Student to Student: Dance on Thru to the Other Side

(Najla's note:  Our guest post for the day is written by one of my lovely students, Krysta.  She's talented, witty, charming, uber-cute and quite enraptured by dance of all shapes and sizes...perfect for belly dance, right?  She wrote the lovely post below, and I picked the picture below...hee...hee)

Step.  Ball-Change.  Sache Right.  Oh hell.  Step.  Ball-change.  Shimmy, Drop.  No.  Step.  Ball-change.  I. Give. Up.  I.  Need. A. Drink.

Whether you’re a beginner or a veteran dancer, you have probably had a similar thought process while trying to master difficult choreography – or choreography that doesn’t necessarily come naturally to you.  Fear not my frustrated comrade, you are not the first or the last to feel the hopelessness of a blank memory when trying desperately to coax your arms and legs into the right formation in the right rhythm while the rest of your company kicks and smacks you while perfectly executing every turn, leap and shimmy across the studio floor.

Below are several helpful things to keep in mind while negotiating your way to the end of this agonizing class or rehearsal. 

Look and Listen
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen dancers try to dance a new choreography WITH the teacher while s/he is teaching it for the first time. I realize that people learn differently, but there is a lot to be said about watching and observing the moves you are about to spend an hour and a half (or three) working on. Take the physical break while you can get it, sister! It also helps to listen to your instructor, as they often mention small details and nuances of the choreography as they dance the routine (and sometimes even beforehand). If you’re already in the middle of actually learning the routine, it is completely acceptable to stop, step to the side, and watch the movement so that you can process it before jumping back in.

Do not give up, dismiss yourself or berate yourself.
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Whether you think can, or you think you can’t, you’re probably right.” You are not Suzie-Q Dance-a-Roo next to, in front of, or behind you. She has a different past, present and future. Do not concern yourself with comparisons or self-deprecation. Those sorts of negative thoughts clutter the mind, and do not allow space for the choreography you should be learning right now. Get out of your own way. (And the way of your neighboring dancer).

Breathe.
I, like many others, forget to breathe – as a dancer and as a human. When you make sure to remember to integrate your breath into your movement, your body can associate the movement with the sequence of the breath. Breathing also increases the quality of your movement.

You are not alone.
Suzie-Q Dance-a-Roo may be dancing circles around you and the teacher, but have you considered the 10 other dancers who are either working through the same section as you are…or perhaps a section you’ve mastered?

Tomorrow is another day.
We all have off-days. Now, off-days are not an excuse for poor work-ethic, but they do happen, and it’s important to be forgiving of yourself if you’re having one. Keep working through it, stop when you need to, and jump in when you’re ready. (This is not a way to allow yourself to give up either, by the way.)

As with most things, at the heart of it all, if you just continue to do your work with positivity and optimism, you’ll surprise yourself one day with the perfect execution of your routine. And, I’m sure you’ve heard this a thousand times before in performance and rehearsal….but don’t forget to smile!

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.  

Time for a deep breath

Preparing for a performance at any level can be tiring, even down right exhausting. Performing with a group of 10, to non-traditional belly dance music, with costumes to make and steps to perfect could, in essence, suck the life out of you. However, if you can find that sweet spot between creative inspiration and group collaboration, the experience is different. It's an exciting, joyful ride that leaves you a little breathless at the end. Such was my feeling after this weekend.

Friday's show marked the debut of my first big performance and choreography since leaving Troupe Mirage, and showcased Baharat Belly Dance Ensemble. I took the name of my student troupe and expanded it a bit. It was the perfect solution for me because right here and now, I need a group over which I have creative control...just to keep me sane. So, I took students from my class and brought in dancers from the community that I respect and enjoy (as dancers and friends) and mixed up a whole new concept. Consider it my version of a belly dance hook-up. Minimal obligations for invited dancers, limited commitments, but maximum rewards!

The wonderful part of this journey was the enthusiasm and professionalism of all the dancers. They showed up early, stayed late to practice as needed, volunteered to help out and kept me posted on their schedules on a regular basis. And the relief I felt in knowing that everyone would follow through on their promises was priceless...really priceless. There were so much time before we performed (we got to close the show) where I had nothing to do...nothing! I just could sit and relax. No stress or worries! In fact, minutes before we went on stage I found myself counting dancers (there were ten of us you know...), not because I was afraid someone would go missing, but because I needed something to think about to occupy my time. And like counting sheep, counting dancers actually had a calming effect on my nervous (actually excited) energy.

