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Hi everyone!
This is the only non-US belly dance tribe I found... so what is happneing in Australia? What are your primary influences there? Do most dancers learn from Egyptian instructors/videos? Just curious!
This is the only non-US belly dance tribe I found... so what is happneing in Australia? What are your primary influences there? Do most dancers learn from Egyptian instructors/videos? Just curious!
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Austin
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Re: What's Happening?
Tue, November 9, 2004 - 5:52 PMHi Stacey,
I've just seen your post here and can only hope that you haven't given up on getting a reply from us down here...
Speaking for myself, my instructors have been Aussies teaching Egyptian cabaret or Turkish rom styles. A few teachers have Middle Eastern heritage, but many have been dancers all their lives (ballet, jazz, flamenco, etc.) and have discovered belly dance along the way. So often the styles I've been taught have had modern (and occasionally gothic) dance influence as well and have been very 'fusion' styles.
I have also just discovered tribal and am finding a few tribes scattered across the country. A tribal class has just started at the studio where I study (Underbelly in Melbourne, Victoria), but I've also been purchasing the FCBD dvds and teaching myself (and friends!) at home. I can see tribal growing in Australia, I think it will appeal to the mix of cultures in a similar way that does in the US.
I also spend heaps of time surfing the net and watching all the clips I can, just to see what's out there and get ideas... so much to absorb!
Well that's it from me, anyone else out there...? We really need to get some Aussie belly dance networking going! Come on girls!
And Stacey, thanks for taking an interest!
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Re: What's Happening?
Wed, November 10, 2004 - 8:13 PMHi Sarah!
I live in Austin, TX - as for what is happening here... it is mostly cabaret (Egyptian style) or a version of tribal which is more interpretive. I am studying Suhaila Salimpour's format, which incorporates other dance forms and standardized language into the dance training. Have you heard anything about her program?
Thanks for the reply!
Stacey L -
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Re: What's Happening?
Thu, November 11, 2004 - 6:44 PMI've been doing my research on all the goddesses of belly dance - Suhaila being one of the most prominent. So I have heard of her (I even bought a trashy performance dvd that features her dancing in Hollywood in the 80s - rather scary!), but don't know of her training program.
How are you learning the format? Do you teach yourself? Can you tell me what makes Suhailas teaching style different to other teachers?
Thanks!
By the way, love your photo! -
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Re: What's Happening?
Fri, November 12, 2004 - 9:52 AMI have been studying Suhaila's format for the past few years. I was first exposed during 2001 when she came to Texas to teach a format based workshop. I've been hooked ever since!
There are many things that make her format different - to highlight what I consider the most important:
1. Language - Suhaila uses "real" dance terminology from jazz and ballet rather than naming combinations or movements (camel step, maya, etc.). It is sooo nice to be able to read a written choreography, or have someone call a command and know exactly what the movement is supposed to be - and the movements can become very complex and interesting because of #2...
2. Layering and Timing - Her format teaches you to link your movements to the downbeat of the music - ie you can do a hip twist, downbeat on the right full time - or half time - or quarter time, etc. It can become a bit of a math problem when your feet are moving at one timing and pattern (e.g. half time chasse) while your hips are doing something else (e.g. full time twists), torso could be doing something else (e.g. 1/4 time rib circles). And then add arms and finger cymbals :). All of the options you can create become literally limitless and inspiring.
3. Beyond the physical - Suhaila has 5 levels of certification in her program. You don't have to become certified, but it is an easy way to discuss the different parts of her school's cirriculum. Once you get your physical "tool" (your body movements, stamina, flexibility, etc.) under control, you begin working on emotional preperation for your dance, in addition to learning all about Middle Eastern music, history, cultural aspects, etc. The emotional prep is something that I have never found in any other instructor.
Again, there is soo much that I find exciting about her studio and teaching methods/concepts. There should be some format videos coming out very soon for Level I and Level II. You should be able to order them directly from her when they come out, which I of course would highly recommend!
I am lucky in that there are a couple of other friends/dancers in my town that are working on her format. We get together and practice a couple of times a week on our drills, and try and go to California when we can to supplement our training at Suhaila's studio. The videos should help those of us that don't live in California train in the format - it really takes a lot of dedication and focus!
Whew - sorry about the long answer. I could go on and on all day. You should check out some of the tribes - there is a Suhaila tribe with lots of members and discussion as well.
