Performance Notes

This weekend, I am thrilled to be performing at my very First This Ain't Egypt student showcase at The Darkside Studio. It won't be my first time dancing at The Dark Side but it will be my first time doing a class choreography with my Basic Black class.

It's a very cool experience for me because while I have performed a lot, there are ladies in my class who have never done a show before and I am finding their nervous excitement to be very energizing. It's going to be a really neat experience dancing with people who are new to shows and don't yet know the power and wonderful, uplifting feeling that you get after a job well done, taking that very first step to becoming a bellydancer and knowing you have a great group of women standing with you, sharing the moment when the lights dim, your first pose is struck and the music starts. 

What has also been a very interesting experience during this process is the information and shared wisdom your teacher brings to the table in helping a group get ready for a performance, and rather than simply tune it all out as things I presume to already know about, I've taken this opportunity to really step back into my beginner dancer brain and remember why everything Audra is sharing with the class is so vitally important. Not just for this one single show, but for every performance - group or solo, amateur or pro - going forward during a dancer's career.

Some of this is very basic and probably most of you know this information like the back of your own hand, but like being an advanced dancer and going back to take a beginner level class to go back over some basic technique every so often because it helps keep your form in check, going over basic performance etiquitte and process is also good to be reminded of once in a while. 

The best notes I've taken again and wanted to share may seem obvious but really, how often do we forget to look at the audience, stay centred and breathe?

So, here are my take-aways that will help me not only this Saturday night but for many other nights and days to come:

1. The audience is on your side. They are not there to pick you apart, wish you ill or hope you fall on your butt. Especially for something like a student show where everyone is there to see another student and possibly for the first time. They are eager to see you do well. 

2. Your classmates are on your side. While maybe relying on other dancers in your group to know and remember the choreography for you is kinda cheating, there is nothing wrong with looking beside you to give a fellow dancer a smile and a reminder they aren't up there alone, that their success is your success.

3. Spacing, spacing, spacing! Having danced with troupes certainly helps remind me to watch the others around me to know if I am out of sync or out of line, but it never hurts to be reminded that as a student class or a professional troupe, you are dancing together and the choreography looks better when everyone remembers they aren't alone.

4. Don't freak out as soon as you get off stage if you think you made a mistake. The audience can feel that kind of negative energy and so can other dancers waiting to go on next. I am as guilty of this as any other performer and have lost count of the times I've quite literally stormed off a stage, angry at myself for screwing up or freaked that my error caused anxiety for another dancer on stage with me. Let it go. 

5. For the love of all things shinny, SMILE!!!!!!! If you look like you're having a good time, the audience feels you are enjoying yourself and it gives them permission to have a good time too! I have danced with others who are technically amazing dancers, but then had negative feedback from the audience about them because they either look at the ground the entire time or employ a look of abject terror onstage. Relax! We do this for fun, remember???

6. Enjoy and revel in the process of getting ready. I love getting "into" bellydancer mode! I use the time I take to do my make-up and hair to really breathe, concentrate on my work and feel how each stroke of the liquid liner, touch of the blush brush and handfuls of glitter gets me into performance mode. I make sure I leave myself lots of prep time so I can enjoy getting all dolled up!

7. Everyone has their own way of getting ready backstage. Some people get super hyper and bouncy, others prefer to lock themselves into their own head space by listening to their music, meditating or simply taking a few minutes to breathe and ground themselves. Respect everyone's space and prep.

8. Be available to help backstage if you can. Some people have quick costume changes and knowing you have an extra pair (or three!) of hands to fasten clips and double check costumes are secure is invaluable!

9. Cheer your fellows on! Be proud of everyone and share your happiness!

10. If a piece of your costume falls off, kick it away and keep dancing. No one really cares or notices if a bracelet falls off your your hair band, so the less you make of it the less likely anyone will even notice it happened. We've all had wardrobe malfunctions and none of them are ever serious enough to ruin a performance.

Above all remember to relax and have a good time. Performing is fun and hearing an audience cheer, applaud and zagreet away is the best feeling in the world!!!

Growing, Changing, Moving On...

From my folkloric days with Banat el Sharq

One of the best things about bellydance is how it continues to evolve and change. While there are a range of traditional styles to explore - including all the different types of folk - modern fusion, tribal and Gothic bellydance have taken the art in new directions.

When I started out, all I really knew was cabaret - which I have been doing for years - and tribal fusion a la Rachel Brice. I had no real understanding of what was in between, and since I was intimidated by Rachel's gooey, sinuous grace, I became a cabaret dancer.

Several years ago I went on a quest. Feeling the mad urge to take my dance to another level, I left my first teacher and began to explore. At that time I was trying classes at a number of studios and gave tribal fusion a shot. It didn't come easily or naturally to me which I found frustrating, so I stuck with cabaret.

