In class this week

In both Beginner and Intermediate we discussed what was needed for those planning to enroll in Intermediate next session (starting April 14). The next intermediate session is chiftitelli rhythm and half circle veil. All students will need finger cymbals, preferably student size with two slits for the elastic. If you need to order some try http://saroyanmastercrafts.com/ All students will also need a half circular veil. I brought two sizes and three different fabrics to demonstrate the benefits of each. For learning I recommend the smaller size (90x45), though if you have long arms the larger size (108x54) will work as well. I also recommend a semi-heavy material such as satin, liquid lame (NOT tissue lame) or even lining material. Light weight silk will work, but for some of the one handed movements it is simply too light weight to work well unless you move slower than you think you need to.

In beginner class we covered moving with horizontal hip circles (stepping side to side, going forward and backward and going in a circle), we reviewed the ¾ shimmy and walking with hip downs and learned the marching shimmy and the scooching shimmy. We then worked on traveling and turning with our three tribal stall moves: Basic Egyptian, Ghawazee and Choochoo.

In intermediate class we discussed various details about the performance on Saturday. We then covered playing kashlimar rhythm as slow singles (R-L-R-L-R-L-R-L-R), reviewed our ¾ on the down shimmy and worked on shoulder shimmies with various arm and rib cage movements. We then learned two new tribal combos: Basic E Swivel turn and Ghawazee double hip bumps (both created by Troupe Duende). We did a tribal review using a traveling circle where each student lead three moves before passing the lead. Finally we worked on our choreography to Hoplanda.

In advanced we discussed details of the performance on Saturday and continued to work with our advanced tribal combos. We spent extra time reviewing the “problem combos” and went through the song we are using on Saturday a number of times. Everyone was asked to prepare a new combos for next week.