Do have a lot of workshops in your area to attend? If so, what instructors have travelled to you to teach a workshop? -
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Re: What's Happening?
Sun, November 14, 2004 - 5:16 PMWow! Thanks for the detailed reply.
It can be quite difficult to grasp the nuances of the way the dance is being taught elsewhere in the world and the way you describe Suhaila's format makes sense but is tricky to visualise how it might be different to the way we learn it here.
I'd certainly love to learn more about it, I'm sure there's much that can be gained here in Australia, from so many talented dancers in the US - and naturally Suhaila's one of the all-time greats. It would be amazing to get some of them out here for workshops, but i'll be content with the dvd when it comes out!
We have a few workshops on the odd occasions - I just went to an all-day ATS workshop that had 8 people, many of whom had no bellydance experience at all! So there are many different levels of skill and it can be difficult to find workshops that suit you.
One of the ATS dancers in Sydney (Devi Mamak) is coming to run a workshop here in January - she has been to San Fran and studied with FCBD, so that will be the closest to first-hand experience I'll have had!
Otherwise, my teachers are amazingly talented within themselves and I feel pretty lucky to get to study with them. It's funny how you become to be so loyal to the women that teach you this dance! (I study at www.underbellydance.com)
I'm curious as to what you mean when you refer to 'drills', I've heard the term mentioned a bit, but I'm not really sure as to what you actually do. Could you enlighten me please?
I have been reading the Suhaila tribe - there's so much great information on here, I have to say that this is one of my best sources. I really enjoyed your topic re: mood vs emotion - very poignant.
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Re: What's Happening?
Sun, November 14, 2004 - 8:55 PMYou're absolutely right - it is very hard to explain! For me, Suhaila has been the best instructor I have ever found in terms of explaining the movements from a muscular perspective and giving students a method to train and master complex layering movements.
I am sure you have fabulous teachers where you are - I looked at the website for your school and it looks great!
As far as drills go, we normally practice on a "movement" rotation. For example, one week would be ups, the next week downs, then twists, pelvic locks, boxes, figure 8's, etc. For each movement, we practice standing in place doing different timing (1/2 time, full time, double time). Then we do laps around the room with the movement on top of different floor patterns. For example, if we are working on twists, then we would walk forwards, backwards, sideways, with grapevines, chasse, etc. (the options are limitless) while doing the movement at the chosen speed with the music.
The idea is to "drill" the movement into muscle memory while keeping the legs free to do what you choose - so as not to be limited when dancing. The next step is to add rib cage isolations such as circles, slides, figure 8's, etc. as the next layer of movement. So we might be doing hip twists while doing a grapevine foot pattern and rib cage slides. What makes it really challenging is changing your downbeat and timing choices for each layer.
That is what drills mean for me, but I'm sure every instructor and school has their own method for practicing movement. How are your classes taught?
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Re: What's Happening?
Mon, November 15, 2004 - 9:48 PMYeah, I think that's what I understood drills to mean. We usually learn new moves in class and their variations, then layering naturally follows. But I really do most of my drilling at home and teach myself more complex moves (such as laybacks and drops) that are a bit too advanced for normal classes.
If you want to take it more seriously it's up to you to teach yourself on your own time - the same with everything I guess - you wont get too far just taking a weekly class.
So about half our classes are dedicated to learning technique and the other half is learning a choreography for a half-year/yearly performance. Some of the classes also include a focus on improvisation and performance skills, as we the the occasional opportunity to perform at a local restaurant or in school events. I've been organising a few student performance nights myself, mostly so I get the opportunity to dance and have excuses for all my practice and costume making!
Do you get many opportunities for public performance? -
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Re: What's Happening?
Sun, November 21, 2004 - 9:13 AMI do get to perform quite a bit - the opportunities seem to contract and expand. I dance at a Persian restaurant in town a few times a month, and sometimes at another Mediterranean restaurant. Austin also has a few venues that dancers host on a regular, ongoing basis where guest dancers can perform. The other big performance opportunity is workshop shows. Between Austin, Dallas and Houston (few hours drive from one to another), there are several workshops throughout the year available. I feel pretty lucky that we have had that much availabilty. In Austin alone, there are at least three established annual workshop sponsors.
And then of course there is the occasional one time hire situation like for birthday parties, wedding ceremonies, etc.
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