From The Hip - Page 2

• A Hug

• Ashamed Of The Dance

• Backbends

• Becoming A Teacher

• Birthday Wishes

• Can Bellydance Do Damage?

• Energy Levels

• Extra Help

• Fast Dancing

• Feeling Stuck

• Feet

• Friends

• Getting Changed Before A Show

• Getting The Most Out Of Workshops

• Hourly Rate

• How To Get Really Good At Bellydancing

• Hypocrisy And Double Standards

• If In Doubt

• Improvisation

• I'm The Best

• Laziness

• Learning From Different Angles

• Mixed Level Classes

• Muffle Your Zills

• Phonecall

• Relying On The Audience

• Smell The Part

• Stop The Ding

• Student’s Checklist

• The Frustration Of Learning

• The Golden Rules

• The More You Know

• Troupe Gig Cancelled

• Whinge Whinge Whinge

A Hug

One of the most appalling moments I’ve witnessed in my teaching life is something one student said to another. The first student was upset because it was the anniversary of the death of her father. The second student (who, despite what she said, was actually trying to be sympathetic), said one of the most thoughtlessly idiotic things I’ve ever heard. She said to the upset student as she said goodbye: “Remember: just keep smiling.”

I was amazed, disgusted, and shocked.

I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard! I mean, a parent dies and you tell the person to keep smiling!! Yeah, just keep smiling…that should fix things (?!!!).

The biggest irony was that a few weeks later, the Smiling Student (as I’ll call her) came to class crying because her house had been broken into! It really touched a nerve with me – in fact, it got me boiling mad. I didn’t say anything, but I felt like saying that it was interesting to see that she felt a burgled house was worthy of tears, but a dead parent was something you could cast out of your mind if you smile enough.

Anyway, my point is this: for goodness sake, THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK WHEN PEOPLE ARE UPSET.

Another instance I remember wasn’t quite so callous, but it was silly. The bereaved person had just lost a loved one and a fellow dancer kept offering her water. “Do you want water?” “Do you want some water?” “Would you like a glass of water?” She kept going on and on and on about water throughout the entire time the girl was talking about her loss. I know that Water Girl (as I’ll call her) was obviously having a nervous reaction to a situation she wasn’t ready to handle, but for goodness sake! The woman didn’t want any water!! She’d said no half a dozen times already, and anyway, no amount of water could fix what had just happened, so continuing to offer it was simply ridiculous.

Again: THINK, THINK, AND THINK AGAIN BEFORE YOU SPEAK WHEN YOU'RE AROUND SOMEONE WHO IS GRIEVING.

When my dog Jordan was killed by a car on my birthday I was beside myself. I was guilt-stricken and absolutely miserable. When I came back to class after some weeks off, one of the students tried to consol me by saying, “At least it wasn’t a loved one.” Those of you who’ve had or have pets know that pets ARE, without doubt, loved ones. I replied, “It was a loved one” to which she said nothing. This student I’d known for years, and I know that she’s been nothing but a mature, kind, and caring person. But in this instance in trying to console me, she really did say the wrong thing.

And I know that Smiling Student and Water Girl were well-meaning – we all do and say silly things in our lives – but it’s important to learn from these mistakes (especially other people's mistakes, as it saves us from having to make them).

Generally, a listening ear, empathy, and understanding is what a person needs when they’re grieving. Not glasses of water. Not empty, thoughtless and (through their thoughtlessness) hurtful platitudes.

And really, you don’t really need to say anything: just a hug will do – a hug says it all.

Ashamed Of The Dance

I received the following comment via email from a student about another student who wanted to keep her personal details out of an article on the website:

I find myself feeling irked because it seems as though she's embarrassed or ashamed to be associated with the dance. It doesn't phase me that she doesn't want to be on the webpage but what she says somewhat eliminates what we all struggle to do which is let people see that Bellydance is wonderful with many benefits, and something that people should be proud to do. It's not hoochy coochy - it's BEAUTIFUL and full of history.

