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Thursday, January 27, 2011

TFBD Class 2 Notes

Hello Dancers! Great class. After a little review of the first class materials, we went right into the new stuff.

As for the Finger Cymbals, the new patterns are:

  • 5's
  • 355

The movements we covered this class are:

  1. Turkish Walk (aka body wave). This movement is essentially the exterior movement to the undulations we covered in the first class. Leading with the head, we lean forward, lift our entire torso up, the pull back down.
  2. 4-Count. Note that the steps are on counts 1-and-2-e. Step the right foot back behind the left on count '1'. Step left foot in place on count 'and'. Step right foot in front of the left toe, both feet in releve on count '2' while twisting the right hip forward. Step the left foot on the ball in place on count 'e'.
  3. 5-Count. Step right foot behind left, step left in place, then right-left-right in place like a "cha cha cha" move; Step left foot behind right, step right foot in place, then left-right-left in place like a "cha cha cha".
  4. 5-Count with half turns. A variation of this movement is to utilize the "cha cha cha" part to take a 3-step half turn. You can do this on every-other or on every "cha cha cha".
  5. 8-Count. Start with body and toes facing left diagonal. Feet flat, step right, left, right, left, right, left; step on the right ball to do a half turn, step left. Repeat this to get back to facing front. Pair this with arms: starting both arms up, gradually lower the arms to shoulder height. Then on count 7 (or when your right foot is on the ball), snap the arms back up.

For the choreography, only the Turkish Walk and the 8-Count is used.

Remember, the movement terms in bold are from the Jamila Salimpour Format.

As for the choreography to "Never Does the Light Shine on Me", so far we have:

0:00Intro:Wait (16 cts)
0:10Vocal:Arabic 2 (8 cts), Arabic 3 (8 cts)
Arabic 2 (8 cts), Arabic 3 (8 cts)
0:30Beats:Running Choo Choo 1 (8 cts),
Running Choo Choo 3 (8 cts),
Running Choo Choo 4 (8 cts),
Running Choo Choo 1 (8 cts)
0:50 Transition: Pose (8 cts)
0:55 Intro: Turkish Walk facing right diagonal (16 cts),
Turkish Walk (8 cts),
Turkish Walk (4 cts),
Turkish Walk (4 cts)
1:15 Beats: 8-Count, starting stage right (8 cts),
stage left (8 cts),
stage front (8 cts),
stage back (8 cts)

Have fun practicing!
Lily

Bellydance Basics Class 2 Notes

Ladies,
Thanks for a great second class of the series. Looks like everyone is getting a better hang of it. Hope you feel yourselves improving!

After reviewing the movements from the first class, we added these new movements to our repretoire:

1. Exterior Hip Circle, or hip circle for short. If you're practicing this, warm up with hip slides out to the sides, then sliding the hips forward and back, all while keeping your shoulders squared and head in the same place in space. Remember that your needs are bent and parallel, meaning one knee should not be more or less bent than the other. After warming up, start your hip circle to the front, then right, then back, then left. Keep the path a smooth and rounded shape. Then practice going the other direction.

2. Body Wave. This movement is essentially the exterior movement to the undulations we covered in the first class. Leading with the head, we lean forward, lift our entire torso up, the pull back down.

3. The 5-Count. Step right foot behind left, step left in place, then right-left-right in place like a "cha cha cha" move; Step left foot behind right, step right foot in place, then left-right-left in place like a "cha cha cha".

A variation of this movement is to utilize the "cha cha cha" part to take a 3-step half turn. You can do this on every-other or on every "cha cha cha".


4. The 8-Count. Start with body and toes facing left diagonal. Feet flat, step right, left, right, left, right, left; step on the right ball to do a half turn, step left. Repeat this to get back to facing front.

You can pair this with arms: starting both arms up, gradually lower the arms to shoulder height. Then on count 7 (or when your right foot is on the ball), snap the arms back up.


One of the ways to work on your undulations is to stand in front of a wall with your butt cheeks gently touching the wall.
1. Lift the chest up and you should feel some part of your shoulders or arms touch the wall.
2. Then drop the chest by contracting the upper abs. You should feel the middle of your back touch the wall. Shoulders no longer touching the wall.
3. Then pull the belly button into your spine or your lower abs contract. You should feel your low back touching the wall.
4. Relax back to the starting position.
When practicing, keep the sections separated. Don't be in a hurry to connect everything together. Isolation is tough!

