Mayas with a roll up

For today’s challenge we are going to reverse last week’s layers and combine down to up undulations with up to down figure 8s (also called Mayas). First make sure you are familiar with both movements, if you are its time to mix things up.


Start by doing a Maya on the right hip, after you center, roll up to a chest lift, then do the left half of the Maya and roll up again. Keep repeating the move, alternating between the right hip and the left hip for your Maya.

Try adding a shoulder shimmy the whole thing, then a hip lift shimmy to the whole thing. If both shimmies work for you, you can switch it up by doing the shoulder shimmy on the down to up undulation and the hip lift shimmy on the Maya halves.

Drilling the ¾ shimmy

No matter which version of the ¾ shimmy you are working on learning, this is a drill that should help. If you take classes from me we do a version of this drill every week of intermediate.

Since the hardest part of doing a ¾ shimmy is speeding it up to tempo, the easiest way to work on that is to use a song that slowly gets faster. I have two that I use in class, the first is Fellahin / Karachi / Ayoubby David Macejka. At about 33 seconds in to the song it gets very slow and speeds up for the rest of the song. Step on every beat and make sure you get all three articulations of your shimmy in during 3/4s of the beat with a pause on the last quarter beat. The other song I like to use is Zar Dance (Ayyub 2/4) by Solace. This song starts slow, speeds up then slows back down to speed up again twice. This allows you to regain your ¾ timing if you have lost it while speeding up the movement. At the end of Zar Dance the music is faster than it is at the end of the first song mentioned. Ideally you would work with both of them.

If you prefer a simple beat to follow you can download a click track series like Simple Click Tracks Vol. 1, 50-150 Bpm Subdivided (mp3 Metronome) instead. A click track series has 10 minutes of essentially a metronome sound at various beats per minute. Start with the slowest one and when you are starting to feel comfortable with it, advance to the next track (preferably with a remote so you don’t stop your motion). If you like the click track idea but don’t want to mess with having to manually advance the speed, you can use a program like audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) to splice the various click tracks together making sure you use full measures for each speed so you do the same number of steps on each foot.

Hurdle stretch

This is one of my absolute favorite stretches. I could hang out in it for a really long time. If you are in my workout class, intermediate class or advanced class you have probably done this one with me. This stretch concentrates on the hamstring, but will also stretch your low back (which is the part I like).

Sit with your legs out making a V. Bring one foot in to your groin so you have one leg strait and one leg bent. First rotate your upper body and stretch over the extended leg with the same side arm. You can grab your knee, calf, ankle or foot, bring the opposite hand to the knee and hold. When you feel like you are ready to move on, sit back up and then lean forward with a straight back, hinging at the hips between the strait leg and the bent leg. Place each hand on the same side leg. Come up and rotate over the bent knee and stretch forward keeping your sit bones one the floor. Repeat the whole series on the other side.

Adding Zils to Monday's Combo

I wrote this and then forgot to post it yesterday.... ooops :)

For today’s zil pattern we will add zils to yesterday’s combo. The combo was:


8 counts grapevine to right ending in hip drop
8 counts (4 circles) unweighted bicycle hip on right hip starting down and going back first
8 counts grapevine to left ending in hip drop
8 counts (4 circles) unweighted bicycle hip on left hip starting down and going back first

The zils will be 3s ending in a single on the grapevine and 7s on the bicycle hip circles, so you will get:

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 RLR RLR RLR RLR RLR RLR RLR   R

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   RLRLRLR RLRLRLR RLRLRLR RLRLRLR

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 RLR RLR RLR RLR RLR RLR RLR   R

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   RLRLRLR RLRLRLR RLRLRLR RLRLRLR

Altogether you will have:
8 counts grapevine to right ending in hip drop (3,3,3,3,3,3,3,1)
8 counts (4 circles) unweighted bicycle hip on right hip starting down and going back first (7,7,7,7)
8 counts grapevine to left ending in hip drop (3,3,3,3,3,3,3,1)
8 counts (4 circles) unweighted bicycle hip on left hip starting down and going back first (7,7,7,7)

Combination with Grapevine and Bicycle hips

Today’s combo will use grapevines and unweighted bicycle hips.

