tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87438583768034314792024-03-14T05:06:59.955+13:00Thinking about Belly RaqsA range of essays on aspects of belly dance.Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-37416677482973809102017-01-14T14:04:00.001+13:002017-01-15T12:12:58.945+13:00A Calorie is a Calorie?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The other day I heard an
interesting <a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/201785979/dr-lee-goldman" target="_blank">interview with Dr Lee Goldman</a> on the radio. In it, he discussed how
evolution has done the dirty on us. For thousands of years those who ate all they
could and stored the excess as fat were more likely to survive, breed, and have
living children. As a result, humans have a tendency to eat more than they need
and store fat. Now, with abundant food for many, we are suffering the effects
of obesity, diabetes, heart attacks etc. And because the effects occur after
most people have already had children, there is no evolutionary pressure to
reverse the trend.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">when asked why some people can eat as much as
they like and not put on weight, </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">he said something
foolish:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #4472c4; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Calories in and Calories out.
Number of Calories you eat, if that exceeds the number of Calories you burn, in
terms of your exercise, you'll gain weight."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are a number of
problems with this statement which made me wonder whether his main hypothesis
was flawed (must follow up sources at some stage).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">What is a
"Calorie"?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A "Calorie" (big C)
is actually a kilocalorie, that is, 1000 calories (small c). That is, roughly,
the amount of energy needed to raise 1 litre of water 1</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">°</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">C. (I still remember measuring this for sugar in 5<sup>th</sup>
form chemistry and being rapt that my result was within experimental error of the
official value.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It comes from the Age of Steam
when the calorific value of various fuels was important to know. But biology is
more complicated than chemistry. The first hurdle is, not everything in food
with calories is digestible by humans. So about 1990, for food labelling, the simple
bomb calorimeter method was replaced by the <a href="http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/01/how-is-the-calorie-content-in-food-determined">Atwater
system</a> which sums the energy of the nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates,
fats etc.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Calories In</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VUBHJfsjZFw/WHl4pvgP6zI/AAAAAAAAAMo/liw6taHZ6Sc51uLIFtYUW8jO3xzSziNRACLcB/s1600/milk%2Band%2Bbutter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VUBHJfsjZFw/WHl4pvgP6zI/AAAAAAAAAMo/liw6taHZ6Sc51uLIFtYUW8jO3xzSziNRACLcB/s400/milk%2Band%2Bbutter.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Okay, but a person is not a
steam engine. It is not the case that you put 500g of potential fuel into a
body and get x Calories of energy available.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Atwater system is an
approximation. It does not take into account the <a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/6/1649.full">interaction between
nutrients</a> that will affect the energy available and is out for some diets –
such as a low-fat high-fibre one.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Then let's look at
"indigestible fibre". Some people have the gut microbes that allow
them to digest it to some degree - not as much as a cow but maybe as much as <a href="http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ask-the-macro-manager-does-fiber-count-in-calories.html">1.5
calories per gram of fibre</a>. But it varies. People's gut flora are <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/personal-microbiomes-contain-unique-fingerprints/">as
individual as a fingerprint</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In fact, some people's microbiomes
are more efficient all round. For a given amount of food some people get more
out of it. If one person with the better harvesting microbiota and another with
the inefficient type eat the same amount of food – and they are alike in <b>every</b>
other way – then <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v444/n7122/full/nature05414.html">the
person with the better microbiota is going to put on more weight</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Which bring me to the next
point. People are not made the same. One obvious difference is their sex.
Another is their soma type which is a reflection of their genetics. For
instance, in theory the best body type for a dancer is an <a href="http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/difference-endomorphs-ectomorphs-7242.html">endomorph</a>
as they have flexibility and strength – however they also have extremely
efficient digestive systems which means they tend to put on more weight than is
commercially acceptable in an entertainer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And added to this are a range
of diseases that affect how well food is metabolized – diabetes, Crohn's disease,
food poisoning for example. And other factors such as a lack of a gallbladder, hormone
levels, and various medications.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, people's ability to
absorb food changes with time, environment, stress, age, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, the Calorie information
on the packet may be wrong in terms of how it is metabolized by the human body.
It may be wrong because of the type of gut microbes you have, genetic inheritance,
epigenetics, your sex, disease, medication, stress – to mention a few factors.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Calories Out</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Again people use energy at
different rates – even when doing exactly the same thing in the same
environment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Calories are used just to
stay alive. They are burnt in sleep as well as work, sitting, lying, or
running. Each person has their own mix of activities – and their own efficiency
in doing them ("more efficient" means you use less energy so are more
likely to put on weight).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And obviously more energy is
expended when the body is cold to maintain core temperature. What might
surprise you is that in extreme cold <a href="http://www.jci.org/articles/view/60433">this can be 180%</a>. So you can
eat almost twice as much as in a normal temperature environment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Exercise has some effect on
the calories burnt but not as much as you might think. Doing nothing <a href="http://mappingignorance.org/2015/02/13/muscle-vs-brain-perhaps-matter-energy-expenditure/">the
brain uses 20%</a> of the body's energy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And although cardiovascular
exercise uses calories, dance involves "exercising smarter". What is
seen as "grace" is the result of training your body to generate
movement with the least amount of muscle. If you do the same number of hours
practice, as you improve you will "exercise" less. Which is a good
reason to up your practice hours, add some folk, or cross train with something
more cardio vascular.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Summary</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately it isn't as
simple as "calories in, calories out". How the in‑calories are
digested is individual to each person and their current environment and health.
And although exercise will have an effect on how many calories you use – it may
not be as many as you might think.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But the last word from Dr Goldman
was no matter how hard it is to not put on weight, taking it off is much harder
as you struggle against millennia of evolution.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-62377246508670109412015-07-02T16:11:00.000+12:002015-07-02T16:12:52.261+12:00Stretching RevisitedThe <span class="entity _4v1s" data-fulltext="New Zealand Middle Eastern Dance Forum" data-group="all" data-icon="null" data-select="group" data-si="true" data-text="New Zealand Middle Eastern Dance Forum" data-type="ent:group" data-uid="995071283857919"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/995071283857919/" target="_blank">New Zealand Middle Eastern Dance Forum</a> asked me to write some notes on various Safe Dance topics. I thought I wouldn't waste the effort and also put it up here!</span><br />
<br />
<span class="entity _4v1s" data-fulltext="New Zealand Middle Eastern Dance Forum" data-group="all" data-icon="null" data-select="group" data-si="true" data-text="New Zealand Middle Eastern Dance Forum" data-type="ent:group" data-uid="995071283857919">
<br />
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span class="entity _4v1s" data-fulltext="New Zealand Middle Eastern Dance Forum" data-group="all" data-icon="null" data-select="group" data-si="true" data-text="New Zealand Middle Eastern Dance Forum" data-type="ent:group" data-uid="995071283857919"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Whole books are written in stretching – I have several on my
bookshelf. Here are just a few ideas to consider.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span class="entity _4v1s" data-fulltext="New Zealand Middle Eastern Dance Forum" data-group="all" data-icon="null" data-select="group" data-si="true" data-text="New Zealand Middle Eastern Dance Forum" data-type="ent:group" data-uid="995071283857919">
<br />
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span class="entity _4v1s" data-fulltext="New Zealand Middle Eastern Dance Forum" data-group="all" data-icon="null" data-select="group" data-si="true" data-text="New Zealand Middle Eastern Dance Forum" data-type="ent:group" data-uid="995071283857919"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Most dancers think they should stretch – yet, in my
experience, few know why, what a stretch actually is, or how to do it
effectively.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span class="entity _4v1s" data-fulltext="New Zealand Middle Eastern Dance Forum" data-group="all" data-icon="null" data-select="group" data-si="true" data-text="New Zealand Middle Eastern Dance Forum" data-type="ent:group" data-uid="995071283857919">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">There are <b>good reasons to stretch</b> – to reduce muscle
soreness after a concentrated session or to increase (or maintain) flexibility.
It has now been shown that stretching <i>before</i> dancing does not reduce
injury (and stretching on a cold body <i>increases</i> injury). Some extreme
forms of dance may benefit from stretching before dancing (on a warm body) –
but belly dance does not fall into that category.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">However, too much flexibility is more likely to cause injury
that too little. If you are a naturally flexible, possibly you would be better
to spend your time on strength and control.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">What is a stretch?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Your muscles are made up of fibres that slide in and out. Think
of a pack of cards; split it in half and ruffle the two halves. Push them all the
way in – that’s a fully contracted muscle. Pull them out that is a stretched
muscle. (Pull too far and that’s a torn muscle) Now, your muscle has a
preferred position – not all the way out, not all the way in – its “resting
length”. This position depends on genetics, past injuries, and training. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">“Stretching” is trying to reset this resting position. (Note
not all flexibility issues can be solved by stretching – many are due to other
factors that cannot be changed. And many so-called flexibility issues in students
are actually issues of control – ie the body is capable of reaching the position
but the brain is incapable of working out how).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So “stretching” is not joint mobilization – the sort of
wiggling about many people do (which has its place but won’t improve
flexibility). Nor, in most cases, can you stretch a tendon without tearing it –
so, no, you can’t “stretch” your Achilles tendon. There are some advanced techniques
that will give a little extension but don’t try it at home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">How to Stretch<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Always stretch on a <b>warm body</b> ie one that has been
doing at least 10-15 minutes of cardio.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Target</b> your stretches. Find out what your body needs.
Every body is different. Doing group stretches in a class might build comradery
but is unlikely to be as effective as each person dong their own program.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Isolate single muscle groups</b> where possible. If your “stretch”
uses two (or more) muscles then the ones with the flexibility will move more and
the inflexible bits will stay contracted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Do the stretch <b>correctly</b>. For instance, watch
alignment. If your feet are meant to be in parallel and you have one turned out
then you will be using slightly different muscles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Muscles can only stretch if they are <b>not working</b>
(actually there is an exception to this – but again it’s an advanced technique).
