“Putting it Together”
By Nizana
As I was teaching this last “Beginning Belly Dance and Beyond” class session, a “baby student” asked how to “put it all together.” This was a short session, and we covered many things such as posture, basic movements, intro to a short choreography and the many styles and costumes of dance. We talked about some of the things I will cover here, such as using our “transition foot” as we changed direction when practicing movements. But what a fun opportunity to delve a little deeper and help them “put it together!” I ended up on a roll and decided this could be a helpful article in the Teacher’s Tips column.
Dance to the Music. We talked about dancing TO the music and feeling the music. You are interpreting the music when you dance. It is important to know your music, as well as the ME rhythms in order to interpret the song with your dance. (If you have a live band opportunity, you often need to improvise if the music is not familiar.) There are basic rhythms that can be used as is or embellished. There are more complicated rhythms, changes and layers as well. If you are serious about dancing, it’s recommended that you take dumbek/tabla (drum) and finger cymbal classes and learn the rhythms.
Know the style of music so that it matches the dance style and costume to ensure you have the whole package together. You can learn this by attending workshops and performances, watching videos, reading articles in dance magazines/sites, and talking to knowledgeable instructors and vendors. Know what the song is about. If there are vocals, be sure you are interpreting it appropriately, or if the dance is even something you should be dancing to!
When choosing a dance type, you can use a choreography that is already out there, being sure to credit the choreographer. You can also choreograph your own dance, improvise, or choreograph leaving room in the dance to improvise parts of it. If you are going to choreograph your own dance or improvise, choose a song that you can interpret well, something that inspires you. Listen to the music carefully, so that you are really interpreting the music instead of just being out there dancing away! Certain styles of music call for certain movements or combinations. Certain instruments evoke sounds that call for specific movements. Apply the movements you know to the song you want to dance to. Visualize first; what does it call for?
Drum solo that calls for pops and locks?
Slow beautiful music that calls for a veil and rounded soft movements?
Egyptian music that calls for layers?
Does it include a vocal that tells a story?
Follow your movements through to completion. It is better to have quality over quantity, so perfect certain moves and do them very well instead of mashing as many movements and combos together as you can. You can change the same basic movement in many ways, such as by changing direction, doing it flat footed or on the balls of your feet, by changing the speed, changing the intensity of sharp or soft movements, or adding shimmies.
Transitions are worthy of discussion. We talked about using count 4 or 8 as your transition foot to change to a new direction or movement. You can also use 3 and 4 counts, or 7 and 8 counts to transition.
The music may have a small “change up” section that could allow for transition to the next “set” of counts/ movements (ie not part of the 4 and 8 counts, but an off-count such as 2 or 6 counts of music).
Transition movements usually involve weight change, traveling movements, or movements in place that allow you to switch your feet where you want them to be for next move such as figure 8’s; even a shift to a pose can work in some cases.
Occasionally, you just need to make a quick footwork move or step to get you where you need to go.
Putting it together is very important. Once you choose the style of dance, and the song, make sure your costume, accessories and makeup also matches, and test run (and pin!) the costume AND the dance in front of someone prior to performance. (I recommend your teacher so that you can receive honest feedback.) Practice a lot so that it shows when you are ready to perform! And have fun!
