| Egyptian Twist Studio of Bellydance Bellydance Lessons and Performances with Helena (Juanita Smart) AFAA certified Personal Trainer |
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Articles
| The Many Styles of Cabaret American Cabaret: American Belly Dance comes in two different styles; Cabaret and American Tribal Style (ATS). Cabaret is the “glitzier” of the two. Basically, we have taken the Egyptian style bellydance and made it our own, sometimes incorporating the use of the veil for part or all of the choreography. American dancers also add other influences such as jazz, ballet and even Flamenco. Egyptian Cabaret: Egyptian Cabaret is more of a contemporary Egyptian nightclub style of bellydance. Very controlled and refined, it emphasizes smaller, more distinct movements and can often include some ballet. It is about muscle control and precision. Egyptian law has many restrictions on a dancers' movements and costuming, and thus prevents dancers from performing floor work and certain pelvic movements. Egyptian dancers must wear midriff covers, so many Americans who dance this style will do the same. Turkish Cabaret: Turkish Cabaret is almost the opposite of Egyptian Cabaret. The movements appear larger, more earthy and flamboyant. Leaps and pelvic movements are common. Though not a requirement of the style, Turkish dancers can be very scantily clad. Back-bends and Turkish Drops (although not good for the knees and back) are common moves associated with Turkish Cabaret. Tribaret: Tribaret is a more sparkly version of tribal bellydance. The word tribaret comes from the words “Tribal” and “Cabaret”. The former bellydance superstar, Ansuya, is a good example of a Tribaret dancer. Some dancers also combine Tribal moves with Egyptian, Arabic, Turskish, or American Cabaret style, a “Fusion Cabaret”, of sorts. Whatever your style, always establish your roots in Middle Eastern dance technique, first. Styles change, technique does not! |
| Emotion in a lackluster world I have often said "let your heartbeat be the rhythm and your spirit the dance." What is your spirit? It is who you are. It is what makes you YOU, it is what makes you tick, what motivates you, what drives you to act, what makes it all worth it. It is your passion. Today's world is not very conducive to a life of creativity. Time is a major factor and we have very little of it. Stress overides all other emotion and leaves it lost in the realms of the unknown. Take some time for YOU. Determine what motivates you, what makes up your spirit. Who are you? Then close your eyes and dance. Are you a comical person? Are you serious? Are you passionate? Sensual? Happy? What drives you? Is it justice? Peace? Generosity? Love? Let it show in your dance. It is the emotion that you project as a dancer that makes the dance special and pleasing to your audience. It is far more important, even, than what you do. And certainly by far more important than props. Emotion. A lackluster dance full of cartwheels and firebreathing dragons is nothing compared to the emotion a dancer projects and can make the audience feel! |
| Can you dance without music? Not many people have ever experienced or witnessed a dance without the presence of music or sound. To many, the idea of dancing without any kind of music seems odd and maybe even impossible. But dance is a language, afterall. A body language, if you will. Like the actor portrays a character through acting out his or her persona, a singer sings his or her thoughts and emotions with voice, a dancer uses body language not just to interpret music, but to express and emotion or thought. As our favorite resident drummer always says, everyone has rhythm. Our heartbeats alone give us an inner rhythm that can be felt by simply placing our hands on our chest. Next time, try something different: dance to the wind blowing through the trees. As the trees sway, dance along. Dance to the sound of birds chirping in the distance. Dance to the beat of your own heart. Dance to convey an emotion, express a thought, or just for fun...without external music. A dancer can be his or her own music. It can be challenging to some, but I believe that it is a good exercise. If you can express an emotion through dance without music, how much easier will it be when there is music to accompany your dance? Try it and let me know what you discover! |
| Swords in Bellydance People often ask where the sword dance came from and many believe that it originated in the Middle East. Though the origins of sword dancing are unclear, in the Middle East, and some other parts of the world, there is a tradition of dancing while balancing something on the head. This can include a tray, pot, glass, or candelabra. Sword dancing could have originated from a mix of cultures included in the Ottoman Empire, Turkey, Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and North Africa, and would have probably stemmed from ancient weapons dances and sparring techniques that eventually made their way into the dances of those cultures. An example of that would be the "Ghillie Callum", a Sword Dance known as the ancient dance of war of the Scottish Gael and is said to date back to King Malcolm Canmore (Shakespear’s MacBeth). Another example would be the cane dance, or stick dance, authentic to Middle Eastern Dance, in particular, the Saidi region of Egypt. Probably one of the more "authentic" versions of the bellydance, today, cane dancing can be traced back to the combat skills of the Saidi men in ancient days. Later, women used the stick to playfully "mock" the men while dancing, and has evolved into the women's cane, or stick dance, that we see today, known as "Raks Al Assaya". Most cultures do have a "weapons dance" of some kind that dates back to ancient war dances and sparring techniques. The sword dance is not quite that new to the bellydance realm. In fact, modern day bellydancers with swords can be traced back to an 1876 painting by Jean-Leon Gerome, "Sabre Dance in a Cafe". The painting depicts a dancer with a sword balanced on her head. It is believed to be the inspiration for sword dancing, today, which has become popular for bellydance performers all over the world, including the Middle East and North Africa. One thing is clear and that is that everyone is intrigued by the sword and the ability to dance while balancing it on the head. So, dance away and don't drop that sword! Happy Dancing! For more information on The History of the Sword Dance, visit: http://www.ehow.com/about_6626548_history-sword-dance.html |
| Helena's Articles |