So you cannot stretch any leg muscle if that leg is weight bearing. So standing
hamstring stretches only work if you place the leg on a chair, barre etc – you cannot
stretch your hamstring by touching your toes (but you <i>can</i> damage your
lower back).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</span><br />Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-71720781796603664722014-05-15T10:35:00.000+12:002014-05-15T10:36:01.734+12:00Going Digital<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BN7F6bDH1w8/U3PvbvMZhAI/AAAAAAAAALo/iorLLWSnzxI/s1600/judith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BN7F6bDH1w8/U3PvbvMZhAI/AAAAAAAAALo/iorLLWSnzxI/s1600/judith.jpg" height="320" width="274" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heard it on the radio again this morning – the need for
people to be educated for the “Digital Economy”. Schools have had “computer
science” since the 1970s. Many schools now require students to have their own
laptops or tablets. But how much better (digitally) educated are people? Recent
interactions with people in the workforce make me wonder if any progress is
being made.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Part of the problem is what is being taught. Way back when
the computer classes were part of the maths syllabus. They taught how to
analyse problems and solve them with computer code. It is this type of teaching
that will lead to the high tech people some of the software development
companies want. But it isn’t for everyone. True, good teaching can improve how
well people can do this – and teach common solutions so people don’t have to
reinvent the wheel or make avoidable mistakes. But it also takes specific types
of intelligence and good memory to do well. You simply cannot retrain every
unemployed youth to slot into the IT industry.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, the syllabus changed and became more about using what is
there. This won’t turn out computer scientists or software engineers but it
should produce people who are able to function at a good level in an economy
that uses a range of software every day. I’m out of touch these days so I’m
unsure what is being taught, but I have my own little list – and I suspect it
isn’t being taught – or at least not taught well. As a minimum I’d expect
anyone under 35 to be able to handle all of the tasks below without thinking:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Look after their own computing housekeeping – backups, virus protection, updates,
organization of files (whether for desktop, tablet or smart phone)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Be able to search (efficiently) for information on the
internet and be able to judge the reliability of the information found (Also
understand concepts such as “intellectual property” and “copyright” and the
need for acknowledging sources)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Be able to avoid common scams and malware attacks</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Know how to use email effectively, know basic email
etiquette and be able to find an important message quickly</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Know how to use the basics of a word processor – ie know
something about formatting, layout and templates</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Know how to setup a simple spreadsheet with common formula</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I certainly hope no school time is spent on gaming – because
the first list doesn’t seem to be well addressed yet. So, I’m creating another
Blog with some basic tips for people who may not have had the chance to pick
some of the basics up. My first entry is on <a href="http://judithgeek.blogspot.co.nz/2014/05/word-adding-lines.html" target="_blank">adding lines to a page</a>. (There may
be more involved than you think)</span></div>
Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-77866670393976322572014-04-23T15:10:00.001+12:002014-04-29T08:33:45.665+12:00Oriental or Orientale Dance?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZy4wsNHueY/U1cuoFn0kVI/AAAAAAAAALM/fsnOQptU_nk/s1600/lale_sayoko_Japan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZy4wsNHueY/U1cuoFn0kVI/AAAAAAAAALM/fsnOQptU_nk/s1600/lale_sayoko_Japan.jpg" height="320" width="169" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lale Sayoko<br />
- a real Oriental Dancer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The term “oriental” comes from the French – <i>Danse Orientale</i>
– which means the same as <i>raqs sharqi</i> in Arabic – “dance of the east”.
I’m not sure which term came first (by 1926 <i>raqs sharqi</i> was being used
in Egypt) but either way it is east of Paris – not Cairo.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, here’s the first difficulty. If you say “oriental dance”
to the General Public (especially in New Zealand) most will think that it is
something from the far east – China or Japan. By using a word they are familiar
with in a different context you are confusing not enlightening them. Those with
a little more knowledge use it as evidence that “belly dancing” came from India
– after all is called “oriental dance”!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The problem is it isn’t a straight translation. It has
technical context - like </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">plié</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> or </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">jeté</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Not good examples as they
have simple translations. More like </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">pas de boureé</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> - it does not just
mean step of a traditional French dance - it means a specific way of moving the
feet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is once reason I prefer the French spelling and (an
attempt at) French pronunciation – “Orientale”. This clearly signals I am not
talking about “oriental” in the normal English sense. I am using a technical
term to describe a type of dance. The other reason is I have been told, by a
number of Egyptian dancers, is that this is the term they use – rather than </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">raqs
sharqi</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> or belly dance.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When used in this context, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Orientale</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> is a specific
style of dance (from professional entertainers in Egypt/Lebanon etc). It does
not include social dance - unless they are trying to dance like professionals.
It does not include </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">beledi</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. It does not include </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">shaabi</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> - or in
most cases dancing to pop music. It does not include any folkloric dance. All
of these are part of most belly dancer's repertoire and are not </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Orientale</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is also a tighter meaning , which refers specifically
to dancing to the complex, layered, orchestrated music such as was popular in
films and shows in Egypt’s Golden Age and Classical Age.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, it is not a synonym for the American Seven (or
Five) Part Routine. Although many people would call this “</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Orientale” </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">under
the looser definition. An Egyptian </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Orientale </i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">for instance is not put
together as one song after the other moving from veil to a drum solo. Some may
include many styles – but the “parts” may vary from a few bars to full songs –
and there will be repeats and changes. However, some may be one long piece all
in a similar style.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But what it certainly does not mean is anything that is not
Tribal! There are many other styles of belly dance that are valid – but not </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Orientale</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.
For stage presentation (Urban) </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beledi</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> is the most obvious. None of the
folkloric styles are </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Orientale</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> – just the opposite.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think part of the problem is people want an umbrella term
– that isn’t “belly dance”. Maybe we just have to live without – or adopt
something completely different such as the Hungarians did when they finally
adopted </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">tanc</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> as a noun that would cover a range of different dance
styles.</span></div>
Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-77927326988368639672013-07-16T19:50:00.000+12:002013-07-16T19:50:44.118+12:00Giving a Soloist Her Due<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WJKf8dT5mcE/UeT3Hbl6YVI/AAAAAAAAAKs/qULuCR86NgY/s1600/kiss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" iya="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WJKf8dT5mcE/UeT3Hbl6YVI/AAAAAAAAAKs/qULuCR86NgY/s320/kiss.jpg" width="287" /></a>Recently someone asked me whether a dancer may have been insulted or upset when her group started doing a tribal improvisation behind her performance at a hafla. Not being there, I couldn’t really say whether she left because of them or whether she had an urgent phone call to make. However, in her place I think I would have been at best annoyed. Here are some of the reasons that I can think of: </div>
<ul>
<li>If you are going to do this, first ask the dancer if she is okay that you do this.</li>
<li>A soloist is performing to an audience – asking her to share its attention with a group moving behind her is at best rude.</li>
<li>Worse, this dancer was doing an orientale piece with a lot of emotional connection and display of technique which deserved the audience’s full attention.</li>
<li>The (beginner) students had lots of friends and family in the audience which made it all the worse as they cheered on their mates.</li>
<li>At the best of times Orientale and Tribal don’t really mix.</li>
<li>Similarly, it is tricky to mix professional dancers and students. It can work with a teacher and her students if she adjusts her technique to fit with them – some times.</li>
</ul>
So, no, I have no idea if the dancer was upset – or if she was, if any of my reasons overlapped with hers. But I would strongly suggest, even in an informal hafla situation, you don’t show your joy of the dance by getting up uninvited and boogieing along behind a performer.<br />
<div>
</div>
<div align="left">
</div>
Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-35290882195587864052013-03-28T20:29:00.001+13:002013-03-28T20:30:20.277+13:00Becoming Fifi<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LCHMfj1bWVA/UVPvkyelJLI/AAAAAAAAAKE/yBo139u880A/s1600/IMG_8607b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LCHMfj1bWVA/UVPvkyelJLI/AAAAAAAAAKE/yBo139u880A/s320/IMG_8607b.jpg" title="Me as Fifi" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me as Fifi</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
It’s not often you get a chance to become Fifi Abdou – but
that was what was handed to me by the organizer of a local hafla when Zumarrad
suggested performers take the challenge of dancing in the style of a well known
dancer.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Foolishly I thought it would be easy. Fifi has been one of
my dance role models for many years due to her relaxed beledi styling and her
attitude. I can do beledi and I have lots of attitude!
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I started by gathering several hours of video I have of her
performing. Then I watched them – and rewatched them. I danced along with them
- mirroring her posture and moves. I sat and analysed – taking notes about
characteristic moves and transitions.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a month or so, I had found one part of her style that
I thought I could do justice to – late career beledi. Now to select music and
costume. I selected music that I could (in theory) maintain the loose beledi
shimmy throughout that is one of her trademarks. I had already had a white,
silk gallebaya from Aida Nour and a trip to a costume jewellery shop got me
chunky, shiny anklets and bracelets. Red nail polish – of course!
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next I made a short list of characteristic moves that I
would include. I had already noticed that Fifi was able to play with a single
move for minutes at a time. The question was – could I? Did I have that much
confidence? I was willing to try – I intended to improvise in her style hitting
the three or four moves I had noted (loose, continuous shimmy, flat footed hip
drop-swivel, bust shimmy and chest heave) – with typical manipulations.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The hardest aspect, though, seemed to be her arms and hands.
Sorry, but they really are not attractive. The often static beledi second with
splayed hands (palms forward) is a look I’m forever trying to train out of my
students. My own dance also tends to use a lot of soft shoulder rolls, arm
undulations and weight shifts with ribs. All scratched.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Time to go solo – and I froze. Instead of dancing I was
thinking – “is this typical?”, “where can I fit that in?”, “mustn’t do that!”.