My email in response was the following:

I understand why you feel that way about her comments, but I don’t think she’s insinuating what you believe she is. The student you’re talking about refers to herself as a ‘closet Bellydancer’. She doesn’t want her name going up in lights, so to speak, as she feels that problems may arise in her work if she were associated with Bellydancing.

Although I understand what you're saying, I have a different take on what she has said based on other knowledge that I have. She has mentioned to me that she's had problems in the past with sexual harassment at work. She felt that she’d be risking it happening again if this (or another) unstable person found out that she learns Bellydance. Lots of people have erroneous notions about Bellydancing, and someone who is already a bit wonky in the head could be set off by their lewd ideas of our dance.

As beautiful as we know it to be, when it comes to this dance, it can attract people who think it's sleazy (NOT because of the dance itself, but because they themselves are sleazy and one-track-minded) and consider you sleazy for doing it. 

Also keep in mind that there ARE what I call Bum Dancers (Bellydancers that wear so little that half their bum is hanging out of their costume) in existence, so the 'hoochy coochy' view of the dance is actually confirmed by these dancers…but don’t get me started on that subject…

So unless this student is going to take it upon herself to change the opinion of the masses (impossible anyway) she doesn't want her work to suffer because of someone else's ignorance. It’s an ignorance that you can’t turn around en masse and overnight, and sometimes it's best to protect yourself than fight a huge war.

Backbends

The following question was sent to me by email:

I have a question for you...In your experience as a teacher, have you found that some people can just naturally arch their backs into a deeper bend than others can? I don't seem to be able to get a really good arch in my back, no matter how much I try.  But I don't want to end up hurting myself knowing I just don't possess the ability to bend really far. What do you tell your students who want to be able to do a good backbend?

My answer:

I actually don't teach backbends in Bellydance class. They are too risky as far as I'm concerned, and I want my students to preserve their backs, not destroy them. I do occasionally mention them in class and instruct students how to do them as safely as possible, knowing that some students will try them at home no matter what I say about the dangers. 

Certainly a human being can do backbends and not damage themselves, but it takes a lot of strength and control. One little slip or weak moment and the discs in your back can move out of place and you'll have back pain to contend with for the rest of your life. My advice is to keep away from them.

I can’t say for a fact exactly where they originated in Bellydancing, but I can tell you my opinion about why this gymnastics movement appeared in this dance. I believe it stemmed from dancers’ desire to outdo each other. To stay at the top of the game you have to have better and brighter costumes, more interesting and intricate routines, more creative and exciting showmanship.

So, when you’ve gone as far as you can go with sequins, made your choreographies so complicated that you can barely remember them, done everything Bellydance-ish to put on a great show, then where do you go? For some, it leads to other dances and physical disciplines. Veils came to be used in Bellydance via a balletic influence, sword balancing is an Americanisation which came about to show how controlled a dancer’s technique could be and her sense of balance.

And that’s where I think backbends came into the picture. From a dancer’s thought: “What else can I do to outdo everyone else?” And when one dancer comes out with a new technique, the inevitable clones all start to copy. Then it becomes The Thing to do. After a while it eventually makes itself a part of the dance and everyone accepts it and expects it as part of Bellydance technique.

Although very cool to look at, and admirable in the show of flexibility and strength, backbends are an acrobatic part of Bellydancing that in my opinion are just not necessary. My bottom line opinion on the matter is that backbends are for Yoga, not Bellydance.

Becoming A Teacher

This question was sent to me from Lebanon by email:

I’m Lebanese, and adore the Bellydance. Dancing is not my job but I love it and I know how to dance very well. I am now in a situation that I will teach Bellydance. I have all the ideas in my head but not organisedd. My students are very happy with me but I still need more and more info.

I need your help to tell me how to start and with which steps, and the duration of each step, how many days should I take to complete the beginner's class...and many other questions. I tried to buy tapes from the net but in fact I didn't know which dancer may I choose or which tape is better because I can't see them and check which one is better.

