Friday, March 30, 2012

Be A Better Dancer

Years ago, when I was in my mid forties and teaching belly dancing, a 22 year old dance student challenged me in class to a flexibility test she had in some college class.  I lost of course. When she's 45 maybe she'll figure out that it's not so easy once your not all that flexible.  But today I was thinking that while flexibility is important to a dancer there are so many other factors that are important.  Most of us love to keep practicing the ones we are great at because that's our comfort zone.  But if you want to grow as a dancer, it might help to pick the five you are the worst at and work on those too.

Here are some I came up with off the top of my head.

  1. Timing
  2. Motivation
  3. Musicality
  4. Confidence
  5. Poise
  6. Strength
  7. Stamina
  8. Overall good health
  9. Passion
  10. 'the it factor'
  11. Balance
  12. Persistence
  13. Consistency
  14. Ethics
  15. Spacial awareness
  16. Peripheral Vision
  17. Symmetry
  18. Teamwork
  19. Theatricality
  20. Synchronicity
  21. Punctuality 
  22. Business savvy 
  23. Originality
  24. Innovative 
  25. Trust 
  26. Self-acceptance 
  27. Sense of humor 
  28. Posture

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Flowers in Your Hair



How to keep those fancy hair ornaments in your hair while you dance.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Reminiscing

Many nights when I am restless I find myself watching belly dance videos on line. I must have seen 1000 by now. I wish that resource had been available in the 70's when I needed them. I love all the innovations. When I first combined belly dancing, fire spinning and juggling back in the 70's, people looked at me like I'd just fallen off the turnip truck. No one patted me on the back and said, "Wow, what innovative ideas." Now of course a great many dancers combine things like hooping and fire props. Maybe I was born 20 years too soon. I wonder if other dancers in their 50's feel like I do. One year I was performing at Cairo Carnivale with a boa constrictor, juggling, and magic. I wish I'd known a friend with a video camera from back then so I'd have a record of it. The only time I got to watch belly dancing videos back then was if I was at a M.E.C.D.A. party of something and someone put videos in. I was on a tight budget, raising 2 small daughters, so videos weren't a high priority compared to rent and groceries. Costumes are also much easier to come by. You don't have to wait for a convention to roll around anymore. I hope you guys are appreciating how good you have it.

Tarot Inspired Belly Dancer

Thursday, March 01, 2012

Pink Gypsy

Penny over at the Pink Gypsy updated my listing. It's here: http://www.pinkgypsy.com/fayme/zelena.htm Make sure you refresh your browser to see the new updates. If you've wanted to take belly dancing but had no idea how to find a local teacher, her site provides links to many resources, so pop over and see what's in your neighborhood.