The flow had gone. The connection with the music became mechanical. It was
almost like learning to dance all over again. I briefly toyed with the idea of
creating a choreography to smooth out the rough edges but in the end hung in
there. Practice. That’s what it takes.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I night finally arrived, I was glad I’d stuck with
improvisation. That gave me the chance to interact with the audience in a way
no choreography would have allowed. I mean, I’m sure if there had been cell
phones in Fifi’s day she would have stopped and checked members of the
audience’s text messages just like I did. Oh, and yes I did dance too. I
suspect a little more busily that Fifi herself would have but not at all like
how I would have performed as myself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
The
whole experience was very challenging – but very valuable</span>Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-46607110107141677182013-02-20T17:49:00.000+13:002013-02-20T17:50:56.608+13:00The New Normal and Dance Classes<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;">
<img border="0" height="240" mea="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y2VjfJh-v9E/USRUxAZkrFI/AAAAAAAAAJw/7WNCbI_lUWo/s320/IMG_7698.jpg" width="320" /></div>
<br />
<br />
A recent offer from an overseas teacher to take workshops in Christchurch brought the reality of the new normal to my consciousness. Apart from the difficulties of arranging a workshop for someone unknown in the community at short notice, I realized I wouldn’t be able to do it even if Fifi gave me two weeks notice. <br />
<br />
<br />
Over two years (and 13 218 earthquakes) on, here’s the reality of living in Christchurch if you are interested in dance.<br />
<br />
<strong>Venues</strong><br />
<br />
Many venues are damaged. Many fell down or have been demolished. Many others are unable to be legally used (Red or Yellow Stickered). Space that is left is at a premium (any space – forget having a dance studio with mirrors). With enough warning you might be able to get a class to move so you could use the space for an extended time for a workshop. But not every one is willing to give up their own class – or multiple hourly hires. So if you can find something it won’t be cheap.<br />
<br />
Something you organized last week (let alone last month) may no longer be available. When they decide to repair you get very short notice. I have heard with private homes of only 24 hours notice being given - although a few days is more common. Buildings are also being closed at very short notice. A few weeks after the February earthquake, I was in the middle of teaching a class when the hall we were in was deemed unsafe and we had to leave. But even within the last month or so, our local shops were closed and the shopkeepers given less than 8 hours to vacate.<br />
<br />
<strong>Roads</strong><br />
<br />
The roading infrastructure is being repaired. That’s great – and when it’s finished we’ll be able to get around like we used to but in the meantime …<br />
<br />
Our local bridge has been closed one way for about five months – and it’ll be closed for at least another seven. The way out is at best rutted gravel. On some days you get to drive on the side that is just half a metre of semi compacted gravel with wheel eating potholes. The way in is an extra 3km and until last week was also rutted gravel – with the additional fun of threading through a road narrowed by cones as they try and fix something; from there a choice of a maze through a shifting set of streets – or chance the river road isn’t under water or closed for repairs. <br />
<br />
Then you hit Estuary Road where the underground services are in the process of being repaired – ongoing for the last two years. Sometimes one direction or the other will be closed. There is a sink hole that keeps appearing that is about as long as my car and about half a metre deep.<br />
<br />
When they finish our bridge they will start on the next one over. So then our bridge will be able to carry both 10,000 cars a day from South Brighton and will be joined by as imilar number from New Brighton. Yes, in theory the New Brighton people could go upstream (assuming they aren’t repairing that bridge). But the road around the river which is now below high tide level and sandbagged, still floods. This does not just mean getting brackish water sprayed under your car but also the regular flooding has destroyed the road service and it is heavily pot holed. Cover the potholes (some quite deep) with water and it really starts to get exciting.<br />
<br />
But all of that is known. I can plan an extra few minutes as I know I will have to detour to get home. What you cannot plan for is every other road. You never know when you set out somewhere whether or not the roads will be open. On two occasions I have been sent in circles in areas I was unfamiliar with trying to get back to where I wanted to go. Oh, and many landmarks – buildings and shopping centres have gone and are replaced by sections of rubble so often you have no idea where you are. (And no, GPS systems don’t help – they can actually make things worse trying to push you back into closed streets)<br />
<br />
My students are reporting over 15 minute delays due to detours. Add congestion due to vehicles threading through fewer and narrower roads and you can add at least an additional 30 minutes to cross town.<br />
<br />
The upshot is many people don’t take non-essential trips – such as going to dance classes, or won’t travel at night (easier to get lost in detours or hit unexpected potholes or flooding), or arrive with nerves shot and totally stressed.<br />
<br />
<strong>Stress</strong><br />
<br />
Many of us are stressed. Still. Yes, I know – boring. Apart from the roads, there is the effect of continual aftershocks which some people cannot handle as well as others – adrenaline surge followed by crash over and over does nasty things to your body. Yes, the aftershocks are now infrequent and mostly light but for many the damage is done. (In the past week there were only 14 aftershocks – all small.)<br />
<br />
A very small number of people are still living without services such as sewage. Many are over-crowded. (A two bedroom flat next to my parents’ was home to three families with children. Some were sleeping in the garage and some in an old horse float!)<br />
<br />
Then there are a list of losses, including for some the death or serious injury of a close friend or relative; thousands have lost their homes; some have lost their whole neighbourhood; many have lost their jobs (and income); many are losing their schools, some are upset about the loss of the architectural heritage which defined the Christchurchness of home.. Add to that a swag of “things” smashed, damaged or irretrievable – sure some things can be replaced. But some have emotional significance and are mourned.<br />
<br />
Adding insult to the loss of income or equity there are increased costs as insurance premiums skyrocket and vehicle repairs increase with the crappy roads.<br />
<br />
Then there are a range of physiological effects. Not only feels of loss, but unease, lack of trust, uncertainty, fear, anxiety. All made worse as people struggle to sort out insurance and get repairs done (if they still have a house) and live day to day.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
No wonder then numbers are right down. By offering extra classes outside my own studio (being in the Eastern suburbs is a distinct disadvantage with most of the written off houses and the worst roads), and being willing to hold classes even when only one person can make it, I’ve held my losses to only half my pre-earthquake income. But I don’t have extra energy to organize workshops that won’t be filled in venues that I cannot get hold of.<br />
<br />Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-23283069056469177732012-12-06T18:02:00.000+13:002012-12-06T18:02:00.337+13:00Characteristic of Belly Dance?<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Lp0o5drOU0/UMAlO9YtzlI/AAAAAAAAAJA/CboDSNKzx2Q/s1600/naima_akek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" nea="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Lp0o5drOU0/UMAlO9YtzlI/AAAAAAAAAJA/CboDSNKzx2Q/s1600/naima_akek.jpg" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QsLOySPSvk4/UMAlWJoS0jI/AAAAAAAAAJI/v6TzProbcAQ/s1600/fifi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" nea="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QsLOySPSvk4/UMAlWJoS0jI/AAAAAAAAAJI/v6TzProbcAQ/s1600/fifi.jpg" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G_DW9bphtRQ/UMAlklfN3II/AAAAAAAAAJQ/FWyXGErhtT0/s1600/Shareen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" nea="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G_DW9bphtRQ/UMAlklfN3II/AAAAAAAAAJQ/FWyXGErhtT0/s1600/Shareen.jpg" /></a></div>
Recently I heard an experience belly dance teacher describe belly dance as “<span style="color: blue;">characterized by sharp, isolated locks as well as sultry “snakelike” movements</span>.”<br />
<br />
Really? Characterized by? I went out and re-viewed some of the videos I have of top belly dancers that I admire – Fifi Abdou, Naima Akef, Aida Nour. Not a “sharp, isolated lock” to be seen. Not much snakes either. So, maybe she meant American belly dancers – Cassandra Shore? Nope. Morocco? Nope. Shareen el Safy? Nope.<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
So what did I see as characteristic among these dancers? Physical control and grace certainly – but that applies to any dance form. Isolation and control – but in a quite gentle and deceivingly “natural” manner. Shimmies and layering – often. Use of pelvic initiated movement. Use of curves and circles. </div>
</div>
<br />
But to a certain extent all this can be seen in other dance forms. Jazz is often isolated. Shimmies can be found in island dance; hip movement in South American dance; Martha Graham and Gaga technique use pelvic initiation; Hula uses hip circles.<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
The two stand outs are the music used and how it is interpreted. A characteristic of belly dance is the use of (a subset of) Middle Eastern and North African music. If you do Highland dance you use Scottish music. If you do Bharatanatyam you use the appropriate music from the south of India. If you do hula you use Hawaiian. Same with belly dance.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Interpreting the music is the other side. You can take an appropriate piece of music and use the belly dance vocabulary and still come up with something that isn’t entirely “belly dance”. One aspect is that belly dancers make the music visible (but that doesn’t mean hitting every accent). This is different from a number of other dance forms – Contemporary is a case in point where our teacher complains if we lock into the music!</div>
</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
But there is more. Easy to spot when it doesn’t work. Hard to describe. To get a feel for how it should look watch lots of (good) native dancers. Watch their performances over and over. Try and follow along to see how they switch between rhythm, melody and lyrics. Because at its roots belly dance is a Middle Eastern dance form. You can adapt and change it – but if it drifts too far from its roots it becomes something else. Not necessarily bad dance or worthless dance – but different dance.</div>
</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<img height="96" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4Lp0o5drOU0/UMAlO9YtzlI/AAAAAAAAAJA/CboDSNKzx2Q/s1600/naima_akek.jpg" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 548px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 186px; visibility: hidden;" width="82" />Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-81174566247528627522012-11-12T13:24:00.000+13:002012-11-12T13:24:18.470+13:00How to Shimmy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-08uEOIlTo3Q/UKBA37ZKzeI/AAAAAAAAAIw/uCu1JFYD4vo/s1600/shimmy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-08uEOIlTo3Q/UKBA37ZKzeI/AAAAAAAAAIw/uCu1JFYD4vo/s320/shimmy.jpg" width="232" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">So now, we have <a href="http://kashmir-bellyraqs.blogspot.co.nz/2012/10/shimmies-defined.html">a definition of a shimmy</a>, the next question
is how to do it. And, no, the answer is more than “move very fast”. There are a
number of ways that you can move. Let’s take the two most common shimmies the
“shoulder shimmy” and the “hip shimmy” – that isn’t two shimmies. It is at least
seven!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Shoulder Shimmies<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">There are (at least) two moves known as a “shoulder shimmy”.
One moves the shoulders horizontally and one twists the torso.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The horizontal shoulder shimmy is very isolated and used
only in Orientale – it isn’t used in folk (unless you want to layer it with a
shoulder roll). In its pure form you pull the shoulder back and push it forward
without twisting the torso – or lifting or rotating the shoulder.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The more common form may include some horizontal shoulder
movement but is mainly driven by twisting the torso. But it is more complex
than that. You can generate the twist in different parts of your torso to give
a different flavour.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Hip Shimmies<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">My own default hip shimmy is driven by the concentric
contraction of lateral flexors - particularly the quadratus lumborum with the
internal and external obliques (I had to analyse it for a ‘varsity paper but
needed the help of a sports physio!). In layman's language, I use my waist
muscles to drive the hips up and down - but the knees bend to accommodate the
movement. (They have to.)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Most people learn to shimmy by initially bending and
straightening alternate legs. This means the hips go up and down but the
lateral flexors just go along for the ride. (This is sometimes referred to as a
"knee shimmy")</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Another common (older style?) shimmy involves twisting the
hips back and forward. Again you can drive this with the obliques or the legs.
(This is sometimes called a "Folk Shimmy")</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Modern Egyptian shimmy is really a refined version of
this driven by the legs (the knees are not "straight" as in locked -
but straighter to look good under a slim line skirt). You slightly flex one leg
then straighten it using your quads. This drives the hip back rather than up.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">A recent invention is the Salimpour glute driven shimmy.
This looks to me as if it is almost getting away from a relaxed shimmy and
moving more into a vibration. However, many people do use it.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">As with the shoulder shimmy, people often don't do a
"pure" version of a shimmy but mix and match - sometimes always but
sometimes for a particular effect or layer. And few people know or care what
muscles are doing what. What is important is how it looks; whether it fits the
music.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Then there is a whole family of “three-quarter shimmies”
where your hips move only three quarters of the time. How the hips move and
which leg carries the weight make this a whole article in itself (maybe later).</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Practice<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">No matter which shimmy you use, it needs practice to be
smooth and controlled. It is important that the underlying technique is
correct. So, start slow and build up the speed. If you lose it back off the
speed – then bring it back up. Remember it should be in time with the music.