I took your name from the net, and I look forward to you helping me (ie. giving me name of sites, tapes, ways). Precisely, I need a full set for teaching Bellydance from the beginners to the professional, with the warm up and relaxing.

My reply was the following:

The way teachers learn to teach, besides having a natural aptitude for it, is to attend classes of all types - not just Bellydance, but all types of dance and even other things besides dance.

It's not right to buy tapes and copy what other teachers do. That teacher has developed their teaching style/dance style over years and years and for you to take it and copy it is not the way to become a teacher yourself. You need to develop yourself over time and that takes many years. What I suggest you do is to attend as many classes of different teachers that you can before you even consider starting to teach.

If you don't have any idea at all where to start it simply means you're not ready to teach yet.

Her reply to mine:

Believe me, I know how to dance and how to teach, I just need a program to tell me what to do. Thanks anyway.

My reply to her:

Birthday Wishes

The following message was sent to me on my birthday by a student:

Can Bellydance Do Damage?

Can Bellydance ever be harmful? Interesting question.

I think it’s just like anything: too much of a good thing can make it detrimental. Over-doing any exercise is unhealthy whatever kind of it exercise it is.

With Bellydancing specifically, it can result over-flexibility in the lower back. This needs to be countered by core strengthening exercises, such as Pilates and Yoga, otherwise you might find that the discs in your lower back can very easily slide out of place. At best it’s a niggling ache. At worst the discs can impinge on the nerve and you’ll be unable to walk for hours or days. A liberal dose of daily abdominal work is a helpful preventative remedy.

Psychologically, Bellydancing itself isn’t negative, but an insensitive teacher or bitchiness among students is (obviously) detrimental. Again, this kind of thing doesn’t just happen in Bellydancing, but with this dance, attendance is almost 100% female, and let’s be honest: where there is a concentration of women, the likelihood of bitchiness increases. It is up to the TEACHER to create a friendly atmosphere and therefore encouraging the students to do likewise.

I guess my overall opinion is that Bellydance doesn't do damage, done in moderation.

Energy Levels

Here are three important questions:

• How do you keep your energy levels up when teaching three or more hours of class back to back?

• How do you keep your energy levels up if you’re a student participating in three or more hours of class back to back?

• How do you keep your energy levels up when you have a lot of performances in one night?

All excellent questions, and I’m glad I asked them! Now to answer them:

For teachers: my advice is that you teach 50 or 55 minute classes so that you have 5 or 10 minutes between classes to have a drink and/or a small snack. If you are teaching a full day workshop, structure it so that instead of a big break for lunch, you have the 5 or 10 minutes at the end of each hour as a break. That way that everyone can keep their fluids up and have a snack to keep their energy levels up. It also prevents you and the students from becoming half-starved by lunch time and having a big meal which does nothing but make you sleepy for the remainder of the workshop.

For students: keep yourself hydrated by sipping on water every half hour no matter what is going on in the class. Snack on something small every hour even if your teacher doesn't give you a break. The golden rule is that you don't get so full that you're uncomfortable. Your aim is to keep your fluids and your energy up during class.

For performers: If you’ve got a driver, then it’s easy-peasy to get a snack in between shows. It's a little trickier if you’re driving yourself, so it's even more essential that your drink and foods must be easy to sip or eat while at the red lights. Ideally, have a quick something just after the show when you’re in the car waiting for the engine to warm up. Either way before you hit the road remember an extra bag for wrappers and rubbish, and some tissues to wipe your hands with and be careful not to to get too full with liquid or food or you’ll be left feeling uncomfortably full during  your next performance.

For teachers, students and performers here are some ideas on what to bring to class and shows:

For fluids:

• A bottle of water – nothing beats water for good hydration.

