Fall 2010 Classes

Well, I'm getting all geared up for some cooler weather and much warmer, sultry belly dance moves!  Come join me this fall for beginner and intermediate level classes at Tarrytown Dance.  You can register online and then just show up for the next available class.  Please note, the studio is making a move the first of October...and we'll have a larger and more wonderful space to dance out of very soon!

Happy Shimmies
Najla

Name That Tune

In a bizarre string of bad technological breaks, I have just spent four days of my life sifting and sorting through my music files on iTunes.   It all started with the addition of a new computer, and my overly naive belief that transferring my music from the old to the new would be simple, easy, and painless.  

Attempt number one resulted in the duplication (and triplication...if that's such a word) of the majority of my files.  So, instead of approximately 3,500 music files my folder showed close to 8,000. Two days of sifting, sorting and playing files resulted in a clean organized system.  Somewhere along the way I also learned that I could have purchased a $20 program to transfer the files, playlists and CDs in a more civilized manner. Too bad I didn't get that memo sooner.

The most difficult part was sorting through approximately 300 music files that had no name, no album and no home.  But, to my amazement and surprise I managed to find all of the files a home and I discovered how well I really do know my belly dance music. I was proud of my ability to 'name that tune' because I had  to listen to each snippet and then figure out what album it belonged with.  In many cases, it was a duplicate so I could just match up the times and delete the extra copy.  In some cases I had to play it over and over again, and even 'dance' the music a bit to figure out when and where I had used that song before. 

In a strange twist of fate, the next time I turned on my computer it asked me if I wanted to search for any music files to add to  iTunes.  Sleep apparently causes a memory loss, so instead of shrugging off that suggestion I told my computer, 'yes' and then watched in horror as my two days of work unraveled before my very eyes.  And now, two days further into this misadventure I am finally back to a clean set of files, with all my songs in their proper home, all my CDs with the appropriate artwork and a sense of wonder over my ability to sort through so many songs and know their name without hints.

I think back to when I first started dancing and didn't know anything about the music.  Everything ran together, I didn't have an ear for the difference in rhythms, instruments, composers or musicians.  Apparently all these years of immersing myself in the music has paid off.  I noticed this last week when I watched a show and could name the songs of most every dancer performing.  It was nice to sit there and think "ok, that's Ya Mustafa" or "hmmm...such a nice take on Jalilah's version of 1,001 nights" and although I don't want to play "name that tune" with my CDs ever again I'm feeling quite proud of my musical knowledge and acumen.  

So Internet, I dare you...could you take 100 songs off your iTunes list and name them all without peeking at the label or artist?  It's a daunting challenge but I suspect you're up to it!

Channeling Dalia Carella

Instead of channeling spirits from the past, apparently I have the capacity to channel live ones.  This weekend was Z-Helene and Rick Fink's 6th Annual Middle Eastern Troupe Competition and Dalia Carella was not only a guest judge but also taught several workshops.  Now I confess that I know her name and reputation but never took any classes from her and maybe watched a handful of videos of her.  I know that she is immensely talented and well respected in the dance community and that I would be foolish to miss a class with her...especially when it was less than five minutes away from my house.

What I was not prepared for, was how much I loved her class and absolutely LOVED the way she moved.  She's now on my short list for future workshops and classes.  We learned a short choreography to Ghannalli which was not only challenging, but really fun to perform.  The most surprising fact is that today, after sleeping...I remember the whole thing!  Yes, craziness!!!!   I'm great at learning choreographies and pick them up quickly, but rarely do I remember one after a workshop.  My mind only retains pieces that I like, and the rest falls away. And since I don't typically perform another dancer's choreography I never think twice about it.

However, for some reason this one stuck.  So, on a whim I downloaded the music and decided to teach it to my intermediate class tonight. Since most of them performed in the showcase last night, I knew it would be a small group and I thought this would be a treat for the dedicated ones who showed up.  And when I ran through it the first time, they all laughed.  Not because I did a bad job, but they said it was a "Najla" choreography if they had ever seen one.  And , as I broke down each move I realized that so many of them indeed were already in pieces they had learned.  All the way down to certain small kicks and hand flourishes. It was eerie in the similarities.  In fact, it was so eerie that my students had the number down in about 45 minutes (the workshop was 2.5 hours)...simply because they already knew the steps!

So, apparently I have been channeling Dalia all along and didn't realize it.  Her movements and choreography were so in tune with the way I dance that I was quite giggly tonight over that realization.  It's like finding the mother ship without even knowing that I had one.  Now, my challenge may be to finish the choreography (we only learned about a third) and then see if anyone can spot the authentic "Dalia" moves versus the "Najla" ones.