And the costumes! Seriously very hot. We chose a take on menswear, but with a girly twist to go with our Michael Buble song. My favorite part of the whole costume making experience (yes we made all of these), was the group effort. I can say that in every costume there is a little piece of each dancer. We picked a couple of days for a sewing marathon and banged out costumes in an assembly line process. One person cut, another stitched, another ironed. Buttons and other bling were carefully added by another person. It was a community effort and such a bonding experience. And just what I needed to give my creative spirits a lift this year. I plan to do more collaborations and involve other dancers in the community. Right now, I need a little sleep, a little rest and nice big breath!

My new anthem

So what happens when you're told as a belly dancer that there will be a show coming up but the catch is not using belly dance music. Well, the wheels start turning, you consider all the possibilities and then--wham--inspiration hits.

Last fall when Austin Belly Dance Association announced a "Jukebox" belly dance show in January, I was excited about the possibility. My students were more than eager, and their music suggestions were numerous, varied and frankly a little overwhelming. I was torn between something jazzy and a Janet Jackson song when a little bit of serendipity came into play.

The lovely Naima, who's blog I read on a regular basis, posted a video with this song. Seriously, it was like God speaking to me when I watched it (maybe not in such a serious tone)...but it felt like divine inspiration. I've always loved this song and I've always wanted to perform it, but never had the right venue, or the right group of dancers...until now.

So here we are three months later, the show is this Friday and damn! It's been all-consuming, between the practices and the costumes (wow...the costumes...including fedoras), but it has been , uplifting and so inspirational. And yes, I stole several of Michael's moves for the performance (in particular see minute 2:37 below). We've got ten dancers, we're closing a really big show at the Dougherty Arts Center and we're going to kick butt. I've never seen a group of women so excited about what they are performing, wearing, and the amount of cleavage involved.

I've decided this is my anthem for the new year. So if you see me and wonder how I'm feeling, please refer the clip below.

Family slide show

If you think about all the time we spend together as dancers, we really are an extended family, one that grew a lot last year. So, just pretend you came over for dinner, we've finished dessert and I'm bringing out slides of the family vacation. Thanks to Valerie for the lovely shots, and if you missed the show just know that we had wayyy too much fun without you, hah! We were missing Dana Winn this week (sigh), but she'll be back in February after finishing some work related training...remember, we are beautiful and smart and we have to work at both constantly! Without further ado, our first foray into the spring 2009 season:

Part of the troupe performing our opener (and yes, Eva Tennessee was feeling particularly fabulous!). We did this number (half choreo, half improv) last semester and decided to give it one more try. The goal is to look coordinated...at specific times. We're still working on that one though ;-)

The entire gang at the end of the number, and for the astute reader you'll notice that I did lose my veil wrap early on. For the creative ones in the group, just imagine hot pink, four-yard silk. It was stunning...and you should imagine it the same way.

The beautiful Katarina opened the show performing her first official 'duet' (wink, wink). She normally does very percussive, drum-solo pieces but was actually feeling much more lyrical last night. Hmmm...wonder why...could it be that fabulous glow she's sporting these days? We can't wait to meet the new kitten this spring and introduce her to the stage as well.

Zanjabil did a wonderful performance incorporating floor work (intentional this time), veil and some great combinations at the end. I can't believe it's just been one year since she joined the troupe...our baby has grown up (sniff, sniff) and looking so smokin' hot!

Then it was time for me, and I decided at the last minute to perform a cane number. What are some of the rules you shouldn't break when performing? Try dancing to a song you don't know really well, with a prop that is new, in a costume you haven't worn before. Well I 'went rogue' and just broke all of them in one fell swoop! Oddly enough this is the only pic where I'm not laughing out loud. Apparently the whole situation kept me amused while dancing. Can't wait to see this video!