• Cartons of pure (not the reconstituted, sugar-filled crap) fruit juices (bring a straw for easy drinking if the package doesn’t provide one) – the fructose (natural sugar that you find in fruit) goes straight into your system to give you a boost of energy.

• Breakfast drinks – these are great when you need more calories than juice can offer, plus the inclusion of fat and protein in the mixture is more filling if you feel extra-peckish.

For food:

• Peanuts (or any kind of nuts) are good – quick to eat and they give you a some protein and some fat.

• Muffin bars and muesli bars – they are pleasant eating and if you pick the right ones, they can be quite nutritious. Even if they’re not, treat yourself anyway! There’s nothing like a small indulgence to help you remember that tricky choreo!!

• Grapes and strawberries (or any kind of berries) – you can just pop them in your mouth without the mess you get with other fruits (of course, if there’s a tap with soap close by, a little mess is not a problem – so go crazy with the fruit as long as you can clean your hands afterwards to get rid of the stickiness).

• Bananas and apples – very yummy and also tend to be minimally messy.

• Crackers – choose something that you like the taste of without anything added so that you can just munch on them without having to worry about bringing dips. These usually have a moderate to high amount of fat, so will be more filling when you are feeling reasonably hungry.

• Yoghurt or, even better, soy yoghurt – these provides protein and fat so it’s rather more filling than fruit. And there are lots of yummy flavours to choose from. Remember to bring a spoon!

• For longer days, a sandwich is a must. You’ll need to fill yourself with something more substantial than little snacks can provide, so make yourself a sandwich or two (depending on how long the day is) and have it when you’re ready for something more satisfying to eat.

Extra Help

I have had several students do courses with me over the years who need extra help during class due to various physical weaknesses/deficiencies/impairments. And I’ve always welcomed them in class and always been happy to give them more help than the other non-special needs students. On top of that, my other students have always been fantastic with having special needs people in the class.

But one time I asked a particular student if she’d had a chance to practice during the week. Her answer to me was a rather annoyed: “No. As if I’ve got nothing else to do in my spare time.”

Now, let me tell you that her answer really got on my nerves. Here I was, giving her tonnes of extra help during class AND I’d given her a complimentary copy of the class music (which no one else in the class got without paying for it – I gave it to her to give her an extra helping hand) and she couldn’t be bothered to facilitate the process along by doing a bit of practice at home!

Those among you who’ve never experienced this situation, please be assured that it’s doubly exhausting for a teacher to have one special needs person in a room of non-special needs people. In fact, it’s easier to have an entire class of special needs people, because everyone’s in a similar boat. To have just one special needs person means you have to make sure the class keeps running smoothly the whole time as though there’s no extra attention being paid to one particular person, while at the same time constantly giving extra attention to that person. In other words, you have to give that person continual attention without it showing – you, as the teacher, must make their presence in the class a seamless integration. The special needs person must be given extra help without feeling like they’re being singled out, without feeling guilty about getting extra help, and without the other students feeling neglected.

So you see, no matter how equitable you try to be in spreading your help around, if you have someone there who has special needs, they will take time away from others who’d normally get it if that person weren’t around. The special needs person gets extra attention, which is fine by me, BUT: the extra effort on my part (and on the part of the other participants who have to make do without the usual help they get from me) needs to be reciprocated by effort from the special needs person.

So if you’re a special needs student, do the right thing by the teacher who gives you extra help, and your classmates who forgo much of the teacher’s help when you’re in class, by facilitating your dance training through practice at home.

(And please, no complaints about this article claiming I’m being ‘Special Needist’ and this article is a rampant case of ‘Special Needism’ – it’s simply not. Like I said before I have always welcomed special needs people into my classes for all the years I’ve been teaching. Special needs people SHOULD be given the extra help when they’re in class. All I’m saying is that it needs to be give and take.)

Fast Dancing

What is with performers who think that the only music to use is really, really fast music and the only way to dance is really, really fast?