Ideally it should be relaxed – even when small and fast.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Once you have the speed – go for endurance. Can you shimmy
for a whole track? What about something longer?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Then you “just” add weight shifts and layers. Try shimmying
on one leg. Which shimmies work best? How does shifting your weight change the
feel of the shimmy? What about walking with a shimmy? Figure eights? Oriental
circles? As you approach some layers you may have to go back to first
principles and work out exactly why you lose your shimmy at the back of your
circle or whatever.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It takes time. 10 000 repetitions to bed in a new movement
pattern - but it has to be 10 000 correct repetitions. Go for it!</span></div>
Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-30282223736190978562012-10-28T18:59:00.000+13:002012-10-28T18:59:16.903+13:00Shimmies Defined<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EaatecuWI1A/UIzI07dElTI/AAAAAAAAAIg/GMr3D-QTw8E/s1600/CIMG0961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EaatecuWI1A/UIzI07dElTI/AAAAAAAAAIg/GMr3D-QTw8E/s320/CIMG0961.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Questions about what are shimmies, how they are generated and what are they called frequently comes up in various belly dance fora. So, here is a quick summary of the first question (I’ll leave the others for another blog).<br />
Although the shimmy is a defining movement in belly dance, not everyone agrees what it is. For me, a shimmy is a <strong>repeated, smooth, relaxed, driven movement</strong> in time with the music – usually double time. <br />
<div>
</div>
There are some related moves – which are fast shaking movements – but are not shimmies. For instance:<br />
<ul>
<li>A vibration - which is tense – not relaxed</li>
<li>A freeze - which generated by muscle fatigue/tension rather than driven</li>
<li>A reverb(eration) – a driven movement followed by a loose, gravity generated shake (in my classes the Denise Walk is a classic example) </li>
<li>A mess – just jiggling around – not timed often tight and lumpy with no connection to the music at all</li>
</ul>
Although terminology does vary between teachers but I find this breakdown useful – and many experience belly dance teachers would agree with most of this.<br />
<br />
One bone of contention is the three-quarter shimmy. In this, the shake only happens three quarters of the time – and there is a short rest. So instead of a <em>chukka chukka</em> – it becomes <em>chukka chuck</em>. For me, if the movement part is smooth, relaxed and driven I would class it as a special type of shimmy. However, there are teachers who have banished it into Not-Shimmy-Land. <br />
<br />
So what can be shimmied? Actually anything – although most common in belly dance are the hips/pelvis, shoulders or torso. The whole body can get involved with the movement travelling from the hips the te belly and up to the bust. But I have also seen hands (especially in Khaleegi), eyebrows (Persian) and nostrils! (Greek).<br />
<br />
But whatever you move it should match the music in speed and texture. Don’t shimmy just because you can; shimmy because the music asks it of you.<br />
Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-1448134584845484152012-09-18T20:54:00.000+12:002012-09-18T20:56:35.022+12:00Dance Teachers and Knowledge of Anatomy<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: right;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YvlgouetkNQ/UFg00FWouBI/AAAAAAAAAIM/VZHS2XfV-Ic/s1600/toe_touch.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" hea="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YvlgouetkNQ/UFg00FWouBI/AAAAAAAAAIM/VZHS2XfV-Ic/s1600/toe_touch.gif" title="Toes Touching - Not a hamstring strtech" /></a></div>
I admit I don’t know as much as I want to. In moments of insomnia I still get out my text books (such as Fitt and Calais-Germain) and read a chapter. Even run my hands over my model pelvis sometimes trying to make the terminology stick. But I’ve never really knuckled down to learning the flashcards. <br />
<br />
Yet for dance teachers, a working knowledge of anatomy, kinesiology and safe dance practice really are not optional. With belly dance the safe dance practice is especially relevant as many of our students are not what traditional dance schools would normally deal with. They are often older, heavier and come with a range of injuries and problems linked to living.<br />
<br />
This came to the fore when considering two things. One was a student who trumped my 6 months tertiary study and hundred plus hours with Michael with a full degree in Phys.Ed. Yet, her knowledge of physical safety was limited and she was often dismissive of real issues faced by other students. This could partly be because she herself was a formidable athlete – who was unwilling to see that not everyone was capable of her physical feats. But also her learning was some time in the past. Possibly she had forgotten some of what she had learnt – or more likely the science had improved over the years.<br />
<br />
The second was doing a class with a teacher who considered rubbing your skin as a “warm-up”, who did not understand that standing hamstring “stretches” cannot lengthen the hamstrings – but might (if you are unlucky) lengthen lumbar ligaments that should never be lengthened and “helped” another student by missing the alignment needed for the hip flexor stretch she said we were doing.<br />
<br />
This latter experience really did send me back to my books – burning with the knowledge that I needed to keep my own understanding and skills sharp. But I’m also aware that scientific understanding of best practices also change – and I hope I do not miss something important.<br />
<br />Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-27007354932536705582012-01-30T19:20:00.001+13:002012-01-30T19:25:24.603+13:00Reaching the Belly Dance Market<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PqSJbWifzA8/TyY3JmaEkII/AAAAAAAAAHU/VLbco1Q9RVY/s1600/poster.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 222px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5703306616179560578" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PqSJbWifzA8/TyY3JmaEkII/AAAAAAAAAHU/VLbco1Q9RVY/s320/poster.jpg" /></a><br />I’ve just finished doing yet another poster run for my next beginner course. All up for Term 1 I have clocked up over150km. Why? Because I’m trying to reach those who are not already in the loop. All my students’ friends and colleagues have been informed of how much fun belly dance is. Yes, I have a web presence (and have since before I started teaching on my own). Yes, I do Facebook – and to a lesser extent Twitter. I pay for advertising in print media and on the web – and it is more expensive than the numbers responding.<br /><br />The number of belly dance classes are growing in Christchurch. When I started belly dance in 1991 there was only one teacher – Farida. There was one – then two – classes held in her back shed. I think we could fit four people in there if we were not doing veil.<br /><br />A couple of years later Gendi started teaching; first from home then hiring a studio and talking on another teacher (me) and finally buying her own hall. Now she’s gone – but there are over 10 other teachers in six groupings – there were more but the earthquake took its toll of teachers as well as venues and students. We have been pretty fortunate so far in that most of the teachers are experienced in both belly dance and have had some training in teaching. Not all cities are so lucky.<br /><br />Each teacher has her own niche and generally the classes are spread by time and space – but Christchurch has less than 400 000 people. Many people like to give it a flutter then move on to other interesting tasters. Literally thousands of people have tried belly dance and the pool of new beginners (with the interest, time and discretionary spending) is becoming more difficult to fish every year.<br /><br />Many years ago there were many places for people to put up notices for classes. Many of these were independent small retailers who were a part of the community. Now, many of these have been replaced by international consortiums whose image does not include a noticeboard. Some malls forbid tenants from displaying posters.<br /><br />For a brief moment, the Christchurch City Council came to the rescue providing bollards for community notices but these were soon taken over by a commercial poster company who put up lots of the same very large posters on commission and instructed their staff to remove any poster not paid for through their company.<br /><br />The there was Google Ads. When I started teaching, this was an economic way to reach interested people. Then another teacher in the area joined the program. Then another. Next thing you know we were in a bidding war. The only winners were the Google shareholders. I am now paying 20-40 times the amount for a click than I was initially. In addition to local competition, international retailers with deep pockets and big margins can pay highly to get the attention of New Zealanders.<br /><br />Now, the best I can hope for is someone will spot a small poster for a belly dance class and be inspired enough to sign up. Nothing so far.Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-48159062280306584082011-09-22T16:00:00.007+12:002011-09-22T19:30:00.211+12:00Misnomers<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q6qDXqKI6sw/Tnq0oUaN6pI/AAAAAAAAAEE/E2fAkF7GY7o/s1600/dictionaries.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655030886883519122" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q6qDXqKI6sw/Tnq0oUaN6pI/AAAAAAAAAEE/E2fAkF7GY7o/s320/dictionaries.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="http://kashmir-bellyraqs.blogspot.com/2011/09/thinking-about-stretching.html">My last blog </a> touched on the use of “<strong>stretching</strong>” when there was no actual muscle elongation happening. This is just one of a number of misused terms that grate for Madame Pedant. <br /><br />There is also the misuse of “<strong>warm</strong> <strong>up</strong>” to just mean the start of a class. No. A warm up is meant to prepare your body (and mind) for dancing. Stretching is not a warm up. In fact, for real stretching you need about 15 minutes of warm up first. <br /><br />A physiological warm up is understood to be something that includes continuous action of large muscle groups of sufficient intensity to elevate the internal muscle temperature by a couple of degrees; to allow more efficient energy production in muscles; increase flexibility of tissue; increase joint lubrication; allow for faster muscle contraction and increase speed of messages along the nerves. It prepares the body to work and decreases the chance of some types of injury. <br /><br />How you do it is another issue. A drill with lots of big muscle movements and lifting arm movements can work fine (I think this is why barre work may work - assuming you are not having to stretch to do it - ie you are working well below you own limits). Basically, just avoid small muscle work early on or anything that uses extreme ROM or force. <br /><br />Then there is the term “<strong>belly dance</strong>”. A misunderstanding of this phrase’s history has led to pulsating bellies and coin rolling. It is not the belly that dances but the torso – especially the hips. And yes, in modern belly dance there is also footwork.<br /><br />People have a range of ideas on alternatives. I’ve explored them in the past <a href="http://www.raqs.co.nz/articles/naming.html">www.raqs.co.nz/articles/naming.html</a> and I have also looked at what the various terms can mean - <a href="http://www.raqs.co.nz/articles/terms.html">www.raqs.co.nz/articles/terms.html</a>. No point in rehashing that all here. <br /> <br />One that grates but does little harm is the misuse of “<strong>stomach</strong>” as in “use you stomach muscles to do this move”. Pretty hard. The stomach is an organ of digestion and its only real action is squeezing the food along. In most cases the word wanted is abdominal. Although often it is not all (or any) abdominal muscles and may be a group like the lateral flexors – obliques (one set of abs) and the quadratus lumborum (a back muscle). <br /><br />Now we wander into “style X generates movements using <strong>muscles</strong> (good), style Y uses the <strong>skeleton</strong> (bad)”. Wrong. You cannot move using just the skeleton. Movement is generated by muscles contracting. These are connected to bones via tendons and with the help of joints and ligaments and a nervous system generate movement.<br /><br />What can vary between styles is whether the pelvis is moved by the abdominal muscles or pushed around by the legs. Beginners often initially have to use their legs to generate hip rocks, circles and eights. This is not desirable long term for reasons of safety (watch what happens with your knees if you do a horizontal eight this way), texture (leg driven is pretty much on or off – there isn’t much subtlety), or balance (leg driven often hangs off the ITBs at the extremes). Experienced dancers tend to migrate to abdominal generation in most styles – look at some of the old Egyptian footage. Decades before Tribal was invented and all core driven. <br /><br />Another difficult term is “<strong>hips</strong>”. It can mean a number of different things. For most English speaking general public it is the part of the body from the waist to the legs. And in class I will use this – knowing it isn’t quite right. Basically we are moving our pelvis around – which is a complex bony bit – covered in muscle and fat. The top of this is the ilium. <br /><br />The “hip joint” is where the leg bone meets the pelvis – and it is in your groin! The socket is the acetabulum and its exact configuration long with the length and angle of the neck of the femur will determine whether someone can ever achieve 90 degree turn out or the lotus position.