| So you think you can teach? Ok, you have taken lessons for a few months and decided that you really like bellydancing. In fact, you like it so much, that you would like to teach it, too. So where to begin? Well, let's start with a few basic questions that you should ask yourself and answer honestly. 1. What makes you think that you are qualified to teach Middle Eastern Dance after only a short time of lessons? You don't see novice ballerina's teaching ballet, right? 2. Have you mastered the technique of this dance genre? (How is your own posture? Are you still using your legs to move your hips? Can you teach ALL levels and various styles well, effectively and safely?) 3. Are you knowledegable enough on the subject of Middle Eastern Dance to be able to answer your student's questions? (What style do you teach? What is the difference between the styles? Do you know the history of the bellydance? Where did each style come from? (The list goes on) Do you know the difference between Beledi, Ghawazi, Raks Sharqi, Turkish, Egyptian, Lebanese, Romani Gypsy, American Cabaret, ATS, Fusion...?) 4. Have you learned how to actually teach and what are your credentials and do you know the legalities involved? 5. Does your teacher think you are ready? Do you even have a teacher, or are you self taught through videos? (For another topic altogether!) Deciding simply that you want to teach is not good enough reason to begin teaching. Understand that teaching is an actual job that you have to work at. It is a service that you provide for others. It is not all about the teacher and what the teacher thinks or wants. Not everyone is even cut out to be a teacher. As with any other job where one is expected to have been schooled, has earned a degree, certification, or diploma and has had a certain amount of experience in the field, so it is with dance, as well. My former teachers have had masters degrees in performing arts, specialized teaching degrees and various other forms of dance certifications and awards. Not to mention the many years of hard work they have put into mastering the dance. The students that pay you to teach them are expecting their money's worth. They will learn soon enough that their teacher is only a mediocre student herself and eventually you will lose business. Approaching your teacher and asking her (or him) if they feel you are ready and where you need improvement would be a much better way to begin your new endeavor of teaching bellydance. Most will even be willing to give you private lessons to work on the areas that may need improving and to help you to improve your own teaching technique, as well. You could also attend your teacher's beginner's classes and observe their teaching style and how they approach beginner level students. You may even be able to assist her in teaching the class and become an apprentice for a while. But to just jump in and start teaching without having the qualifications can be very harmful to this dance genre as a whole. Inexperienced teachers will produce poor dancers. It makes for watered down technique which, over time, will result in a poor quality dance genre that people will soon tire of. The best way to preserve the beauty and mystery of this wonderful dance form is to master the art before going out and teaching it yourself. It would also show respect for another culture by not watering down the beauty of their dance. This also applies to students who try to "help" the teacher by showing new students how to do certain moves in class. You, too, are a student and have not yet mastered the moves, yourself, and as such are not qualified to teach someone else how to dance. It is not only bad manners to do this in someone else's class, but it also makes it more difficult for both the teacher and student whom who have tried to "help". As a teacher, I then have to undo all the wrong things you have shown the new student and this, in turn, makes it even more confusing for the new student. Also trying to teach your friends someone else's choreography without permission can be problematic for several reasons that I will save for another topic. But, legally, it is best to ask permission from the creator of the choreography if you want to teach someone else the dance you learned in class. Bottom line; your job is to learn. Let the teacher do the teaching. A good teacher wants his/her students to exceed their own capabilities. Trust your teacher to help you meet your goals! I recently attended a performance where some of the students were taught by an inexperienced teacher-wanna-be and the audience was none too impressed. Fortunately, there were other very good dancers performing at the same venue, so the audience was able to see the beauty, femininity and real technique used in Middle Eastern dance. The other dancers will likely not be invited again. Better to wait until you are ready than to jump in too soon and risk ruining your reputation as a dancer and teacher, not to mention ruining the beauty and reputation of this dance genre. For the love of the dance, master it before teaching it. And remember (to quote one of my favorite dancers, Jillina) “a good teacher never stops being a student!” |
| Finding your Center As we are currently working on spotting, spins, weaves and other moves that require traveling and turing, I am always reminding my students to "find your center". In order to maintain balance while spinning and traveling, the body must be aligned properly so that the pull of gravity remains straight through the midline of the body. Anything outside of that and you will lose balance. So how do you find your center? One very simple thing you can do is to be aware of that point at which you think you are going to fall over. Really focus on finding this point. While you are turning, be alert as to when you are about to hit the point where you feel as if you are losing balance, then work on pulling your body back into the center. If you've already tried this and it just isn't working, there are a couple of exercises that you can do to help fine tune balance. Start by standing straight up with your feet hip-width apart and weight evenly distributed. Slightly bend your knees and lift your toes. From there, lift one foot slowly off the floor and do a couple of ankle rotations. If you are having trouble keeping balance while doing this, you aren't centered. Repeat this with your other foot. Now, slowly lift yourself up onto your toes and bend your knees. Slowly lower your heels while your knees are still bent and then straighten your legs. Now reverse the whole procedure. Do this a few times and you'll really get the hang of where your center is. Another trick to working on your balance is by performing a passe. This is where you place your foot on or near the knee of the opposite leg. While doing the passe, balance on your toes on the foot that is still grounded and perform a single turn. Now do this with your other foot and practice back and forth a few times. This may work better if you're standing in front of a full body mirror so you can keep an eye on your posture. As always, the key is PRACTICE! |
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