Look forward to seeing you next week!
Lily

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

TFBD class 1

Welcome TFBD dancers!
So glad we had some time to chat about finger cymbals. At first, I only kind of liked them... and I do agree that they are a little awkward at first to play while moving. Remember to always practice playing while dancing!

The finger cymbal patterns we covered were:
1. 1's
2. 3's
3. 31313

As for movements from the Jamila Salimpour format:
Running Choo Choo Family:
Running Choo Choo 1 - R ball, L flat; downbeat L
Running Choo Choo 2 - same as Running Choo Choo 1 except R foot forward and back
Running Choo Choo 3 - same as Running Choo Choo 1 except R foot forward 2 times, then back 2 times.
Running Choo Choo 3.5 - same as Running Choo Choo 1 except R foot forward 4 times, then back 4 times.
Running Choo Choo 4 - same as Running Choo Choo 1 except R foot steps forward at 1o'clcok, then to 2 o'clock, then 4 o'clock, then 5 o'clock.

Arabic Family:
Arabic 1 - L ball behind right with undulations
Arabic 2 - R flat, L ball, R ball, L ball with undulations
Arabic 3 - arabic 2 with R hip twist on 3, undulations
Arabic 4 - R forward, L step, R back , L step; with hip singles


Here is the beginning section of the choreography to "Never Does the Light Shine on Me":


0:00Intro:Wait (16 cts)
0:10Vocal:Arabic 2 (8 cts), Arabic 3 (8 cts)
Arabic 2 (8 cts), Arabic 3 (8 cts)
0:30Beats:Running Choo Choo 1 (8 cts),
Running Choo Choo 3 (8 cts),
Running Choo Choo 4 (8 cts),
Running Choo Choo 1 (8 cts)



Pop quiz on Thursday!
Lily

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Bellydance Basics Class 1 Notes

Hello Ladies!
Thanks so much for an action packed first class of this 6 weeks series. Here's what we covered:

1. posture
2. hip singles
3. running choo choo
4. running choo choo variation with:
- one foot forward, one foot back
- two forward, two back
5. arabic (undulations)
6. arabic with a hip twist

No worries, we'll review all of this in the second class and add on some more movements.

See you Wednesday!
lily

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Bellydance classes start this week!

Are you excited as I am?

I've recently fell in love with the old-school style of bellydancing. I suppose I am just an old-school kind of gal. I like old-school hip hop, vintage accoutrements, and good old fashion fun.

Some would call the Jamila Salimpour format bellydance to be the roots of tribal style bellydancing. There are definitely tribal elements in there, and there's even fusion of different Middle Eastern ethnic styles. She started fusion before there was fusion!

Just remember that the dance continues to evolve, but it's so important to know where some of these movements come from or how they got so popular. It's like studying American or World History, but much more fun!

Here are some articles about Jamila Salimpour:
http://www.suhailainternational.com/JamilaSpeechICMED1997May.pdf
http://www.suhailainternational.com/FromManyTribesOriginsofBalAnat.pdf

See you very soon!
Lily

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Hello 2011!


Hello 2011! We're all very excited to see what you have in store for us. 2010 was a good year with some ups and downs. I'm looking forward to making 2011 a very special year! There are some excited plans in the works, and I hope you'll join me along the way.

Here are a few events to put on your 2011 calendars:

1. Classes Starting!
Bellydance Basics - Wednesday, January 19
7:30 - 8:45 PM at Flamencura Dance Studio
7113 Burnet Rd. # 111, Austin, Texas 78757 (Behind Dallas Nite Club)

Tribal Fusion Bellydance - Thursday, January 20
7:45 - 9:00 PM at Cafe Dance
3307 B Hancock Drive, Austin, Texas 78731 (near the intersection of Balcones
Drive and Hancock Drive, next to Russell's Bakery)


2. Sahara Nights, Saturday, February 12 at Copa Bar. Doors open at 7. Bellydance lesson on the topic of arm movements at 7:30. Show starts at 8! http://www.sabayabellydance.com

3. Tribal Dance Camp 2011 featuring Kajira Djoumahna of BlackSheep BellyDance, Bahaia, and Michelle Manx! Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 4:00 PM - Sunday, April 03, 2011 at 1:00 PM
http://tribaldancecamp2011.eventbrite.com/

4. The Austin Belly Dance Convention. June 3-5, 2011. Featured artist:
SUHAILA SALIMPOUR with BAL ANAT. Check the website for schedule, workshop topics, and more! Yes, I'll be teaching a mini-workshop! http://www.theabdc.com