<br /><br />Lastly there is “<strong>efficient</strong>”. I frequently hear people say they are thin because their bodies are so efficient. Actually it is exactly the opposite. Their bodies are inefficient and are wasting food. In today’s obese society, thin is good and because “efficient” is good the two must be equivalent.<br />But efficiency is the ratio of useful work to energy input. Thin people use all their input energy. Rounder people store some of the input as fat – so they need less energy input to survive – which means they are more efficient.<br /><br />Words are our tools to communicate. If we use them in a sloppy manner our communication is less efficient; there is more misunderstandings; people go off on tangents. So let’s try and use clear and unambiguous communication.Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-3353234183082501072011-09-20T20:30:00.008+12:002011-09-20T20:51:05.293+12:00Thinking about stretching<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JOnN0DGQ43I/TnhR3lMiVkI/AAAAAAAAAD0/r3Gvdu4SBo4/s1600/cards.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 245px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654359347483006530" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JOnN0DGQ43I/TnhR3lMiVkI/AAAAAAAAAD0/r3Gvdu4SBo4/s320/cards.jpg" /></a><br /><br />The term “stretch” gets bandied around in a very sloppy way. It seems to have at least four quite different meanings – depending on who is using it.<br /><br />Some people (wrongly) use it to mean a warm-up. A warm-up prepares your body for dance (or exercise) and involves raising your internal body temperature. The muscles get more blood; the joints get more lubrication. The most effective way to warm-up is to move the big muscles of the legs and lift your arms above your heart.<br /><br />Some people use it to mean a cool-down after exercise. Yes, you should cool-down and stretching is a useful way to do this – but not all cool-downs are stretches.<br />Some people use it to describe what I’d call “mobilization”. That is, moving your joints through their range of motion by moving gently.<br /><br />Scientifically, a stretch is a way to elongate your muscle fibres. You do this to increase your range of motion – it is not needed to prepare for dance – but is a way of improving what you are capable of doing while dancing.<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NluWNShxxjo/TnhSC1gwh7I/AAAAAAAAAD8/ulLgVdfdSkk/s1600/muscle_stretching.gif"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 83px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654359540841351090" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NluWNShxxjo/TnhSC1gwh7I/AAAAAAAAAD8/ulLgVdfdSkk/s320/muscle_stretching.gif" /></a><br />You can think of a muscle as a stack of interleaved cards. Normally they are partially overlapping. When you contract the muscle they overlap more. Your resting length depends on how much they overlap when they are not working (contracting). This length can be increased by moving the cards (fibres) apart and holding them for a while. All going well, next time they are relaxed they are a little less interleaved. (click the muscle fibre sketch to see what I mean)<br /><br />A stretch is done with a warm body and holds a specific (and non-working) muscle (or muscles) at their extreme limit. You release and repeat as required.<br /><br /><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">So what can go wrong?<br /></span></strong></p><br />If you try and stretch a body that is not warm (think of trying to bend frozen toffee) or push too far by using force or bounce the stretch you may tear something. Of you are lucky a muscle. If you are unlucky - a ligament or tendon. (Bouncing is a problem due to the body’s reflex to resist the stretch – if you push and release too quickly the body responds by contracting the muscle)<br /><br />Next, although people may tend to be “tight” or “loose”, it is not uncommon for a person to have some tight bits and some loose bits. To make the most of your stretches you need to target the muscles which are actually tight rather than do general stretches. If your stretch involves several muscles what will tend to happen is the loose ones will get looser and the tight ones don’t change.<br /><br />Finally bad technique. For instance, not aligning yourself correctly or trying to stretch a contracting muscle (this can some times be done but takes training). The most common ineffective (and potentially damaging) stretch is a standing hamstring stretch. When standing the hamstrings have to contract – so they won’t relax and stretch. Instead you are likely to stress your lower back; possibly tearing ligaments and in an extreme case damaging the disc.<br /><br /><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Best Practice:<br /></span></strong></p><br />Assess what parts of your body need increased range of motion and identify which can be helped by stretching and what needs to be tackled first.<br /><ul><br /><li>Find suitable exercises for each individual muscle group.</li><br /><li>Then, over a period of weeks or months, stretch at least every second day.</li><br /><li>Make sure you warm up first (increase internal temperature by a couple of degrees by walking, cycling or other big muscle group exercise)</li><br /><li>For each muscle group:</li><br /><ul><br /><li>Ensure your technique and alignment is correct.</li><br /><li>Hold each position just where you start feeling it in the muscle.</li><br /><li>Breathe – increase the stretch as you feel the muscle soften.</li><br /><li>Repeat a few times.</li><br /></ul><br /><li>Cool down</li><br /></ul><br />After some weeks, retest your range of motion and adjust your stretch program to reflect new priorities. If you have not made significant progress after 6 weeks get a sports physio or similar to check you are doing the stretches correctly and there are no other issues. For instance, some hip configurations mean some people will never be able to achieve significant hip turn out – let alone a lotus position - because the bones get in the way. Stretching will not help this at all.Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-90595169269126710742011-08-10T21:25:00.002+12:002011-08-10T21:29:12.464+12:00Belly Dance – Anyone Can Do It<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JS6vuWqyAio/TkJPPHqrtpI/AAAAAAAAADs/-FQIcg3EoxU/s1600/ruth.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 192px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 237px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639156804595988114" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JS6vuWqyAio/TkJPPHqrtpI/AAAAAAAAADs/-FQIcg3EoxU/s320/ruth.jpg" /></a>Yes, our local dance network sent me a link. “Bellydance Comprehensive” – yes, in six weeks you can learn Orientale <strong>and</strong> Tribal and be up to doing a Fusion choreography. I guess I’m a slow learner. And a bad teacher – I certainly cannot teach a class Orientale in ten weeks – let alone six. Let alone Tribal.
<br /><div>
<br />This is probably because I have the wrong training. I have been learning Middle Eastern belly dance and folkloric for 20 years. The one who will get you up to speed in six is trained in <strong>Contemporary Dance</strong>. But she is Latin American – so it’s in the blood. Everyone knows the Egyptians migrated to South America when Atlantis dropped below the waves. And they took their fertility Goddess dance of the Sultan for painless childbirth with them.
<br /></div>
<br />
<br /><div>The other kicker is that it is linked in with a mundane dance studio; lots of easy publicity. I wonder how they would react if I said I was qualified to teach Salsa because I like Mexican food? </div>
<br /><div>
<br />Yes, yes, I’m getting my bedleh in a knot – everyone knows belly dance is really simple – you just drape yourself in bling and shake about a bit. If you can’t get it first time – have a couple of drinks.
<br /></div>
<br />
<br /><div>Sigh! </div>
<br />Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-61140134447132297012011-07-28T16:43:00.004+12:002011-07-28T16:52:03.607+12:00Past Beginner – Beginning to Perform<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bYOR3GlnOJY/TjDpgyMaKhI/AAAAAAAAADk/JK-128baGKY/s1600/students.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 244px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634259883279395346" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bYOR3GlnOJY/TjDpgyMaKhI/AAAAAAAAADk/JK-128baGKY/s320/students.jpg" /></a> Having just seen the amusing animation<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuE9DEw_V3o"> "Why Yes, I Am a Professional Belly Dancer!" </a>– I had to laugh but then started to think about just how much there is to learn. Or alternatively how much I need to teach those in my care. <br /><div></div><br /><div>Go onto most belly dance bulletin boards and there will be lists of things a beginner needs to learn. Most of these centre around movement generation – basic isolations, shimmies, undulations; the vocabulary of the dance. What makes that list will depend on a person’s style and experience. Some will also add props such as veil or zills. Some add some background knowledge of the culture and history of the dance. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>So, let’s assume our student has all that – and now they are going to perform – in public. Hopefully those first forays are in a supportive environment of family and friends with something safe to dance. By that I mean, a piece within their technical ability, that they know well, and in an appropriate costume. Around here that is usually a 3 minute choreography in a group. </div><br /><div><br />As teachers we often have to balance the chance to let someone perform who still hasn’t quite got it but who is really keen with our own reputation and the audience expectation. In a clearly student show you can cut them some slack. But I worry if a see a piece that none of the performers can handle – for instance something with lots of shimmy where none of the students can do more than flop around out of time to the music or a cane piece which tries to do tricky stuff but canes let loose, fly across the floor or injure other dancers. In these cases, the teacher needed to pull back her expectations and choreograph something that suited her students and made them look good. </div><br /><div><br />Costumes can be tricky too. Students need guidance. They are students. For instance – “this item will require bra, belt and skirt. The skirt needs to be opaque under lights. The bra needs to fit and support your breasts.” In some cases suggestions on cut and colour are appropriate. For stage shows I now buy bolts of fabric or have class groups go out and pick material that suits them all. For galas and fairs I usually have a more relaxed approach but the general look needs to be similar. </div><br /><div><br />Quality can be an issue. Here there has been an influx of cheap, nasty hip scarves. Personally I won’t have one worn in an Orientale piece – and only better quality ones in folk, shaabi or fusion pieces. Worst look I ever saw were students with one worn as a hip belt and another wrapped to (almost) hide their underwear bras. </div><br /><div><br />This becomes even more of an issue as students start to do their own work. If a teacher doesn’t tell her student bedleh is not appropriate for beledi how are they going to learn? With student troupes, some times intervention is needed for the overall look and balance; for instance costume colour, physical shape and ability needs to be considered for the final presentation.<br /><br />And it is when the students get past those first simple dances to pop pieces that things start to get tricky. Especially when they need to know their cultural references. “Your solo music is old style beledi – I suggest you wear a dress – forget the veil – and stop waving your arms in the air”. “This music is sa`iidi – why are you dressed as a harem slave?” </div><br /><br /><div>But the hardest thing to get across is the feel of a style. I recently saw an Orientale piece that was appropriately choreographed. The students did all the movements correctly – yet didn’t. The problem was they didn’t seem to get the styles being referenced. Was it nerves? Lack of preparation? Unfamiliarity of the underlying styles? This is one reason I believe any one other than a hobbist needs solid folkloric performance experience before tackling “grown up” belly dance. This is what sa`iidi is meant to feel like. This is how you move in khaleegi. This is beledi. This is debke. Then when 32 counts need to be slotted in they will know what they are trying to do. </div><br /><div><br />Another issue that is hard to get across to students (believe me I have the same problem) the need to appear to engage with the audience: relaxed faces, smiles when appropriate; relaxed upper bodies. I think many of us over emphasise the isolation needed and instead of working hips and shoulders independently they end up holding their torso rigid – often with rigid hands as well. One teacher (Elenie) once said to me that the shoulder girdle communicates emotion – and I think she is right. The plastic Barbie look occurs with a plastered on smile and cold unmoving shoulders. And this year Momo repeated the idea by saying that the face and shoulders expressed the soul.</div><br /><div><br />But of course, many skip all these boring lessons and go straight to being a pro belly dancer. </div>Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-5905003238703091302011-07-14T20:09:00.003+12:002011-07-18T07:28:38.641+12:00Teaching Insights from Workshops with Momo KadousThis was the 16th <a href="http://www.winterwarmup.com.au/">Brisbane Winter Warm Up </a>and the first with Momo Kadous. I admit I signed up a little unsure of whether I was making a mistake in times when every dollar needed to be carefully placed. I knew nothing about him other than he was Egyptian and recommended by Dr Mo Geddawi as a replacement when he, himself, was unable to take his planned workshops and teacher training. And it looked like too much Orientale and not enough folklore.