8 counts grapevine to right ending in hip drop
8 counts (4 circles) unweighted bicycle hip on right hip starting down and going back first
8 counts grapevine to left ending in hip drop
8 counts (4 circles) unweighted bicycle hip on left hip starting down and going back first

Of course you can reverse the bicycle hips and the combo becomes:

8 counts grapevine to right ending in hip drop
8 counts (4 circles) unweighted bicycle hip on right hip starting down and going forward first
8 counts grapevine to left ending in hip drop
8 counts (4 circles) unweighted bicycle hip on left hip starting down and going forward first

You can do both directions to Haboussou by Hakim or if you prefer a different song for each direction of bicycle hip, you can try the second direction to Inta Omri (DJ Mix) by Elie Attieh.

What to Keep in Your Dance Bag

Beginners should have a fairly light load. They just need their notebook, a pen or pencil and hip scarf as the bare essentials. To that I recommend adding a bottle of water, a small (hand) towel and some form of high energy snack in case you need to recharge.

Intermediate students should have all of the above and add a rectangular veil, small half circular veil and finger cymbals. Obviously if we aren’t working on the session for a particular veil you could leave it at home. But generally speaking veils don’t weigh much and I usually find it easier to have them with me and know where they are than to have to hunt one down when I need it. If we are doing the skirt or cane session then you would add that prop to your bag, but I wouldn’t carry either of them every week.

Advanced ladies should have everything the beginner and intermediate students have along with a large half circular veil. Other props you might have in your bag are tambourine, skirt, cane, feather fans, fanveils and sword, but you don’t necessarily need to carry all of them all the time.

For attending a workshop, I never attend with less than my notebook, a pen or pencil, non-coin hip scarf, a rectangular veil, small and large half circular veil, finger cymbals, a bottle of water, a small (hand) towel and some form of high energy snack.

Review of Jareeda

There are many belly dance trade magazines out there, Jareeda is the very first one I subscribed to. Jareeda just celebrated its 30^th year in print, so it has been around a while.  I stopped subscribing as they were having some publication problems a couple years ago, but re-subscribed in December when they were having a special rate. My first issue arrived early this month and I’m almost through reading it. The articles are written by belly dancers around the world and they cover a lot of topics. Some of the issues are based around a theme, this one is on troupes. I am pleased to say that the articles are longer than I remember and the magazine is back to almost 50 pages like it was when I first subscribed. (At the time I stopped subscribing it was down to around 30.)

Jareeda is printed on light weight magazine stock and while the cover is color as well a few pages front and back, most of it is in black and white. There are a number of ads sprinkled throughout the magazine, all for belly dance related products. The magazine also includes a teacher directory, though it is by no means all inclusive. In addition to the articles submitted by dancers, there are several regular contributors that write on various topics, including food and troupes. I do think it is a good magazine and I’m glad it has returned to what it was when I first started subscribing. If you are interested in subscribing you can do so at the following link. http://www.jareeda.com/

More mixed up 8s

For today’s challenge we are going to combine up to down undulations with down to up figure 8s (also called upward 8s). First make sure you are familiar with both movements, if you are its time to mix things up.


Start by doing an up to down undulation, when you reach the bottom do the right half of an upward 8. Do another up to down undulation followed by the left half of the upward 8. Keep repeating the move alternating between the right and left halves of the upward 8.

Try adding a shoulder shimmy the whole thing, then a hip lift shimmy to the whole thing. If both shimmies work for you, you can switch it up by doing the shoulder shimmy on the up to down undulation and the hip lift shimmy on the upward 8 halves.

Hip Twist Shimmy with Weight Change

Before you start on this shimmy drill make sure you can perform a hip twist shimmy without moving your knees. One way to work on that is to work on your hip twist shimmy while kneeling on the ground. Remember the hip twist shimmy is driven by the internal oblique muscles not the legs. Once you can do the hip twist shimmy while kneeling, try it while standing with your thighs and knees together and your feet as close as you can comfortably stand. If you can still do the shimmy without moving your legs you can try the shimmy in the wider stance of normal dance posture (feet hips width apart).

From here, this exercise is the same as the hip lift shimmy drill from two weeks ago and the Egyptian shimmy drill from last week. While standing in dance posture, start your hip twist shimmy. Next shift all your weight to one foot, extending the other foot into a shallow lunge position. Keep the shimmy even on both sides even though the weight is all on one side. Stay in the lunge for 8 or 16 counts. Shift back to center for 8 (or 16) counts, then lunge the other way and keep the shimmy even for an additional 8 (or 16) counts. Keep practicing throughout the song. I recommend trying this to Istanboogie

Cobra Pose

If you liked sphinx pose from last week, cobra pose will take it just a little bit deeper.


