A New Year...

Welcome 2011:::...
I am looking forward to what this year hopes to bring in the world of dance for me and my students.

Last year ended with a bang with the students dancing at Alauda.  What an awesome event and venue for students to stretch there wings.  It was so fun to have 9 of us up on stage dancing from all the student levels and everyone was so wonderful in giving it a try in the spot they were best suited for in the performance. 
On a personal note, switching up to only one dance in the performance for me was a good thing - firstly, to help show case the students; secondly, falling on my knees just an hour before hand made it even better that it was only one song for me.  Made it nice on another note for me to be able to see what was going on from the chorus from the "teachers point of view"...and wow, what I saw from the back, looked far different from the front, while there were hiccups as expected, I was quite pleased. :)

I see lots of potential in my students and I have lots of things in the works to help them amp up their game even more.  I am just trying to put all the pieces together to formalize some stuff for them. :D

The new series started with some fresh new faces that had never done belly dance or had tried ATS, so this is exciting to be able to share what I love with fresh hearts too.

So in the world of dance for me....I have my passion, I have my escape, and I have WONDERFUL students/dancers that are learning what I love and doing so beautifully...I am a proud Tribal Momma.  They ROCK!!!

Along with the students abilities and commitments...I want to acknowledge their family members/partners that have been so encouraging and supportive of them in their dance venture.  I cannot THANK them enough either and they need to be acknowledged for their part in this adventure!!!!  You Rock Too!

'tis the season...

to be jolly...
I think so.  Well the dance season is a jolly time for me. 

I am thrilled at the progression of my students, their commitment, and desires.  Gads, I just sound like a proud "momma" but I am. :)

This was week two of all the Levels new series.  It was a delight to see all the new and returning faces with the added diversity to my students.  Niiiice!!!!

Plus, a new experience for the babies was dancing with live musicians.  Fortunately, these musicians are excellent in working with dancers especially newbies.  They lead the way nicely and responded to my cue when needed...and the student dancers were none the wiser on what happened, they were just dancing having a good time.  What a great experience in all!!!

I couldn't have been more pleased.

I do have to say having someone dis'd my male dancer for being a dancer, as I later found out, did upset me.  People are so ignorant and I am guessing "threatened" by this??? I don't know but it was uncalled for and rude. 

I also found out my dancer heard this comment and it affected him deeply.  This made me sad, but he understands that he is a unique member to this dance community and people especially other men can be confused and "threatened" by men who like to dance especially belly dance.  Plus, having the misconception that all male dancers are gay...WRONG!!!

Anyway, I goat trailed a bit, I couldn't be more proud of all my dancers, they are the true spirit of the dance and they love to share it too!!!!

Namaste'

More growth and direction coming down the primrose path...

Actually it is coming down the dancing path of some hard knocks and frustrations and brain overload, but the end result always makes the trip worth it.

I couldn't be more excited on various different levels for the start of the Level 3 classes in my Sister Studioship...I just am now starting to feel like the teacher I know I am.  I have felt challenged all along the way in myself with teaching this dance and trying to show the joy that comes from it but also the joy I personally get from it.  Now, I am "feeling" like I am starting to truly see the results of it from people sharing the same joys.  New challenges, new movements, new everything but coming from a more grounded dance form is making it fun for me and that good kind of challenge for me and hopefully positive growths for my students.

We are all synching up, but in a manner that is non-restrictive.  Both in dancing in general with whomever you wish to dance, and dancing with ucanto. 

I am a firm believer in having fun while we dance, but I want to have the best dancing we can have too.  Not just dancing around the "Bonfire" feel all the time when we are supposed to be in performance mode.  However, with that - I work hard to be inclusive of all levels of dancers in that performance.  Beginners need that chance to shine too and the more seasoned get to stretch those wings a bit more.

I don't ever put anyone outside their actual level of skill, even if they think they aren't "worthy" yet.  But I also am currently allowing students to stretch their capabilities if they so chose.  It is made perfectly clear the venues we are performing at currently are relaxed, pressure free enviroments for the dance.  But, when it comes time for more "finessed" performances, bigger audiences, more critical eyes that are paying for what they are getting, the expectation for that level of performance will to rise to the level.  I am seeing that drive in my students to rise to that level...I couldn't be more pleased by that drive.