<br /><br />But I am so glad I went! His dance style was interesting, his approach to the dance on my wave length, he added a session on shaabi flavoured dance – and I was reminded a lot about teaching from watching him teach. I intend to make more of an effort to incorporate some of these aspects:<br /><br />His philosophy that a dancer should dance for herself – but <strong>present for the audience</strong>. So, we were being continually being pulled up on the awareness of where the audience was; what they could see. Right from the first hour when we were just learning some new combinations; head, torso, arms, hands.<br /><br /><strong>Humour</strong> – Momo was happy to use humour to release tension in the class (who wants a tense belly dancer!) – even when he could be seen as the butt of his own humour. Sometimes belly dancers get just too precious about themselves and their art. Laugh!<br /><br /><strong>Repetition</strong> – we learnt it at Teachers’ College – the “broken record” technique – and I thought I was doing it. But I’m a rank amateur. More repetition needed. There were some points he made every few hours over the four days. Not because we were particularly slow, but, he stressed, he wanted to make sure his changes had become habits that would be hard to break.<br /><br />He also demonstrated using <strong>different learning methods</strong>. For instance during the drum solo. We’d sing the rhythm then tap it out and only then use our hips and feet.<br /><br />Mixing individual and class <strong>correction</strong> (yes, this was a workshop teacher who would come down and ask if you’d “left your left hip at home? Why not bring it to class?”). And yes, I do correct – but I find I self censor – “she won’t want me to say that again”, “they just want to get to the end of the choreography” – yet, as the student, I found those interruptions valuable.<br /><br />He closely targeted some corrections, staying on the target until she had made a reasonable attempt to change what she was doing. Or he just did the eye and the gesture which would get half the class checking their hips, or their footwork or their flapping hands. Or he would stop what he was doing completely to go over a particular point: varying from a makeshift creation of a barre to practice lifting our legs like dancers not like footballers to repeating a short sequence over and over to a drum track.<br /><br />All obvious. All stuff I know. But it was good to see someone using it in such an effective way. And the content of the workshops? Also excellent. We had classes in technique, drum solo, Khaleegi, shaabi and Orientale. In each class, in addition to the dancing, Momo explained the music, the lyrics if there were any, and any relevant cultural and staging information.<br /><br />Momo Kadous is well worth keeping an eye out for.Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-27560474645916731412011-06-14T15:33:00.010+12:002011-07-18T07:32:35.627+12:00Monday 13 June – Earthquakes Again!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nrmiqE4J8MY/TffFsQSz7xI/AAAAAAAAADc/AmkXsKcI9G8/s1600/smashed.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618176424246767378" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nrmiqE4J8MY/TffFsQSz7xI/AAAAAAAAADc/AmkXsKcI9G8/s320/smashed.jpg" /></a><br />My next blog was meant to be about stretching – but another earthquake has pushed itself into my consciousness. You’d think after over 7000 odd since September we’d be over them – but this one was very pushy.<br /><br />I’d finally decided to tidy up and put away. After all we’d had nothing significant for a while. The last three magnitude 5 pluses were on the west side of town so were no big deal in Brighton. (For those of you not blessed by earthquakes the magnitude is logarithmic and measures the energy at the epicentre. A 7 is about 30 times as powerful as a 6 and a 9 is about 900 times as powerful as a 7. But a 7.1 several km away can have less effect than a 6.3 right under you. It also makes a difference how deep the fault is. Christchurch’s little darlings were only 5-15km below the surface.)<br /><br />So Monday the 13th arrives. I’ve arranged to cook for eight people for dinner at a friend’s. No need for the gas cooker I was lent in February – power’s been up for weeks. Ditto the water, in nice heavy pots in the kitchen. Won’t waste it but pour it into plastic containers and put it in the laundry (spoiler alert!). Now, start with soup – I’ll complete it and microwave it when I get there (spoiler alert!).<br /><br />Across town to get the meat I want (my local shops are open but didn’t have the right cut and closer possibilities are still munted). I’m making pörkölt – a Hungarian stew with lots of paprika. Right, it’s underway. I can replace some of my ornaments on the shelves. Will still keep the heavy ones on the floor but the light stuff should be safe enough.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LcwyyPBPxq8/TfbXwNSqAFI/AAAAAAAAADE/d6otZ-1txZY/s1600/bookcase.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617914808392876114" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LcwyyPBPxq8/TfbXwNSqAFI/AAAAAAAAADE/d6otZ-1txZY/s320/bookcase.jpg" /></a><br />Next job: bookshelves. All but one have been screwed to the wall – but the books still fly out with the shaking. I’d decided to lace the front and fill in the sides to reduce this. And I’d come up with a method to secure the last bookcase. I’ll tackle it once I finish the lacing etc. (spoiler alert).<br /><br />So, I’m crouched down with my screwdriver when another aftershock hits. At first I didn’t pay it much attention. But there is something about feeling like you are on a giant waterbed, while suspended over the cavity which is a garage and under another storey made of heavy beams, that give you pause. And what’s more it is continuing and I can here things crashing. It’s a big one. (5.3M as it turns out)<br /><br />Poor Isis. Light and tall she’s hit the floor for the third time – very undignified for a Goddess. A bit of bluetack will fix that. What about the rest of the stuff? Pretty heavy; still on the shelves; just push them back a bit (they’ve moved forward a few centimetres). No real damage. Fill in a <a href="http://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake/quakes/recent_quakes.html">GeoNet</a> report. Update my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/kashmir.tancos">Facebook </a>status with something light and time to start the potatoes.<br /><br />Not too keen to go back into that bedroom though. Empty the chemical toilet? No, not while cooking. Maybe wash the kitchen floor now I’ve had reliable water for a few weeks. It’s pretty grubby after 4 months and won’t take much water – but maybe I’ll wait until I finish cooking. Potter, potter. … Wham! Thump! Thump! (that’s the stereo speakers) Crash! (CRT monitor) Thunk tinkle! (1 litre of olive oil from bench to floor – with plates)<br /><br />Egyptian reproductions? Isis is standing firm – but the fake stone carvings are scattered across the floor. Books? Most still on the shelves with only some on the floor. Bookshelf? Yes, crashed over the bed – sans books (now on floor, again) With a broken water main outside my neighbour’s, how’s my supply. Trickle … and gone – but I do have 10l on the floor of the laundry.<br /><br />Off the check the neighbours. Pat and calm their dogs. Now, how’s the bridge? Traffic is flowing both ways but I want to see if it is passable with my little car which doesn’t take kindly to 200mm steps in the road. Never made it on foot between the new liquefaction and broken water mains meant I needed gumboots – and nerve (some of the liquefaction holes can be very, very deep).<br /><br />I get a text that the dinner venue while without power (like me) – does have a generator and gas. So I pack up the food – soup, pörkölt, vegetarian alternative, potatoes (uncooked). I’m giving desert a miss. Oh, and spare clothes, a radio, torch, batteries, cash – and a camera.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j5AahzJnaAg/TfbYWcxT6BI/AAAAAAAAADU/iWYVSzGrXQs/s1600/flooding.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617915465383012370" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j5AahzJnaAg/TfbYWcxT6BI/AAAAAAAAADU/iWYVSzGrXQs/s320/flooding.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Off I go. Only now there is a queue for the bridge – too late it’s closed. U-turn. Maybe the Brighton bridge is open. Opps, the flooding is a bit deep – I’ll go via the mall. Missed the worst of it – and it’s closed. Won’t follow the river – they still haven’t fixed the road from September. It’ll definitely be under water – but Bower Ave bridge was almost okay last time. Head back to the coast then cut back. Not this time – but at least they had someone on the roundabout. Anzac Drive? Nice new bridge? Nope – and this time I had to go the whole distance through the flooding which filled the bits of road that had slumped about half a metre – either this time or earlier. Nice young man says I have to go west – so I do and realize I’m heading into Dallington! River flooding to the left, cars back up ahead, liquefaction almost covering the crown of the road. I cannot risk a U-turn that may get me into the unknown – cars have been swallowed by liquefaction holes. So it’s a 3 (or 4) point turn. Onward.<br /><br />Back via Stanmore Road, where only this morning this building – and that - were standing. No more. But now at least there’s little road damage, flooding or liquefaction. Then - at last – after only 80 minutes and 67km I have complete a trip that is normally 6km and takes under 10 minutes.<br /><br />The dinner went very well. All but one guest could make it. We ate in the ambience of 17 candles and I wore earthquake chic – silt covered shoes and a head lamp. (The gennie turned out to be only for the server)<br /><br />There was one surreal moment when I left the roar of the gennie to visit the Port-a-loo and heard a strange sound echoing around the hills. It almost sounded like a call to prayer – a drone with indistinct words. But it turned out to be an automated evacuation message “Please evacuate the building immediately. Do not return for personal possessions. Immediately make for the assembly point”. One positive side effect of the 5.6 at 1pm was that malls and most buildings had already been evacuated when the 6.3 hit at 2:20pm.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ybM0rr9_w-o/TfbYGk7dEiI/AAAAAAAAADM/7-LsoySNfPw/s1600/bridge.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617915192695132706" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ybM0rr9_w-o/TfbYGk7dEiI/AAAAAAAAADM/7-LsoySNfPw/s320/bridge.jpg" /></a><br />And the numbers? From 1pm until 2:20pm there were six earthquakes (5.6M, 4.4M, 3.4M, 2.9M, 3.1M, 6.3M – 9-11km deep). From then until dinner started at 6pm there were 24 more (varying from 2.9M-4.9M 2-12km deep). There were 10 more during dinner (2.9M-4M, 5-9km deep). Overnight, add another 14 (biggest was a 4.7M - which is what I think did in a few more things at home). In all over 24 hours we had 59 earthquakes. Oh, and there’s another.<br /><br />PS Power now back on and bridge open. Main problem was washout due to burst water pipe – hence still without water over here. Guess the floor will have to wait a bit longer!<br /><br />(And here is my thoughts back in March <a href="http://kashmir-bellyraqs.blogspot.com/2011/03/reflections-five-weeks-after-earthquake.html">Reflections Five Weeks After the Earthquake</a>)Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-64896060926021571492011-05-11T20:30:00.001+12:002011-05-11T20:33:29.882+12:00When a Belly Dancer isn’t Belly Dancing<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F4-FXEMhKwE/TcpJyyaNKhI/AAAAAAAAAC4/KrzIuDXWyss/s1600/kashmir_0503.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 192px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 197px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605373823089977874" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F4-FXEMhKwE/TcpJyyaNKhI/AAAAAAAAAC4/KrzIuDXWyss/s320/kashmir_0503.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div>I’m a belly dancer. I have been for many years. I spend time working on improving my technique and expression; I like to watch good dancers for pleasure and ideas; my leave is usually spent on belly dance related activities; my best clothes are belly dance costumes.<br /><br />Yet, I am not belly dancing every time I dance. I take an exercise with dance class – yes, there is an occasional hip drop – but I’d say the class uses more Jazz aesthetic than Belly Dance.<br /><br />Some years back I attended a gathering of women to celebrate the female divine. Arriving on a whim I didn’t know we were expected to bring gifts – some sang or recited poetry, some played music, - and I danced. I think I did a good job off the cuff to music I’d never heard before. But it is still slightly uncomfortable when I run into people who were present and get tagged as “that wonderful belly dancer”. I wasn’t belly dancing – I was just dancing.<br /><br />Then, some times I’ve been at parties and asked to “do a belly dance”. Well, apart from the fact I normally charge to do that (are other people giving free medical consultations? fixing someone’s diff? perhaps, handing out samples of their merchandise?) – the music is all wrong. No, I don’t belly dance to “Copperhead Row”.