Our first guest of the evening was one of my intermediate students (you'll probably recognize the veil). I was soooo proud of Tiffany because she decided on Sunday (yes, four days before the show) to perform...impromptu...and with veil. Major kudos because this was her second solo ever, and the first one was entirely choreographed. I think she was secretly waiting for the chance to try out her new turquoise holographic costume because that's not something you can pull off at work...or even cocktail parties.

Sherry brought out the sex kitten charm again, wearing one of her (and our) favorite costumes. Funny thing is, I remember when she joined the troupe and we all suggested she accessorize more...now we can't stop the glitz and glam on her (and would not dare!). Who says engineers aren't hot????

Nisaba always charms the crowd with her enthusiasm (and usually zils). I'm loving her new hair style which is a little hard to see in this photo but very sassy and cute in person!

Alana Shea performed as our second guest, and it was appropriate since this was her second solo on our stage. Her style is a wonderful fusion of various dance forms combined with some really beautifully athletic and graceful movements. We'll certainly have to see her on our stage again soon!

The always beautiful Jeanette pulled out the charm and coquettish moves that she has really perfected in this dance form. And of course, no one does purple as well as she does!

Our last Mirage soloist of the evening was Eva Tennessee. She is also celebrating her one year anniversary of joining the troupe. I remember this time last year, she was so worried that her style wouldn't be traditional enough. It's taken a little coaxing (actually...not much) for her to just really do what she does best, which is 'modern belly dance'. This is what happens when someone with a modern dance background moves into belly dance, and it is pure art!

Our last guest of the evening was Rania. It's been quite a while since she joined us as a guest, because up until recently she's been a member of the troupe. It was a little bittersweet because we'll miss having her around. She's just spending more time on her dance practice and performances, and troupe practice was a tough commitment to work in. She'll still be back for more dancing and always has an open invitation to come perform at shows so don't be surprised if she pops up again (soon I hope!).

The final act of the show was a trio consisting of myself, Sherry and Zanjabil. We wanted to perform the same choreography that gave me such grief last year. I love it dearly, but it was a difficult one to work out, and I am entranced by the final result. When we get it posted on YouTube, I'll let you know. This by the way, was the same number we performed in the Middle Eastern Troupe Competition last August and won second place (we barely missed first!). Elena Lentini was one of the judges and she told us "you have found the mystery, fabulous". I could have cried with those words...Elena is so amazing and talented and it was such an honor to hear her compliments.

Merry Christmas Baby!

It may be a little late for a holiday greeting, but not too late to watch some of the fun we had last December at our year end show. It's become a little tradition of ours to include a special holiday belly dance number, and to give it all the serious creative energy we can put into one performance. Here's our nod at a truly, 'American Cabaret' number.

Enjoy, and don't forget our Spring season starts this Thursday at 7:30 p.m.!

I'll yearn no more...

Whew, it's finally over. I swear that this last choreography has taken more time to complete then anything else I could imagine. We were supposed to perform this in March, and it got moved (twice now) until our May 1 show. The biggest dilemma I had with this number wasn't inspiration but rather selection.

My favorite choreographies (and the biggest crowd pleasers) are the ones that usually come from a musical phrase in a song that I feel passionate about. So for this number, I had that inspiration and idea from the start, but every section was just such an effort to finalize. I can't tell you how many times I reworked just 4-8 counts in some parts! I had more ideas than I could count, but I didn't really love most of them.

And here I was tonight, dreading going to practice because I didn't have the ending...after all this time. I hate to let people down, and I wanted so badly to have it all tied up so neatly. I even left work early in hopes of finding that last minute inspiration. (note to self...rushing inspiration is never a good idea). And it just didn't come...no great ideas, no wonderful movements...the only good thing is I didn't do any damage in the house. (This is a sword number by the way)

My solution? It was there all along...you just phone a friend, or in this case ask the group. As it turns out, all I needed was someone to help me with a few counts, an idea, an interpretation of the song, a fresh eye and ear to the music. In less than 15 minutes we accomplished as a group what I haven't been able to do in close to a month alone. Thanks ladies!!!!

Now some of you may think that's a hard pill to swallow--when someone else comes in and makes it all look so easy when you've been struggling. But here's my take on that. Sometimes we struggle because we haven't learned to let go and allow our inspiration to come from other sources and other people. So, come see for yourself the result of our efforts on May 1...we've got floor work, sword work, yearning, passion and in this case, completion!

