The Belly Dance Husband

Recently Daniel came to me and asked me if there were any tips I could share with dancers not only for their dancing but also for their practicing and drilling. So I thought about it and decided I would give tips that will help make a difference in the training aspect of dancing. It’s really in our preparation of dance that we start to understand ourselves so we can then go out and dance for the masses with confidence.

The tip that I am going to share with you is broad but it came to me because it is a common problem that we all have when we first start out dancing.  How we focus and work within our body starts out the habitual way we train. Most of my students won’t look at the whole enchilada (body) only a specific part of the body depending on what I am showing them. After you get the move down into your body then look at your image in the mirror and see how the rest of your body looks while you are working the combination or movement. When my students can’t see the whole body they have what I call “blinder” focus. It’s almost as if they are afraid to see how it looks in the totality of the body.

Practice for ten to fifteen minutes on a particular combination or traveling step. Then practice for ten to fifteen minutes looking at your whole body while doing the combination which includes, posture, arms, head positioning, legs, feet, lifted chest etc.

The purpose of this is to help you see what the audience is going to see once you are up on stage. It will also get the eyes up away from the floor which is another common problem beginner dancers have. But interestingly enough I found that some of my students didn’t want to see what they were doing and I had one student tell me it made her uncomfortable. I started to think about this and realized that as women sometimes we don’t look at ourselves because all we see is what we lack. Remember that this can affect your confidence and the success you have with your dance.

It’s obvious that women don’t want to see what they don’t like about themselves. Practice time is about healing and feeling good about yourself. So within the hour or two hours of practice look at your full image in the mirror and relax. All you have to do is relax; that’s easy and once you take you in with no judgement then you will start to see a new you emerge that feels better not just about  dance but life in general.

You can’t practice and feel bad about yourself. All you will do is feel bad about practice. So change your mindset and go for your dream or goal. If you are able to stand in front of a mirror and dance, you already have something to be grateful for which is your  two legs to stand on.

Remember your four cornerstones; emotions, mind, body and spirit have to be fed equally. So look at practice time as a way of feeding yourself a gigantic spoon full of confidence, acceptance, and forgiveness. Once you let go of what you don’t like, then what you do like will start to emerge and there is nothing more beautiful on stage then a confident, happy, in the moment dancer. So I’m going to end with my favorite saying which says it all; when life gives you lemons make orange juice and make the world wonder how the hell you did it!

Today I received an email message from Maxcast about recent video player issues. Apparently a recent browser upgrade to Firefox caused some conflicts which has caused playback issues.

To resolve these issues they have issued a new version of the player.  Everyone should install this new version.  Here’s the exact instructions

2.  After the above uninstall of the player, install MoveMediaPlayerWin_071701000002.exe.

Here’s the link to the download of the new media player—New Media Player

Browse to the saved download and double click to Run.  Go back to Firefox and navigate to a Maxcast channel to confirm it worked.

Please post any questions you may have in the post and I’ll respond promptly.

Dan

The Belly Dance Husband