<br /><br />Belly dance isn’t just a bunch of moves. It involves an approach and musicality; it is tied to a culture. But more to the point, belly dancers are allowed to dance in other styles. There are belly dancers who also do Latin, Ceroc, ballet, jazz, line dancing, Highland … When they are doing these forms they may be still technically belly dancers – but they are no longer belly danc<strong>ing</strong>.</div>Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-67007859757299156932011-03-29T15:15:00.011+13:002011-07-18T07:34:20.007+12:00Reflections Five Weeks After the Earthquake<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tlqSiGd6R0E/TZFFM4u46HI/AAAAAAAAACw/ug8Ot5xXi6I/s1600/lounge.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 205px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589324700233295986" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tlqSiGd6R0E/TZFFM4u46HI/AAAAAAAAACw/ug8Ot5xXi6I/s320/lounge.jpg" /></a><br />A break from dance related topics to give a personal view of living in Christchurch five weeks after the 22 February earthquake.<br /><br />The news was initially filled with the shocking images of destroyed buildings, rescue workers and the army. Now most of the dead have been recovered; yesterday some business people were allowed back into the red zone to recover essential equipment and records; buildings are being removed, roads cleared, and life tries to get back to normal. But it isn’t – quite.<br /><br />Here’s what it is like living in South Brighton – an area barely affected by the quake – very few houses are written off for example, but still …<br /><br /><strong>Power</strong><br />I was lucky and got power back after just nine days. Across the road they needed to wait a bit longer. The houses fed by the New Brighton substation are being fed via huge generators as the substation took significant damage (it sunk about 1.5m into the ground, all four incoming cables and the ten outgoing ones were “buggered”; they ran overhead lines several kilometres to another substation to try and get over the problems)<br /><br />So, five weeks on we have power – but we are advised to avoid using electric heating – including jugs and ranges – unless absolutely necessary. This is especially the case from 5-7pm where a sudden switching on of appliances can lead to the power going off. This restriction covers all of the eastern and southern suburbs – I’d say at least half of Christchurch.<br /><br />I was very pleased I had held out for replacing my log burner with another log burner – not the alternatives pushed by the council which required electricity to run. Only problem was, set in the middle of the house, there was no natural light and all cooking needed to be completed by dusk. Later, a friend lent me a portable gas stove. I continue to stash torches (with good batteries) all over the house – just in case.<br /><br /><strong>Water</strong><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZESFnzstq-U/TZFDkc4vBdI/AAAAAAAAACo/cuksoRFzjfw/s1600/water%2Btank.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589322906052003282" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZESFnzstq-U/TZFDkc4vBdI/AAAAAAAAACo/cuksoRFzjfw/s320/water%2Btank.jpg" /></a><br />Next service to be reconnected was water – a trickle started coming through after 3 weeks – not enough to fill the hot water tank though. When pressure was restored my damaged pipes blew apart so I was off again until my father came over and capped the errant pipe (and at the same time fixed the four doors which no longer closed due to slight movement). At this stage we still have a boil water notice in effect.<br /><br />What happened in the meantime? Well, only a day after the quake they had a water tanker at the local school. Hundreds of people queued for water with a range of containers – from empty 2l ice cream containers, to empty rubbish bins – and waited for a means of getting the water out of the tank (there was no fitting to release the water) - after 2 1/2 hours I walked home without any! One of my neighbours was singing “don’t have to live like a refugee”.<br /><br />I had emergency water to drink – and some unbroken beer and wine for follow up. But had never considered how much water is needed for cooking – let alone washing dishes (I can now do a sinkful in 2l). Washing clothes and bodies were not even considered. We all stank equally.<br /><br />Currently the whole city is on water restrictions – but my garden died in the first few weeks so I’m not tempted to try and bring it back to life before spring.<br /><br /><strong>Sewage</strong><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-06311f4ShyY/TZFCrbcAuDI/AAAAAAAAACY/jd8Ckx4c7Aw/s1600/potaloo.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 161px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589321926410549298" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-06311f4ShyY/TZFCrbcAuDI/AAAAAAAAACY/jd8Ckx4c7Aw/s320/potaloo.jpg" /></a><br />This is still not operational for about 160 000 people. Many people have toilets that flush – but for many it doesn’t leave the property, or it may only to be blocked by broken or silt filled pipes further along. The overflow flows into the rivers and estuary – or are actively pumped into them. That’s the story here – but at least it doesn’t flow in the streets like in some places.<br /><br />However, if they could get it all to the treatment station it wouldn’t help as it is running at only 70% capacity due to damage.<br /><br />Needless to say you cannot swim at the beach – let alone do any water sports on the rivers or estuaries. People have already got sick. They are recommending to keep even dogs out of the water.<br /><br />They started with thousands of Port-a-loos but since have handed out tens of thousands of chemical toilets as this will continue for 3-4 months (all going well). Note, to those who don’t have one – emptying them is not a pleasant chore.<br /><br /><strong>Roads</strong><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jFoDylEJfFo/TZFDO5oWdII/AAAAAAAAACg/GEBZUJo28gc/s1600/goo%2Broad.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 305px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589322535810790530" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jFoDylEJfFo/TZFDO5oWdII/AAAAAAAAACg/GEBZUJo28gc/s320/goo%2Broad.jpg" /></a><br />Within days they had filled many of the small car sized holes in the road (no joke we are talking metres wide and half a metre - at least - deep). The 18 broken bridges are now mostly passable – although many are limited to under 3.5 tonne. Many of the roads are restricted to 30km/h – which can be too fast if you drive over a outstanding manholes (they rose with the liquidfaction) due to poor visibility. Potholes, waves, sinks, cracks are all a normal part of driving now. Trips take often twice as long as before. Adding to the traffic problems are the cordoned off parts of the city with rubble or danger of falling masonry.<br /><br />Let me explain. A good route is one with about 50% gravel and only a couple of bone jarring ridges. Bad routes slow you down to a crawl. Detours and single lanes are common. “Water” on the road is not unusual – and you always suspect it’s raw sewage. But at least most of the silt has been removed.<br /><br /><strong>Business</strong><br />We are quite lucky here – we got our supermarket back up and running after only a few weeks. Many other suburbs around here are still without any supermarkets, fruit and vege or butchers – so ours has become a little busy. Still better than a 45 minute drive across town which I had to do for the first few weeks though.<br /><br />Many of the big banks here are still closed.<br /><br />The two nearest malls are closed (but who would enter a mall again?).<br /><br />Obviously, central city is out of the question.<br /><br />I have dropped half my dance classes due to students who have left town or are unable to get here – or are just too stressed due to losing their houses and/or jobs.<br /><br />My day job clients were mostly based in the CBD and if they are working at all are just holding on and only calling on IT help for urgent issues. Forget pretty upgrades, new features or training.<br /><br />So, we are still here and trying to make a go of it – but it’ll be a long time before it is anything like “normal” again. In the meantime – make sure you have at least 10 litres of drinkable water, containers for still more, investigate a bypass on your downpipe (and a barrel to hold the rain water), food that you can eat without cooking or water, torches, a battery or solar radio, batteries, portable cell phone chargers, direct plug in landline phones, gas or wood cooking facilties – and a pack of cards.<br /><br />(And here is the June update - <a href="http://kashmir-bellyraqs.blogspot.com/2011/06/monday-13-june-earthquakes-again.html">Monday 13 June - Earthquakes again</a>)Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-39780962796005479272011-01-29T18:59:00.001+13:002011-01-29T19:03:01.540+13:00Communication is the KeyDo we live in a world now where because it is so easy to communicate often we don’t?<br /><br />When I started belly dance teaching much of my communication was done by email. It was what I was used to (I worked as a software engineer and the directive was to email – even the guy in the next office – <strong>never</strong> interrupt by phone or dropping in). As more and more people got connected and everyone (in New Zealand) seemed to have at least one email address, I dreamed of the time when I could organize classes and shows totally electronically.<br /><br />Sure I email out information. But does anyone get it? Does my vital email about rehearsal get lost in the spam box? Or does the student’s partner clear her email and “lose” mine? Or, is the PC down? Or does the student never actually check her email? Or is it seen and then there are no capabilities to follow up on time?<br /><br />I rarely know. People often disable read receipts (I do it myself often enough – but I also respond to the text of the email instead). People often fail to say they are unable to make a practice – even rarer that they received my message and are all go.<br /><br />Since November I’ve been tracking responses – less than 30% with my current students – 0% for students who asked to be informed when the next term starts. Does that mean on 8 February I’ll have no beginner students (unlikely) or 30 (far too many for my little studio)?<br /><br />And it isn’t just classes. People book Hen’s Nights but never stump up with the deposit. Does that mean they have changed their minds or still expect me to turn up? An email inquiry very often gets no response at all – not even a “no thank you” or “we’re still thinking about it”. If there are people out there who are wondering why your belly dancer never showed – have you checked your email?<br /><br />Even the EQC seems to have the disease. I paid for repairs myself (sorry, I really need my hot water to shower after a gig). They said they’d pay by beginning of December (well, three months isn’t too long to wait). They finally responded to an email and said it’d be by Christmas. Now, they won’t respond at all. Maybe I’ll try the phone and push all the silly digits and wait for 20 minutes. Email is such a much better means of communication – but you have to read it and <strong>respond to</strong> <strong>it</strong>.Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-70797656991186676312011-01-13T18:57:00.001+13:002011-01-13T19:01:34.670+13:00Choreography vs Improvisation<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w-OZzgEawJQ/TS6VKb79t8I/AAAAAAAAACM/iCyUsXFIsdA/s1600/headshot%2B2010.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 203px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 263px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561546596379637698" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w-OZzgEawJQ/TS6VKb79t8I/AAAAAAAAACM/iCyUsXFIsdA/s320/headshot%2B2010.jpg" /></a><br /><div>I love improvisation. Most of my own performance is improvisation. I believe that improvisation is at the heart of belly dance. I introduce it in the second week of my beginner course. But I teach mostly choreography. Why?<br /><br />First, there is the huge resistance I have found from most of my students to improvisation. And, no, I don't start with expecting them to do a whole song. Choreography feels safe to them - even if it is harder.<br /><br />Second, most of my students perform as a group so they need a structure to look good. I have a couple of numbers where pairs "improvise" for a few bars but in practice what they do is create their own small choreography.<br /><br />Third, with good choreography you do learn. This year at the Winter Warmup I added six more from Aida Nour. There was something to learn in every one. Several things in some - from musicality, to combinations, to weight transfer, to gestures, to arms and hands, to folkloric knowledge, even facial expressions.<br /><br />Yes, you can learn this using the follow-the-bouncing-butt method – but these days I have difficulty in remembering much of 20 hours of improvised dance – but a choreography – where you go over and over the same moves - will stick better; even if the actual dance doesn’t have the range of nuance of several interpretations to the same music.<br /><br />Finally, choreography is a way to reinforce what is belly dance. Some times when I have had enthusiastic students improvising I need to pull them back when they step over the belly dance line. (I generally let the beginners go initially) You can learn the lines through watching lots of good performances - but learning choreographies from a range of sources is another way to learn what is and is not "belly dance".<br /><br />That said, to get past being a beginner I think you do need to be able to improvise. Not necessarily to completely unknown live music but you have to be able to let the music flow through you. Then, I think, your choreographed performances will also be better. And as a bonus you won’t get thrown when a waiter or small child wanders through your dance space.