What ever happened to a balance of fast, medium and slow? What ever happened to pacing? I mean, take a film for instance. It’s not go-go-go from start to finish. There are peaks and troughs in a film, and there is a reason for it: people get exhausted watching something that has a pace that doesn’t relent. And that goes for your show too.

I know that the battery-operated, speed-demon performers I speak of tend to be quite popular around the traps. I know that people often equate speed with skill and see a bunch of fast moves and think: "Wow, she really knows how to dance!" Of course this is an incomplete statement, which should go: "Wow, she really knows how to dance fast!"

The fact is that the faster you go, the less decipherable movements are, compared to when you dance slower. So the danger, in a sense, of not dancing at full speed  is that any lack of skill in anything will be noticed. So is this what these dancers are afraid of? That weaknesses might be exposed?

Well, I guess I’ll never know what they’re thinking because I know from conversations with them that they believe faster is better. And they think that if you’re the fastest, you’re the best. They’d never look at why they do it beyond saying any or all of the following: "It’s more exciting for the audience, it’s a better show if you put on super-fast music, and dance as fast as you can."

And it’s true of some audiences, that’s for sure. Goodness knows why, but some people love watching a performer who dances like she’s got ants in her underwear. In my experience, Lebanese audiences are the worst culprits when it comes to this kind of thinking: they are a seriously speed-obsessed nationality when it comes to taste in music and dancing.

So this is my message for the day: JUST SAY NO to dancing like your underwear’s on fire. Don’t press the fast-forward button and zoom along like an out of control flailing maniac. Slow it down, speed it up, take it to a medium level. Use all the different paces. There’s nothing wrong with fast dancing, but there is something wrong with ONLY dancing fast. The nuances are in the music itself, so respond to the changes and enjoy them.

Feeling Stuck

The following question was asked of me via email:

I sometimes get stuck for what to teach my intermediate students. I am fine with the beginners but am struggling to cater to my intermediate students. I probably need to attend other workshops more regularly.

My bag of tricks is starting to run out. These are all technical questions, but nonetheless important ones. Without new input, I will increasingly find it difficult to continue teaching classes. I do not want my students to get bored. How do I keep classes new and exciting?

My answer:

You’ve answered the question on your own: keep learning. In order to teach beginners you need to be intermediate. In order to teach intermediate you need to be advanced. In order to teach advanced you need to be a professional dancer. 

Go to lots of classes and workshops, watch videos and DVDs of other dancers. The aim of this is NOT to copy what they do or rip off their choreographies. It's for nourishment – you need to ‘feed’ your dancing so that it can stay alive and healthy just as you need to feed your body to keep it well.

The bottom line is: keep learning and improving yourself!

Feet

Bellydancing is often taught in bare feet. I know that’s how I learnt. And I performed for years and years barefoot too. I was used to coming home with the filthiest feet (pure black after some performances) and thought it was just part of the deal...until the day I stepped on an industrial-sized staple during a gig at the local university. From that day forth, I haven’t done a class or performance without dance shoes on my feet.

In class I use flat ballet shoes (with sockettes) in summer, jazz sneakers (with sports socks) in winter and, of course, leg warmers…yes, I know it sounds very 80’s to wear leg warmers but they’re not fluorescent pink I'll have you know. They’re black, in fact, and are awesome for keeping not only your lower legs warm (and therefore help prevent injuries to your feet, ankles, shins, calves and knees), but adding to your overall body heat to help keep you from freezing your behind off during the winter months.

Jazz sneakers are simple: you only have to pick a style you like and a size that fits you. In flat ballet shoes there’s the choice of leather or canvas. Leather lasts longer but doesn’t fit snugly to your foot the way the canvas ones do. Having tried both, I prefer the feel of the canvas ones.

How long a pair of flat ballet shoes last depends on how much you wear them: the more classes you teach or attend the quicker the time will come when you need a new pair. One thing that will postpone that moment is to get a black pair: they hide their ugliness as they fall apart much better than the pink or white ones.