The first class in Level 3 got the students moving in ways they hadn't fully yet, but I started them with a "familiar" that might have presented itself to them in other dance classes, and they all took to it like ducks to water.  But I did team a lesser known movement to learn too...so a taste test of each to get their feet wet in this water pond. ;)

So the first step down this path of creativity and more expression has been taken.  I can't wait to see how the students take it down their own personal paths yet we all share in the creativity together with one another.  The results may well be ..... to infinity and beyond.

Happy place. :)

 

to ATS or not to ATS...what is the question?

A lot has happened in a short period of time that has inadvertently created so much uproar and uncertainty in our dance we aren't sure what is going on now or so it seemed.

A freedom in creativity was given to those that teach and perform ATS, specifically the FatChance format, but it drew lots of comments, emotions, and down right ridicule from many people (personally that isn't good).  However, natural responses to something they didn't know was coming and ended up not understanding initially.  Doesn't make it right...it just is.

For me, the response ended up being deeper felt emotion based on the time it came out than it might have been any other time.  The combination of dealing with the last minute details of my Father's death and service were coming to a head when this hit. 
It was more than I could possibly comprehend and deal with when I didn't understand what was going on.  Of course, I am not unintelligent by any stretch of the imagination, but timing caused it to be more than I could digest quickly and move forward.  So my emotions took over for a short period...which I had to allow myself to feel, even if it was based on confusion from my Father's stuff and the dance stuff combined.

Once I allowed myself to just feel whatever in the moment, it started to level itself out.  I saw and understood the intent completely and welcomed it with open arms, but I have to say with some of the situations that are in my backyard - I will just have to wait and see what is going on with this new found freedom and how it is going to be interpreted and handled.  I am looking and hoping for the best...

For me...
I am going to keep going the course with the dance I love and allow whatever innovative stuff that comes from it to come.  Keeping true to the format, the aesthetic, and the intent that FatChance created to begin with...period.

I love this dance, I love the people that created it, and I love what it created as a whole.

There are always "bad apples" in the bunch, but hey...let them sort themselves out and let them make applesauce, while the rest pursues to be the apple pie or the apple crisp.

We are all apples in the bunch, we just get to be made up differently based on our intentions and personal desires which is a whole other recipe for expansion in our dance. :)

Retro? or just never moved forward?

Ok, this is a random post about dance in general.  Yes the focus is still more on belly dance but it has the overview of just dance and its progressions.

It is amazing to see the level of athletics in dance now, not that dance never was an athletic "sport" or art form, but the heights that are reached and are pushing the human boundaries go way beyond anything we imagined even as little as 20 years ago.

When I sit a watch shows like "So You Think You Can Dance" - I am astounded at the abilities and the drive that dancers have now.  Now this is no way diminishes the likes of Baryshnikov and such.  Those dancers actually were way before their time even, but because of those types of dancers we have dancers now that just seem to defy gravity, and physics as well as the constraints of their own body.  They truly soar and excel.  So, what does the future bring...omg.

I have to say there are times I wish that I had followed my dream more to the letter, but in all honesty...I did - just in a slightly different way, but I am digressing here.

The one thing that I am a bit bothered by in dance when it comes to belly dance is the feeling of getting lost in a time period.  I love the fact that people experiment with costuming and try to bring the looks forward to the present and future, but with it comes a "genre" tag.  (i.e. Gothic, ATS, Tribal Fusion, Baltic/Gypsy Fusion, etc.) But when traditional belly dance appears it looks like it just stalled in the past...somewhere around the 70s.  In all honesty, it looks cheezy to me and that is sad when the dancing is quite good...the cheeziness of the retro costuming (when not meant to be Retro) overshadows the dance.

Now, that might seem an odd statement cause "traditional" means "such and such."  But yet when I see what I interpret as traditional it doesn't look like it crawled out of the 70s, it has a more ethnic feel or geographic stamp to the period or region it comes from around the world.  Traditional (to me) is not hot pink with maribou feathers and tons of glitter and sequins...while yes, some of that is what is considered performance attire even in the Middle East where ever it is an accepted dance form...it still looks like it never grew up into the present time.

I do like, as I stated, those trying to bring belly dance to a fashion forward arena but even in efforts to be edgy it can be over-the-top and honestly distracting.  Or is that the point?  The costume is to shine not the dance ability or lack of ability?