Choregraphy, part 4????

Okay, I'm back to the whole choreography story again. You see, we're still in the process of working on the number that we will be performing on March 20. And, I'm only a little over half way through detailing all the steps and pieces for it.

One of the hardest parts is trying to work on staging and positions for so many people at one time. I don't have enough cats to cover all the dancers (thank goodness), and they don't do well taking instructions from me. Now, they are wonderful at improvisational forms of movement and dance but just don't ask them to repeat what I try to teach! So, I'm often left trying to figure out how to take some great idea in my head and transform it into reality with six to nine dancers on any given occasion, it's quite a brain twister.

So tonight's only goal was to rework the beginning of the number, really only the first minute or so. I had ideally wanted everyone to do floor work at the beginning however it’s not a given for all dancers. So, in order to make sure it worked for everyone…it was back to the drawing board.

Now some people may think that would be an inconvenience and not worth the effort. However, I like to think of it as a greater challenge. It’s like someone reads a paragraph you wrote and says this is good, but you can’t use these five words in it…come back when you have it rewritten. It forces you to distill down the essence of the movement or the feeling you’re trying to capture and rework (or rewrite) until you come up with a better product.

And tonight although we didn't make substantial progress in the number we did come up with some nice movements that will be fabulous on stage. It was nice, easy and collaborative evening and I think we walked away feeling productive. We still have some floor work included (my thighs are killing me tonight) but we also have some new height dimensions that weren’t there in the original plan. The good news is that we still have three more practices to finalize everything and I have three more weeks to work out details if needed, yeah!

Creativity continued...

Okay, so this blogging thing is actually starting to groove for me a little more. Last night I managed to send out two (yeah) posts within a short period of time. In just a little over six weeks I have now surpassed my total posts for 2007. I admit, it wasn’t a tough record to beat but you have to find the challenge, the kudos and the excitement where you can. So, imagine my surprise to find out that someone had read my recent posts, and felt obliged to comment back and add their whole take on the creative process (thanks Debra). So, here are just a few things that now come to mind after reading her notes…

It is one thing to be creative and give into that process. However for me, it takes on a different meaning and purpose when you are trying to be creative in a set time, for a set format where it’s not a matter of if your work will be displayed publicly but rather when. There is also a responsibility related to those who must end up dancing and performing your work (for example forcing people to hop when they don’t like to…). And now, with nine of us in the troupe I’m having difficulty finding a balance between just getting a basic, sound choreography complete that everyone can remember and skillfully dance and my desire to add the unpredictable, the more organic, less patterned staging that I dearly love in the dance. So, that’s my dilemma in a nut shell.

But, I’ll figure it out; my short term solution is to wait one week before teaching anything. Now that the song is decided (for me at least), I can let it filter in and out of my brain for a few days…I’m humming it at work and sneaking little practices moves in the bathroom at work, and I’ll be dancing it in my car numerous times.
After a few days, I’m sure it will all percolate into something good, solid and exciting…and since I have all the faith in the world creatively with my fellow dancers, we will make it work, regardless.

My other final note…when I mentioned the great deal on shoes, I wasn’t talking cheap Payless styles…these were lovely fashions, and yes I’m on my second pair (you can't just buy them and not wear them immediately) today and yes…my feet have been hurting, but it’s such a good hurt ;-)

Bare feet may be best.

Okay, after trying on several pairs of shoes I remembered that I do my best thinking barefoot (and actually bra-less but that's another story). I must have been distracted by my recent shoe purchase over the weekend where I bagged not one, or two...but three new pair of heels for a low, low price of $20. (Yeah, let that settle in ladies). It was meant to be, they were my size, they were on sale, and I had a coupon...I think women don't really find their shoes...the shoes find them. **See, and I'm distracted once again, argh!**

The whole point of this second post (in such a short time if you didn't notice) was to talk about finding inspiration to not only dance, but choreograph a dance for others. And, although I can do it under pressure if needed, I prefer for the music to speak to me. Some of my favorite choreographies started out with one musical phrase, less than 8 counts of music...something that I couldn't let go of and wanted to expand it to an entire piece. Really, it's like picking out your outfit based on your shoes first (god, I'm channeling Sex in the City now) or picking a vacation destination because of something you bought...but in the case of dance, it can work, and work well.

