One Down, Twelve to go

One month of my year of practice (well, year of movement) is done! And though some days my get up and go got up and left, I was pretty happy with the overall outcome. I had a couple of days where my movement was shoveling snow; weather and commuting and the actual shoveling left me pretty wiped out, especially the night I almost got stuck at work.

For the near future my practice is focused on a performance in mid-February. My other goals for the month are to try out new sections of my yoga DVD, keep better notes about my dance practices, and after the performance give a new shot and doing Jillian Michaels' "30 Day Shred" video. I am traveling late in the month, to TribalCon in Atlanta. On the travel days I'll have to be careful about getting in my movement, but the rest of the weekend is going to kick. my. butt.

So, I'm pasting my monthly movement list below, so I can free up the sidebar for February!

1/1/11: morning yoga, shimmy drill practice, hiking

1/2/11: shimmy drill practice

1/3/11: mile + walk

1/4/11: troupe practice
1/5/11: late evening yoga: looking forward to it!
1/6/11: two dance classes
1/7/11: wine break, then yoga!
1/8/11: First shot at "Killer Ziller" DVD, am combo + zill klutz
1/9/11: yoga, Jamila "Hip Work", am surprisingly sore next day
1/10/11: yoga, class work (zills, rhythms, Alf Leyla Wa Leyla)

1/11/11: build set list for CCT, play w/veil moves, zills

1/12/11: shoveled snow a.m., post work yoga p.m.
1/13/11: two dance classes, not feeling the drum riffs
1/14/11: 30 minute walk during lunch, worked 9am to 12am
1/15/11: yoga, enjoying
1/16/11: hour hike in the snow, need to remember binoculars
1/17/11: brainstorming for troupe practice and solo, feeling frazzled between ATS and what I'm learning in class
1/18/11: troupe practice, lots of veil work
1/19/11: "Killer Ziller" combos and zill patterns from class, working on tying hips to R and L and sounds
1/20/11: two dance classes, finally enjoying solo stuff at the end
1/21/11: hours dancing to Balkan Music, good cardio workout!
1/22/11: Rachel Brice "Serpentine" DVD, if not doing full yoga in the future use Sun Salutations to warm up
1/23/11: Yoga
1/24/11: work on veil parts for troupe practice
1/25/11: troupe practice
1/26/11: snow shoveling is it, bad weather, bad day
1/27/11: long walk in the snow, sleepy yoga
1/28/11:Pick up new veil, practice for next show with it.
1/29/11: Practice with new veil
1/30/11: dance to show music, start "Drills, drills, drills". Need to develop ab strength!
1/31/11: "Drills, drills, drills": foot pattern layering and shimmy drills

Practice. And more practice

Inspired by Lisa Z's A Year of Practice, I'm going to try to do some sort of movement practice every day. Yoga, exercise, walking, drilling, choreography, classes. Each kind of movement is a part of putting together my own dance puzzle, as well as taking care of myself physically. I'm going to use this blog to make short notes on what I'm doing, and to examine the dance oriented activities in greater depth.

As for my overall goal? I think it's to make my dancing (and it's practice) less of a chore and more of a joy. To approach practice, classes, performances and fun dancing with the same excitement. To feel like I am progressing and not treading water.

My other dance goals are:

* try a non-belly dance class
* dance an entire song solo
* perform more, for fun or professionally

What is it worth?

Like many people (I can't even say just Americans anymore, it's everywhere) I've lost my job. It hurt, not just because it was my source of income but because I worked for a local business I had helped create, open and run. I would like to say I've spent the past month kicking a$$ and taking names with my dance practice, but that's not true. I've been spending a lot of time sitting on my butt at my house. And cooking. I'm still in my class and my troupe is practicing, but I haven't really ramped things up.

Being out of a job it weird because suddenly I do have the time for the things I couldn't do before. Part of me keeps thinking I can go to yoga class! Or hooping! I could add dance classes with new teachers! I can travel to D.C. for classes! I can travel elsewhere for workshops and such!. Then I remember that Hello! No job! On a super budget!

Not having a job and not having lots of extra money means I am having to skip, yet again, something I want to really do, which is taking the General Skills workshops with FCBD. Between the workshop costs, the travel costs and the hotel costs I'd be looking at at least a thousand dollar commitment. It makes me sad, because I see dancers from my area making plans to go to one of this year's sessions and I want to go too! I remember when Carolena first mentioned them at a Tribal:PURA workshop and Lyra and I excitedly talked about saving up so we could go. Things have definitely changed since then (I think that was almost three years ago). I do not think anyone will bring GS to this area. I'm not sure there is someone in our area who could afford to do it, or who is in a position to be able to set up such an extensive event. I wish it could be me!