I love costuming, I love to have fun in costuming in whatever means the costume applies but the old word "edit" keeps coming to mind.  Some times less really is more even in belly dance, but I am not meaning the amount of costuming coverage but more the aesthetic of the costume itself. :)

It is a hard thing to try to legitimize an art form, it is even harder when it looks like it is still in the 70s and people try to associate it with the overtly sexual dancing of striptease, especially when it has been brought into striptease as a theme.  So, while belly dance is slowly gaining acceptance via ATS and some of the edgier genres that have emerged, it still has a stigma attached especially when viewed in what seems to be a time warp.

I don't have a solution, nor would I ever profess to have one.  I just know it is difficult at times to see something you enjoy...dance, and a specific dance form that I participate in be caught in this time warp.

Something to consider and think about?  I would hope so, but for now, I do what I enjoy doing.  I support all other dancers in their efforts to express, even if they are in a time warp. ;)

Personal opinion only here and observation.

Focus, focus, focus

Focus is the theme, technique is the challenge, and fun is the desired result.

After having so many things happening lately for the students, with a performance at MedFest, a performance at Tribal Regale, a performance at Pearls of the East, and a their first performance at Cues & Tattoos this year.  It is time for the lessons learned via these performances to be put into perspective.

Now, it is understood what happens in ATS, why is it structured the way it is, and why it is important to be clear in cues.  Fun is a result of the connections of those dancing but these other things now have more meaning and importance in the dance now.

I feel like I have taken these "new to ATS" baby dancers a long way in a short time, but now it is my responsibility to refine them, make them better at what they have come to love.  To represent not only themselves, but to be able to represent what ATS means in its finest forms.  And of course the ultimate to properly represent the lady(s) that started this whole thing.  That is my most important task at hand to be the guide along the way to get where the students are going and do it properly and proudly.

I am totally thrilled at the level of commitment I have come to see from the students that have come, gone, and come back into the class.  Yes, the come and go thing is the reality check that "life" happens. :)

To see not only the time and effort to get to my class commitment but the level of commitment in the class.

So, babbling aside, what does this mean?

Focus was not an issue but concentration in the specifics within a movement is going to be tweaked, torqued, and adjusted.  The techiques will be drilled and refined to their finest. 

Funny all these rather complex thoughts, formulations, configurations, and procedures that have been finding their course in my head and in actions in the class seemed to have disappeared when putting "pen to paper" in sharing what I have in mind.  Complexities traverse the brain but sharing them seemed to have found the simplest form.

I guess any profoundness that I might have shared will have to wait for now...for the brain has halted all exiting thoughts currently.

The only thing I know this whole process is going to not only guide my students but will refine my own abilities even more.  Win/win.

Be careful what you ask for....

one of my students, who just is beyond ecstatic about dancing, asked after MedFest when the next time would be they could dance....well...TADA...

Dancing came up for a local Tribal Hafla and the potential to send in info for another performance and then this weekend low and behold Sunday ended up with a local hafla performance for my students and rumor through last night another inquiry was made to perform. 

This last one was sort of funny since it all started with just looking to the future.  Didn't know the future was only a day away (Annie moment there)...

Well, the scramble to find students available and wanting to dance started.  Not really a toughy on who would "want" to dance, just if they were available to do so.  Well, long and short, we got the dancers pulled together and enough of them that I opted to have them fly solo.

Yes, this was the first time Tribal Mumma, as I have been deemed now, did not dance with the baby chickadees....they got to fly for the first time truly on their own.  It was exciting to see from my perspective and cute to see their reactions when they saw I was not dressed to dance. :) 

Now, I didn't set them up to freak them out, when you don't know who is going to be available, I kept all my options open.  So, I might have danced that night too.  But when it came together, I knew they could handle it and would do better if they didn't know too much in advance allowing them to stew on it and cause them more anxiety than necessary. 

I could so easily do a play by play on the performance on how wonderful they did on such, etc.   But no matter what did or didn't happen in the performance, they smiled, they took the challenge with stride, and they had a blast themselves.  While I got to watch it and take pictures of their first flight.

ucanto bellydance truly is "you can too" bellydance no matter what comes their way....I love it!

and and and...I love the announcers struggle to say "ucanto" which is pronounced "you can too".  They usually come up with an exotic sounding name sounding like "oocahnto"...makes me giggle ESPECIALLY when they realize how simple the name really is....so much fun and makes it "stick" in the brain...YAY!

Anyway...be careful of what you ask for cause it just might happen. ;)
Let's Dance!