Lie on your stomach with your feet together straight out behind you, put your hands directly beneath your shoulders with your elbows next to your body and push down straightening your arms and lifting up your head and chest off the floor. (You may not straighten your arms all the way, only go as far as is comfortable.) Engage your low abs and press your legs and the tops of your feet into the ground gently. Hold and then release by slowly lowering yourself back to the ground.

Let's play 7s

Here are two ways to play the zil pattern 7s. The first is the method I teach in intermediate:


7s
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   RLRLRLR RLRLRLR RLRLRLR RLRLRLR

The second pattern is known as left handed sevens and though it still uses four strikes with the right hand and three with the left, the pattern of the strikes is different which gives it a slightly different sound.

Left handed 7s
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   LRRLRRL LRRLRRL LRRLRRL LRRLRRL

As always on finger cymbal patterns, if you are reading this via email, you will need to visit the blog by clicking the title link in order to see the patterns properly lined up with the counts.

Grapevine Drop Kick Combo

I like to combine grapevines with single hip work, so that is what we are going to be doing for today’s combo. You can substitute 8 hip drops for the 4 drop kicks if you are unfamiliar with the drop kick.

8 counts grapevine R ending in a touch with the right foot presenting the right hip
8 counts (4 sets) drop kick on the R hip
8 counts grapevine L ending in a touch with the left foot presenting the left hip
8 counts (4 sets) drop kick on the L hip

Make sure you are using appropriate arm frames, for example second on the grape vine and S arms on the drop kick. Try this combo to Dudu by Tarkan.

When something needs drilled

When you first learn a new dance move or combination, the best way to get that move into your muscle memory and add it to your repertoire is consistently drilling it. On the other hand, if you keep working on the move or combination past the point of frustration it is likely to become something you hate and you might even develop a mental block against it, making it even more difficult for you to master the movement later on.

My solution to this is to set a time limit for drilling new moves. I like five minutes, but if you reach your frustration point faster than that you can go with two or three minutes. If you have more patience then me, you can go longer than five minutes, just don’t go past the ten minute mark as you will start to develop muscle fatigue and could cause a repetitive stress injury. Once you have decided how long you will drill your new movement pick a song that is the right tempo and either the right length or choose one that is longer than you intend to practice and set a timer for your self-imposed time limit. Drill your move until your time is up, then move on to something else. Ideally, you would drill your new move for your designated time once a day.

Tribal Renaissance Review

Tribal Renaissance includes 12 performances most of them by well known dancers (there were four I didn’t recognize). Most of the songs used are by an artist known as Mosavo. Considering that only four of the songs are by other artists, I feel the DVD should have been limited to songs by Mosavo as a common theme and included other performances and then used the four that don’t use Mosavo songs for a different DVD. In general the cinematography and lighting are good on this DVD though there are sections that seem dark where it is hard to see the dancer and other places where you wonder why the camera man felt it necessary to focus on a body part that didn’t seem to be where the action was. In general I enjoyed all the performances. Below are my thoughts about the individual dancers and their numbers.

Zoe Jakes – Welcome Ceremony by Mosavo from Sensual Goddess- This is one of only a very few tribal fusion performances I have seen where the dancer uses finger cymbals. ATS dancers do it all the time, ITS and cabaret dancers do it some of the time, but tribal fusion dancers seem to not use cymbals much so it was a very nice surprise to have a tribal fusion piece with cymbals.

Susan Frankovich – Across the Bosphorus by Mosavo from Serpent’s Garden – this was an interesting, mostly slow piece that included some of the hand gestures often associated with Turkish Rom dancing.

Frederique – Drum Seduction by Mosava from Serpent’s Garden – While the costume chosen was interesting, it didn’t seem to match the music. The music had a very traditional drum solo sound and the costume looked like it came out of the 1920s gangster movie. I also found many of the dance movements to be so small and subtle as to be almost invisible to the audience. It is possible that is Frederique’s dance style as while I’m familiar with her name I have not seen other performances by her.

Princess Farhana – Lonely Star by the Sea by Mosavo from Serpent’s Garden – I do not normally think of Princess Farhana as a tribal fusion dancer, I usually associate her with cabaret so it was interesting to see her listed. She performed a sword dance to a song I usually consider a veil number and made it work. I will say the most tribal fusion thing about her performance was her costume. Change the costume and put the choreography in a cabaret show and it would fit right in.

Ava Fleming – Uncovered Ecstasy by Mosavo from Sensual Goddess – Ava Fleming is another dancer I usually associate with the cabaret world of belly dance but here she does a lovely tribal fusion number. Her costuming is what I would consider tribaret, mixing sea shells and old coins with glass beads and paillettes.  She uses her amazing torso manipulation skills to give the audience what I consider the classic tribal fusion style of dancing, lots of pops and locks using interesting body lines and half the time you are asking –how the heck did she do that?