With all these thoughts going around in my head I really REALLY started thinking about attending the GS. And I started thinking I'm not sure I'd want to go, though I'm not sure if this thought process is soup grapes or me being reasonable. I know there is a wealth of info being offered, but one thing that I'm not keen on is that since the GS workshops started the size of the sessions has become larger. I think when it started the sessions could be 1 to 15 people (I'm trying to remember based on the old price structure info I read), which is definitely intimate and allows for personal attention. Now they go up to 25 people, and though that can be small for a workshop I know that is big for a regular class. It seems like that personal attention could be stretched a thin. If I was spending a thousand dollars or more to be one of 10 people, that's one thing, but not to be one of 25. I'm sure the size of the workshops has expanded to meet the demand of dancers, and I know that the teachers are also business people and they need to make a living.

But then I start to wonder how I could possibly teach with an ATS base and not take the GS? Not that I teach solely ATS moves, but that is where my troupe is grounded. But I also know that, more than for teaching, my desire to do the GS is for me, for my personal fulfillment. If I want to continuing teaching I just have to teach what I know, and what I am learning. Going to a GS session is more for me to bask in ATS for a few days, to dig into the dance form and understand it more. But right now I'm at a crossroads, balancing what I want with my other responsibilities, what I dream about tempered with a dash of commonsense.

In case anyone is wondering, I've had this cycle of want/don't want conflict tumbling through my head for about the past year. It's ramped up in the past few months I think because I have more time to think about it. I figured maybe if I could dump some of it out here I'd be able to get a better handle on it.

It's not so simple

Lately I've been watching lots of ATS and tribal group improv videos online looking for tips on technique and moves, and I've come to a conclusion: the Basic Egyptian move is really damn hard. This was one of the first moves I learned when I joined a belly dance class almost 4 years ago, and I still don't have it down correctly.

You can see this move at around 17 seconds in this clip of Fat Chance Belly Dance. It consists of the lead right foot stepping slightly forward of the body and the foot and hips twisting, then coming back and repeating on the left side, allowing the hips to reverberate as you transfer the weight. The arms are overhead and as a foot reaches out the arms give a slight pull, opening up the line of the body on the side of the foot that is out.

When I started dancing this move felt like "step the foot and bump the hip a little and pull with the arms". My timing was horrible. Then I realized I was pulling my arms too hard, and I had to soften it a bit. Next I figured out that the hips were a twist, not a bump. Then I saw that there was the reverberation with the weight transfer. I had to make my hands smoother, less flippy. When turning in a half circle the turn should be smooth and try turning under the left arm. And my current focus is on keeping my pelvis neutral (no duck butt!) while making sure my arms are up, not drooping down, and pulled back using my shoulder blades so I don't obscure my face.

4 years! 4 years and many teachers and workshops and I'm STILL tweaking this move. I'm not perfect at everything I do but I can say my Turkish Shimmy and Arabic basic and many variations and hip bumps/choo choos are doing a lot better than my Egyptian Basic. It's a tricky move, a lot is going on, and it all needs to pull together seamlessly. Unfortunately it's also a move where each bit that's "off" is noticeable, which is why I've been working on mine so much. Actually, I've also been working on my posture around my shoulders, that back and down through the shoulder blade that keeps the arms and chest strong and lifted, that gives the openess of tribal posture. It's hard work, but I've been lucky enough to have lots of "Ah-hah!" moments lately that make the work rewarding.

Dance Goals, Version 2.00.7

I thought I'd hop on the bandwagon and post my list. Actually, what I really need to do it print it out in some huge font size and pin it to several walls and major appliances in my house so I see it ALL THE TIME.

In no particular order:

* start logging my time spent on dance related interweb sites and match that with practice time
* head to the gym, hopefully the iPod helps
* get back into a regular class
* schedule a few private lessons with dancers I like, this may involve some travel
* go to Asheville, NC to visit and take some classes with Lisa Z. and her troupe
* save up for FCBD General Skills Certification, because if I do teach I want to be sure of what I'm doing
* attack my potential costuming pile, look for new inspiration
* home study with video, i.e. dissect performances/instruction for moves, ideas, inspiration
* expand my music collection, try to be adventurous
* increase my ability and confidence in solo work
* learn to turn off my hyperactive inner critic while dancing and just get into it!

A headstart on resolutions*

So, in an attempt to get a headstart on resolutions*, I am trying to get this blog set up. I already have a personal journal; this one is more for dance items. Some things will be boring; training goals and notes to myself. Some may not be to people's tastes; my personal opinions of things in the bellydance world. Mainly this is a space for me to keep myself organized, and you are invited to follow along.

*resolutions can also be seen in the more practical light of "plans to get off my ass and do more with my time/less time spent online and more spent practicing"