Last weeks classes

I've been without internet at home since Thursday night (fingers crossed it will be fixed by the time I get home tonight) so the update is running a bit behind, however, here is what was covered in class last week.

Beginner

We discussed some of the many different styles of belly dance found around the world today. We then went over Middle Eastern rhythms in general and the maqsoum rhythm in particular. After warming up with glute squeezes, plies releves and tummy pushes we reviewed hip and rib cage slides and then learned pelvic tuck and drop, rib cage lift and drop, hip lifts, omi (vertical hip circles) and vertical rib cage circles.

Intermediate

We discussed belly dance ethics – belly dance as a valid art form and then reviewed the beginner level rhythms (falahi, maqsoum and masmoudi). We then did our glute squeezes single time and ¾ time and did our arm and leg warm up series. We then did beginner level moves with 3s and the accent drill with 3s. Next we practiced ¾ shimmy on the up and on the down. We then learned vertical rib cage figure 8s in both directions, boxy and smooth and vertical hip figure 8s in both directions.

Advanced

After glute squeezes, arm exercises and warm up we worked on equality of motion between the left and right hand when working with flutter fans and fan veils. We discussed why it is important and ways to strengthen the non-dominant hand so that its movements will be equally powerful to the movements by the dominant hand. We then worked on Dream and finished learning the choreography, though the timing on the end still needs some tweaking.

Troupe notes will be posted to the HH yahoo group.

The week in review

New sessions started for beginner and intermediate levels this week.

In beginner we discussed what to wear to class and the class format. We then worked on glute squeezes and warmed up our shoulders with shoulder rolls before proceeding to releves and plies sequence. We then did tummy pushes. Next we learned proper dance posture, pretty hands and various arm positions. We finished the class by learning hip and rib cage slides.

In Intermediate we warmed up with glute squeeze singles and ¾ time followed by pigeon stretch, we then did shoulder rolls and two other arm exercises, followed by wall pushups and eagle and cow face poses. We warmed up and did our accent drill with 3s on the zils then worked on the rhythm 3-1. We then did our ¾ shimmy on the up and ¾ shimmy on the down practice drills. We worked on diagonal rib cage lifts and drops, accented belly pushes and double hip drops and double hip lifts (Ms and Ws). We then reviewed all beginner level tribal moves.

Advanced was a continuation of the same session as we have a 10 week session this summer. We warmed up then did single fan veil improv in the right hand, then in the left hand. We then talked about the concepts of together, chasing and mirrored when it comes to double fan veil. We then worked on the closed fan veil technique we had covered in single fan veil as double closed fan veil using the concepts of together, chasing and mirroring. We covered proper back bend technique and worked on learning the choreography Dream.

Jillina’s Shape Up N Hip Out

This week I’ve been using Jillina’s Shape Up n’ Hip Out DVD on my lunch hour. In the introduction she states it is geared towards the beginner student or professionals wanting to drill, however, I would NOT recommend this DVD for a beginner. There is very little in the way of posture instruction and while she does break down a couple of moves (snake arms for one) she does not break down the more difficult moves (in particular the hegalla, which is one I know even my Advanced students have never learned).

The workout is broken into a warm up, three progressively more intense workouts and a cool down. Each of the three workouts can be done with instruction or music only. In the warm up section, Jillina states that one of the ladies will be doing modified versions of the moves if you need an easier/less intense option. However, I did not notice her doing modified versions in the actual workouts or the cool down, only in the warm up, so I can’t even suggest a beginner use the DVD and follow Heather instead of Jillina. If someone was looking for a 30 minute workout, doing the warm up, one of the workouts and the cool down would get you there. Or you could do the whole thing for an hour long workout.

The Slow and Smooth workout could almost be used as a warm up in and of itself. Nothing is overly sharp and most of the moves are moves I use in my classes as a warm up after we have done our strengthening exercises. Rhythm Hips takes things up a notch and Turbo Hips will definitely get your heart rate up as it’s full of shimmies. Turbo Hips is where I ran across two moves I do not include in my beginner or intermediate curriculum, the Saidi hip drop and the hegalla. In all three workouts, Jillina starts with a small combination of moves and then keeps adding small combinations (two or three moves) until you have a full series. She also starts by doing each small combination at half speed before taking it up to tempo.

Bonus sections on this DVD include outtakes and five performances, two by Jillina and then one by each of the four ladies who are showcased in the workout section. The performances are all very nice and use a variety of props (cane, isis wings, double veil and sword). The outtake section is very brief and more like a montage of behind the scenes in less than two minutes than anything else.

I’m definitely enjoying this DVD as a workout. It gets the heart rate up and keeps you moving. I also really like the fact you can adjust it based on how long you have and how intense you want the workout to be.

Beginner and Intermediate class this week

In beginner we reviewed the moves covered thus far and then worked on traveling and turning with the unweighted hip lift, we also learned the double hip lift walk and broke down the mechanics of the ¾ shimmy. We then did some group improv using the choochoo (unweighted hip lift) and the ghawazee (3/4 shimmy/double hip lift walk).

In Intermediate we warmed up with 3s then worked on a couple of variations for playing chiftitelli. We then reviewed our ¾ on the up and the down shimmies. We did a session of improv arms and worked on half circular veil technique (loop-d-loop, on handed matador, one handed horizontal figure 8, one handed vertical figure 8). We learned the Arabic 4 point turn, Arabic with a twist, Arabic with a twist and dip (a Troupe Duende combo) and the Groovy Christina (a Diva Soma combo). We then did a traveling circle so everyone could practice cuing a few moves.