</div>Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-48839935923297365402010-07-16T15:55:00.007+12:002010-07-16T16:11:21.418+12:00Value of Workshops<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w-OZzgEawJQ/TD_agVwywYI/AAAAAAAAAB4/H5Vndc6tSWc/s1600/aida_small.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 288px; height: 237px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w-OZzgEawJQ/TD_agVwywYI/AAAAAAAAAB4/H5Vndc6tSWc/s320/aida_small.jpg" border="0" alt="Aida Nour. " title="Aida Nour. "id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494350319547761026" /></a><br />I have just recently returned from the <a href="http://www.winterwarmup.com.au">Winter Warm Up</a> in Brisbane . This year’s guest teacher was Aida Nour. It was well worth the time and money – as it has been for each of the last 14 years I have attended.<br /><br /><strong>Why I Attend Workshops</strong><br /><br />Every year I learn something new – which makes me smile at those who have learnt it all in a year or so. Am I just thick or did they really have better and more experienced teachers than Aida Nour, Denise Enan, Dr Mo Geddawi, Yousry Sharif, Mohamed Kazafy or Lubna Emam? I suspect it is a case of “unknown unknowns”. Seems many belly dance teachers today know only the surface of the dance. They don’t know its history, any folkloric styles, and have limited understanding of Arabic (or Turkish) music and how to interpret it. No surprise than that they soon run out of things to teach. Worse, when one of their students decides to start teaching …<br /><br />I go partly as it is a chance to learn from the source of the dance unmediated by western bias. All the Winter Warm Up teachers (apart from Bobby Farrah) have been Egyptian born with a long history in professional belly dance. They can dance Orientale. They also know Egyptian folk styles – the movement vocabulary, the music and the costuming.<br /><br />But also the format means you get a chance at depth you can never get with one or two short workshops. Over four (or even better eight) days you can begin to see patterns in the way a dancer works. Something you couldn’t get on day one, snaps into focus on the third day, for example. Some years we have worked on the same piece for two days. Ten hours concentrated work on a dance certainly helps cement it into your muscle memory.<br /><br />There is also the sense of community. Once a year you get to met in person with those who share a passion for Egyptian belly dance. A rare breed. It’s great to be surrounded by people who can discuss the evolution of Egyptian dance or who understand that milaya lef was created by Mahmoud Reda and can compare different interpretations.<br /><br />Finally, in New Zealand I have a very limited pool of teachers who I can gain much from. Either they are involved in styles I have no interest in or their own knowledge is less than my own. Attending workshops gives me something to stretch me and something I can work on for a few months.<br /><br /><strong>Why Do So Few Attend (Challenging) Workshops?</strong><br /><br />So why don’t more teachers (especially) attend more challenging workshops? Access is an issue. The Winter Warm Up is in Australia which means a passport, time off work and family, money for workshops, accommodation and travel. There are few “grown-up” workshops for belly dance in New Zealand (with would be more accessible). Yes, we have had Cassandra’s <a href="http://www.oasisdancecamp.com/">Oasis Dance Camp </a>– but only twice. Other international teachers do make it to New Zealand but invariably they tone their material down to reach as wide a catchment as possible. The problem would be that we are a small country and are unable to pull the numbers needed for a solid, extending workshop.<br /><br />But wait a minute! We have thousands of belly dancers in New Zealand. I, alone, can think of 80 teachers here. True some of them would only be interested in Tribal workshops – but that is only a small proportion. If half of the teachers were willing to attend a workshop there would be the numbers to bring someone with a lot of experience to New Zealand. But you have to ask how many of those teachers would be capable of handling 4 or 5 hour days? I still remember my surprise at the Oasis Dance Camp when at least two teachers were buggered after about an hour’s dancing.<br /><br />One must consider whether a desire not to be “shown up” is part of the reason some people don’t attend workshops. Personally, I rarely see anyone else in a workshop – I’m too busy working on my own stuff. With Aida I was surprised when she split the class in half so each could dance for the other and I discovered dancers I deeply admired had problems too. One had difficulty remembering the choreography. Another had a lousy shoulder shimmy. A third couldn’t modify her style to match the style we were meant to be performing. I don’t see them as any less a dancer, but it reinforces that we all have things we need to work on.<br /><br />Another possible reason is that some dancers think they know all there is to know. They don’t attend workshops because they don’t think they need to. In some cases they may have a deeply flawed concept of what they do and do not know. For others they may have attended a workshop that was badly labelled – for instance a “professional workshop for advanced dancers” taught by someone with poor dance skills and no teaching ability. Correctly judging they could do better, they then avoid workshops in the future as a waste of time.<br /><br /><strong>Meet the Challenge</strong><br /><br />To all of you, I say, you have to keep pushing the limits. It is extremely rare to improve without some outside stimulus. Talk to other dancers who have similar interests and find out what is worth going to. If you want to get out of the rut, start saving money and leave so you can do at least one challenging workshop every year or two.<br /><a href="http://www.oasisdancecamp.com/"></a><a href="http://www.oasisdancecamp.com/"></a>Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-37149510201023076622010-06-16T14:36:00.003+12:002010-06-16T14:42:00.993+12:00Bouncing Breasts as a Turn Off<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w-OZzgEawJQ/TBg5SHIAOfI/AAAAAAAAABw/xvK2Ky9hQts/s1600/Kashmir_hey2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 287px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 249px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483195529636624882" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_w-OZzgEawJQ/TBg5SHIAOfI/AAAAAAAAABw/xvK2Ky9hQts/s320/Kashmir_hey2.jpg" /></a><br /><div>All mammals have them. In many adult human females they are quite noticeable. So why are they ignored when it comes to physical exercise? Yes, yes, I know about sports bras – but honestly they are of limited use. In the short time I played soccer only binding with crepe bandages was really effective.<br /><br />Two incidents have had me thinking about breasts again. One was a presentation I attended on introducing exercise to the community. One (male) presenter was extolling the virtues of jogging (as opposed to running or fast walking which causes a lot of leverage on the joints). Jogging was great. The feet stayed under the bulk of the body weight. The heart rate was raised because the body is lifted and moved slightly forward very rapidly.<br /><br />Mmm, I thought, bouncing up and down for 30 minutes – do they really think this is going to take off with the under-exercised and over-weight in the community. Especially women? Even with a good bra, as an E-cup, I avoid anything that is going to lift and drop my torso for even a few minutes – let alone thirty.<br /><br />I waited for someone to object. The only query was on the effect of jogging on the joints which let to a complex discussion on how fast walking can be more detrimental. Oddly enough most of the audience was female – but of the light lean variety. I am still unsure if the silence was due to a complete obliviousness to the issue or whether no-one wanted to mention “breasts”. However, as two of the other presentations by women were also the jump round turn around variety I suspect many in the industry have never lived with the reality of female breasts and vigorous exercise.<br /><br />So maybe belly dance is the answer. If you avoid some folk styles such as sa`iidi and debke there isn’t a lot joggling up and down. Yet breast blindness appeared again recently on an internet forum.<br /><br />The subject was shoulder shimmies. There are many ways to create a shoulder shimmy but the two main mechanisms is to articulate the shoulders back and forward very quickly or to twist the torso as a unit. (You can do a mix and you can also change how high the torso twists.) Personally I refer to the former as “shoulder shimmies” and the latter as “torso or bust shimmies”. The latter is more common in folk styles. The former is most often seen in Orientale.<br /><br />The issue was many larger busted women found the bust shimmy uncomfortable, ugly, and made them feel self conscious. However a number of the other dancers and even teachers could not understand this. There was discussion on using well constructed bras and improving isolation – both valid comments – but few would be willing to change the technique to an (articulated) shoulder shimmy.<br /><br />My point? When leading exercise for a group that includes women who are not (for what ever reason) washboard ribbed, consider the effect of the movement on the women’s body. Making your clients uncomfortable and unhappy is not going to encourage them to come back. </div>Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743858376803431479.post-11249164463712575402010-02-25T15:36:00.002+13:002010-02-25T15:41:12.171+13:00Challenging YourselfIn belly dance there is so much to learn - even within a single style. It is a chance of lifetime learning. The first challenge most people face is actually <strong>taming their body</strong>. Learning that hip figure eight that does what you want it to do - staying horizontal or vertical or doing a combination of both and keeping it smooth. Getting a shoulder shimmy that moves only the bits you want to shake. <br /><br />What might surprise many beginners is that "getting you body under control" doesn't really stop. You just add more difficult moves to your repertoire. (Not that belly dance is about having to master more and more difficult moves - but you don't learn it all when you can execute a flawless set of isolations on each part of the body).<br /><br />For many people the next step is learning movement combinations, layering and transitions. Some then start collecting choreographies. Some then challenge themselves with improvisation. Both are valid. What both are working towards is learning to <strong>interpret the music </strong>- within the belly dance genre.<br /><br />This step requires some outside assistance. Although a dedicated and talented person might be able to learn the moves, it is much harder to learn to belly dance. For this you need a teacher - or even better a number of teachers. Some may be people you attend class with. Some may only drop in to take a workshop. Some you might learn from by watching their performances. Over a period of years by watching good examples of the dance and being corrected by knowledgeable teachers you extend your ability to be able to be a good belly dancer yourself. <br /><br />A student of belly dance (and by that I also include the best teachers) also needs to understand the <strong>different styles</strong> within the dance. They don't need to be able to do them all well but they should be able to recognize obvious examples of (say) modern Egyptian style, Lebanese style, old style Turkish, AmCab etc. They should also have an idea of a couple of major folkloric styles from the area of interest - Egyptian folk for Egyptian dancer, Turkish or Rom folk for Turkish dancers etc.<br /><br />Another aspect of the dance is a range of <strong>props</strong>. A basic set would include veil, zils and cane but there are many others – again depending on the style(s) you are interested in - sword for AmCab and Tribal, shamadan for Egyptian, spoons for Turkish. A belly dancer needs to know not only how to use them but when to use them. What music works. What movements go with them.<br /><br />Then there are <strong>cultural factors</strong>. A dancer needs to know about what his or her music means. Not only what the lyrics say (and many instrumentals also have lyrics) but what it actually means and also what it means to the audience. For instance some very upbeat songs can be about loss. And some songs are metaphors – for example there is a song which appears to be about a man’s mother but is actually a political song about Egypt. For Egyptians songs by <a href="http://www.raqs.co.nz/raqs/whoswho/kalthoum.html">Oum Kalthoum </a>have a particular significance and need to be treated with sensitivity.<br /><br />So, some understanding of the language (whether Arabic, Turkish or Farsi) is useful. But an understanding of the people’s culture and history is also important.<br /><br />One problem with self taught dancers – or those that do not have a good teacher – is that you often cannot know what you do not know. Experienced belly dancers are forever stumbling across people saying they have learnt it all (after a year, two months or whatever) so have had to branch out into fusion or burlesque or whatever. They shudder – but often it isn’t the dancer’s fault. They often truly don’t know they are missing 90% of belly dance.<br /><br />So, if you are feeling a little too smug. Look around and find a new challenge within the dance. After 19 years I’m still learning new stuff – and I really only have a deep knowledge of Egyptian and generic belly dance.Kashmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401561247637402722noreply@blogger.com1