Then I fell in love with folk. That led me to become a member of Banat el Sharq for four years, immersing myself in Saidi, Ghawazi, Beladi and Nubian styles. I loved the costumes, the bouncy, flirty steps and the amazing ladies who were part of my troupe.

Last year was one of major change. After doing Mayada's Pro Bellydancer Course, I found I wanted to work on some specific areas of my technique and that took me travelling again to studying with a few new teachers at new studios.

Yet one other thing I noticed was that the kind of music I wanted to dance to was less than traditional Arabic and the dancers I wanted to watch were less than traditional cabaret dancers. I was finding that the technique I had was in need of some refinement and development to go with the music I wanted to create to, and so I opted to go back to fusion at The Dark Side Studio. No, the moves did not suddenly coming any easier, but I did find I was more interested this time around and really willing to focus and do the work needed to bring the movements into my body.

Very much like the habits I had to break going from ballet to bellydance, so too did I have habits to break going from folk and cabaret to fusion. New muscles, new ways of thinking of how I made my body move and new ideas came flooding in. In many ways I am starting over again but at the same time I'm simply adding new stock to my repertoire of movements for creating new dances.

It's hard to start again as a beginner, and I admit that there is some frustration when I can't nail a move right away. "I've been doing this for over 10 years," I whine to myself, "I should be able to do this without a problem!" Yet no matter how many years one has danced, when going to a new style you do become in many ways a beginner again.

I explained it to my mother by saying it would be like having been with The National Ballet of Canada for many years, and suddenly moving to the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and expecting to just jump right in.

I'm starting an exploration of a new side of me and it is scary and exciting at the same time. There will always be a place in my world for cabaret and I will continue to do more traditional bellydance when the venue and the spirit moves me there, and want to continue improving my comfort with props such as veil, fan veil cane and zylls, but I am also eager for this new journey into another side of my bellydance self. She is a little darker, a little more expressive, and looking for different stories to tell. It should be an interesting time!

Guest Article on Bellydance in Toronto

As a follow-up to my recent Basic Black Intensive course at The Dark Side Studio, I wrote an article for the Bellydance in Toronto website - enjoy!

http://www.bellydanceintoronto.com/

Music, Music, Music!

IBCC Emerging Artists Stage Solo, 2012

Since I believe it's never a bad time to think about what to dance to next, I have been spending some energy going over my music collection to figure out what pieces I want to perform to at some upcoming spring and summer events.

I've usually got some ideas in my mind at any given time of pieces I'd love to dance to - one of the hazards of being a bellydancer, actually. I never can just listen to a song, I have to think "hmmm...is this something I could work with?" or "OMG this would be GREAT with cane!" You get the general idea. Any song by any artist is fair game as far as I'm concerned.

I do try to tailor what I dance to to the event at hand. For example, I tend towards more upbeat music for Kensington Pedestrian Sundays since it's a summer, outdoor festival,  while I am inclined to do something darker for a performance at a Dark Salon at The Dark Side or more experimental if it's a student show like Dragonfly Rising at Dragonfly Bellydance.

I firmly believe you can bellydance to anything. With the right attitude and the right costume, any song is a bellydance song. I've danced to everything from George Abdoo and Djinn to Shani and Cleopatra, Medieval Babes and The Lost Fingers to The Doors and The Who and everything in between:

 

Boris the Spider at the Dragonfly Fantasy Hafla, September, 2013

To make sure I always have something in my back pocket in case a surprise opportunity comes up, I keep a list of songs I'd like to dance to on my Crackberry and add to it anytime a new idea pops into my head. Then, about once a week, I take a good half hour to an hour to just play songs from that list and improv to see what comes out. Sometimes after playing with a piece for a while I realize it just isn't working for me, so I move on to something else. Other times something really "clicks" and I keep it on the back burner and wait for the right time to pull it out.

I also have pieces I've done in the past that, as I have improved and grown my technique, have decided to revisit and try again either from another angle or to see what else might come out now that I've had a few more years or a few new workshops or classes with a different teacher under my belt. Usually it's because I really loved the song in the first place and really wanted to dance to it right then, then go back to it later because I become convinced I could do more with it.

When I start to seriously think about getting into choreography mode, I put the piece (or pieces as the case may be) I am currently working on on repeat on my Crackberry and listen to it/them constantly until I feel like I know every beat, riff, phrase and subtle nuance. This is when I get the most interesting reactions from normal people because I start dancing along while I'm out walking, waiting for the streetcar or on the subway platform. I'm sure most of you can relate to the looks other people offer up when they can't hear what you're grooving to!

I'm always open and looking for new and exciting music to work with, so if anyone has bands or songs or anything to share, feel free to pass it along! I love hearing what other people are into and what makes their world work!