I really believe you cannot dance to something you don't feel inspired by, and just picking a number because it is a certain time frame, or it meets the style criteria you're seeking is just a recipe for disaster. It sets up the dancer to get bored quickly, become disengaged and just go through the motions. We may not want to admit it, but we've all been there at one time or another, and it just plain sucks, for us and even the audience. They may politely tell you the dancing was lovely, or that you looked pretty...but even when we can't put our finger on what we didn't like about a dance, we walk away a little hungry...and wanting more of something we may not be able to name.

I also think there is a formula to good choreography. You need music that has changes, ups, downs, fast and slow to keep people interested. You need to change the dynamic of the dancers and sometimes move with the rhythm and occasionally against it. I also love the idea of juxtaposing crisp sharp, traditional movements with some elements of randomness, chaos and ambiguity. That's the hardest part of all since it requires all the dancers in the troupe to let you of their need to control each and every movement and surrended to the notion that the choreography will never be exactly the same each time.

So, I feel this enormous pressure to come up with great choregraphies that everyone will love and passionately perform, and have all of my required elements from above. I want the drama, the excitement and the sense that you can't predict what we'll do next. I want the audience to sit on the edge of their seats and think, "Wow, I didn't know belly dance was like this!". Hence the waffling between music and ideas. But, once I settled out of my shoes, and let my feet uncurl (we are talking heels here) on the bare floor...I'm feeling more inspired and motivated.

The piece of music that I came back to is oddly enough one that I started thinking about last year. I literally heard it one time and could envision an entire number off of a few notes, and without sounding too goofy...it literally moved me. Really, I'm not joking here. I felt a wave of emotion and feeling sweep through body, my breathing deepened and relaxed and I practically melted into a puddle. The song is called Yearning, and boy oh boy...I yearned! I've danced to it twice in solo performances and although I think I did a good job, I didn't have it dialed in...and I walked away feeling as if I let the music down. Which is why I've been hesitant to pick this piece for a choreography...it makes me wonder if I'm just better at putting together numbers for everyone else versus dancing them myself. So, stay tuned and I'll try to keep you posted on how this number goes for us!

Are shoes the secret to inspiration?

The business of belly dancing can be tough, it takes work, effort and a constant desire to seek new inspiration...whew!!!! Trust me, it's easy to fall into a rut, and then throw something together and go dance. After all, this is a dance born from improvisation, feeling, and truly living in the moment, right?

Well, improvisation is great, but it doesn't work with groups or students. So here I am, stuck in a non-creative, anti-inspirational mood trying to be creative and inspirational and feeling quite forced in the process. It's a lot of pressure and all it is doing is pushing me to procrastinate. I had it all planned out, I would stay home from my martial arts class tonight and work on the next choreography for Mirage. I was really happy with the last one (Entrance of the Stars) and excited that we will actually have 6 weeks to work on our next number. That means lots of time to perfect, memorize, and gel as a group, right? It all sounds great unless you're the one sitting here...trying on shoes and getting nothing else done for the evening. Nada, zippo, nil...nothing.

So why the shoes? Well, it was better than facing the fact that I haven't even gotten my trash out yet tonight...and it was a small way of rewarding myself for at least making a final decision on a song. Yep, I've been through about six of them tonight...and I've gone from Indian fusion to sword fusion to traditional cane to cane (with a fusion twist) to sword and cane (combined)....and at last settled back to a sword number with a little veil thrown in. All that waffling has worn me out and now I'm just trying to decide what to wear tomorrow, and that's starting with my shoes (which by the way are pinching...so these guys may not make the cut).

I figure if I can at least nail down a piece of my wardrobe, that will be enough decision making for the evening so I can go to bed semi-content, at least until morning when I will probably pick a different pair of shoes irregardless of all this modeling tonight. If my shoes would provide me with inspiration for dancing, I'd be set...but they aren't, so here I sit...and off to the closet to try on the next pair. If I'm lucky I'll do it while listening to my semi-final choice of music. Oddly enough it is called Yearning...which is what I'm feeling while waiting for my dance muse.