Mira Betz – Rumi's Passion by Mosavo from Serpent’s Garden – If you have never seen spinning (dervish) done, I would get this DVD just for this performance alone. I would usually consider this style of number a folkloric piece and not a tribal fusion number. Mira Betz’s spinning is beautiful and amazing to watch.

The Nekyia – Pure Catnip by Drumspyder – The only troupe on this DVD performed in costumes that seemed more appropriate to a burlesque show than a belly dance show. However, most of the dance moves were more tribal fusion than burlesque (I remember two exceptions). This number was interesting in that in addition to the prerecorded music, they also had a live drummer adding tabla sounds to their dance track. An interesting number, but one that taken out of context could be used as fuel by those who claim belly dance is not that different from stripping.

Elizabeth Strong – Istanbul Cingene by Ibrahim Kazo from Istanbul Night – I have seen Elizabeth Strong on other DVDs and usually am less than impressed. I’m pleased to say I really enjoyed her piece this time round. She uses Turkish Rom dance steps and gestures to create a lovely number that was fun to watch.

Sashi – Black Bedouin by Knossos from Dark Light in the Wake of Silence – This number was what I would consider classic tribal fusion. From the music which fused techno beat with classical instruments to the costume which had the “tribal fusion look”. The dancing was also what I would consider classic tribal fusion, a mix of ATS style steps with classic cabaret. This is how I remember tribal fusion before it got mixed with hip hop and break dancing and developed all the sharp, small pops and locks.

Jill Parker – Lamma Bada (Syrian Muwashanat) by Mosavo from Desert Passage – Though the music is something I could see being danced either cabaret or tribal fusion (or ATS slow for that matter) this is another number that I would consider to be classic tribal fusion. The costume is more minimalist than in the number by Sashi and has the more modern look of tribal fusion, but the movements are classic tribal fusion.

Kami Liddle – Drum Roots (Table Rhythm Variation) by Mosavo from Desert Passage – this was a lovely tribal fusion drum solo preceded by a short mizmar taxseem. Very fun to watch

Monica “Dangerpants” Fernandez – Sekmetron by Maduro from Shimmer Sustain – This piece was what I would consider modern tribal fusion from the music to the costume to the dance style.

Mix Up Your 8s

Today we are going to mix up our 8s to get an 8 that has one loop twisted a quarter turn. Let’s start with a Maya (up to down figure 8) on the right hip and a front to back horizontal 8 (no ice cream) on the left hip. Once you have your body convinced it can do 8s on different plans on different hips, change your stance so you have all the weight on our left foot and the right foot is on the ball, keep doing the two half 8s in the two different planes. Next, switch so the weight is on your right foot and the left foot is on the ball and keep doing your two half 8s. Finally add a shimmy and do all three stances (weight evenly distributed, weight on the left, weight on the right).


Don’t forget to try the whole exercise with the half Maya on the left and the half horizontal 8 on the right too.

Egyptian Shimmy with Weight Change

This week’s shimmy drill is the same exercise as last week’s except this time we are going to use the Egyptian (straight leg) shimmy. For the Egyptian shimmy version of this exercise, the shimmy will NOT be even when you switch to all the weight on one leg. The Egyptian shimmy is driven by the motion of the knees. So when you take the weight off one leg, that leg is no longer helping to create the shimmy making it larger on one side. Practice the weight shifting to one side, center, other side by using the same 8 or 16 count series as mentioned last week for the hip lift shimmy. If you need to review the last weeks post, here is a link that will take you directly to it http://huraivaalimah.blogspot.com/2012/01/hip-lift-shimmy-with-weight-change.html Have fun with your shimmy drill!

Sphinx Pose

This is a nice one to hang out in for a while. You may even remember coloring all day in this pose when you were little!

Lie on your stomach, lift up your head and chest and bring your elbows to directly beneath your shoulders with your forearms resting on the ground straight forward from your elbows. Engage your low abs and press your legs and the tops of your feet into the ground gently. What a nice gentle back bend.

More zil patterns using 5s

Here are two more patterns that combine 5s with other zil patterns to create a new, longer pattern:

355 uses 3s and the running 5s discussed two weeks ago

355

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 RLR RLRLR RLRLR RLR RLRLR RLRLR

This last pattern creates a new series of zil strikes that is four counts long.

3513

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 RLR RLRLR R RLR RLR RLRLR R RLR