Belly Dance Geek Blog
The Injury Effect
How setbacks can be stepping stones to your dreams. (Or: Why I’m not having a nervous breakdown over my sixth injury in four years.) (My apologies for the shaky camera work!) Your Turn: What’s getting in your way? How can you make it work for you? What big dream are you putting off? Share your thoughts in the comments.
read moreThe Trust Factor
Why you have to turn off part of your brain in order to improvise. If you’ve ever improvised, you know that it goes by in a flash. Each moment is intense, but you can’t really describe what you’re thinking. I come out of most shows with strong impressions, but no clear memory of anything I did. Do you ever wish you could get a play-by-play of what’s going on in your head when you improvise? Aaron Berkowitz and Daniel Ansari can tell you. Berkowitz (a cognitive musicologist) and Ansari (a...
read moreThe Learning Spiral
The very first thing I learned in ballet class was the plie. I was only six, but I can remember it clearly. Trying to bend and straighten my knees while also holding in my tummy, squeezing my behind, and keep my hips over my heels was hard. When I finally got the hang of it, I was so proud. (That girl in the photo isn’t me. I was about that age, but not that cute…) Ballet and I drifted apart, and I didn’t grow up in the culture the way my sisters did. So when I later learned that professional dancers...
read moreWhy You Should Make Friends With Your Safety Moves
By far the most common question I get about improvisation is: “I know a lot of moves, but when I’m on stage, I always think of the same three. How do I stop them from popping into my mind all the time?” Don’t fight them – embrace them. Most people fight the movements that easily come to mind. But that’s counter-productive! Those are your safety moves. They are the ideas that rush to your aid when you’re on the spot, and can’t think of anything else. (Not like your...
read moreYo Yo Ma on Perfection
“Perfection is not very communicative… If you are only worried about not making a mistake, you will communicate nothing. You will have missed the point of making music, which is to make people feel something.” – Yo Yo Ma (via “Imagine” by Jonah Lehrer) The hand that grasps is closed. Only an open hand can receive. If you want to receive inspiration, you need to release your grasp on perfection. Your Turn Where could you let go of perfection? When you have managed to let it go,...
read moreDance Name Poll
Online Surveys – Zoomerang.com p.s. If you’d like to tell the story of your name, leave a note in the comments too.
read moreThe What-How-Why Gap
Have you ever seen a dancer with flawless technique, but who just didn’t grab you? Maybe she didn’t seem in touch with the music Maybe she seemed distant and unemotional. Or maybe her dancing just seemed “flat”. You admire her perfect hip drops, and you want to love her show, but you just don’t. It’s because her dancing is all about the “what”. There’s a gap in our training Belly dance education focuses on the “what” Choose a belly...
read moreAre You a Belly Dance Geek?
Your Turn This poll is closed, but the discussion doesn’t have to end! What does “geek” mean to you? Are you a geek in other areas of your life, or just for belly dance? Have you always been a geek? If not, when did that change?
read moreSensuality is Not a Dirty Word!
Have you ever watched a dancer who was completely captivating? I’m sure you’ve had this experience: time slows down, every movement is exquisite, and you can practically feel the dance in your own body. And yet you can’t put your finger on what, exactly makes her so mesmerizing. Chances are, it was her sensuality. Don’t Shy Away from Sensuality Sensuality is one of the most under-used performance skills, but also one of the most powerful. For one thing, focusing on your senses relaxes you...
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