An essential component to wearing flat ballet shoes is to to also wear the stocking-thin sockettes. This will help avoid stinkiness and consequently having to wash your ballet shoes after each wear (and that does happen in summer). As a teacher you should have at least two pairs (I have had up to seven pairs in my busier years) so that you’re never caught without if you’re called in to do a fill-in class and it’s laundry time for a pair of your flat ballet shoes.

Which leads into the area of performing shoes. You can get away with not having dance shoes if you’re simply a student, but if you plan on performing, you really do need to protect your feet. The classroom floor is much more predictable than the stage or restaurant floor. There could be broken glass, slippery bits of food, or puddles of spilled drinks. If it’s an outdoor performance, gravel will give you an exfoliation that you won’t forget (and would rather not have had), bindis will give you acupuncture that you never requested (and continue to do so, with added pressure from your bodyweight, until the end of the performance) and doggie-do will give you a odiferous sensation that you’ll find hard to wash off. In other words: get yourself a pair of shoes for the stage!

Those doing troupe performance will generally be fine with flat ballet shoes – a pale gold or silver pair is the best choice, depending on which of the two colours is incorporated into the troupe costume.

For solo performances I prefer ballroom shoes: it gives shorties like me some height and also looks infinitely more elegant when you dance. I wear three inch heels, but you don’t need such a high heel, just a couple of inches will do (especially if you’re the taller variety of Bellydancer). Keep in mind, you don’t need a different coloured shoe for each different colour costume. All you require is one pale gold pair, one silver pair, and (only if you have a black costume) one black pair. That way you’ve got the protection, you’ve got a more polished look (nothing like the sight of the filthy sole of a dancer’s foot to take away from the glitz and glamour of a professional costume) and you’ve got a shoe for any possible costume you could buy.

Your next purchase will be a piece of coarse sandpaper from a hardware shop to use as a scraping tool for the dirt that accumulates and cakes on the bottom of flat ballet shoes and ballroom shoes. This will keep the shoe from being slippery – when the dirt cakes it makes the bottom of the shoe shiny and smooth: a great combination for slipping over and killing yourself mid-song. Not only that, it helps make the shoe a lot cleaner for when you have to put back in your bag.

Now, while we’re on the topic of shoes and bags, if the thought of putting your shoes in with your other dancewear grosses you out (and I don’t blame you with all the rubbish that your shoes pick up on the classroom or stage floor), it’s time to buy a dance bag with a special compartment for shoes. It keeps the shoes you’ve been mopping the floor with during class or performance segregated from the rest of your stuff. I mean, you don’t want everyone’s dinner smearing all over your professional costumes, do you? Once you experience the joy of an isolated compartment for shoes, you’ll be sold on the idea forever.

Friends

Here’s a saying for you to ponder: befriend in haste, repent at leisure.

It’s usually said about marriage rather than friendship (therefore: marry in haste, repent at leisure), but I’m sure you can see how it can relate to friendship in the same way.

If you’re a dance student, making friends with other students is pretty straight-forward: you like each other, you become friends. Bellydance is as political as any other profession, and there are some overly-ambitions students out there who want to get ahead of everyone else. You can (and will) have trouble if you befriend a person like that, but the average student is a just a regular person who it's 'safe' to make friends with.

But if you’re a professional teacher and/or performer, you need to be extremely careful which other teachers and performers you befriend. For the most part, this is a very ego-driven industry and it’s not always easy to see who’s an ally and who’s an enemy. Strong words, I know, and it may sound like I’m overreacting, but after all this time in the industry believe me when I tell you that at times it can seem like warfare!

As a teacher and/or performer, your basic choices are these:

·          Avoid alliances altogether. Make no friends. This is a pretty lonely road, so if you do choose it, at least trawl the internet for some overseas colleagues that you can chat to when you need to sound off to someone.

·          Before choosing friends, make some observations so that you understand something of personalities and politics. Then, pick your friends wisely.

As for teachers befriending their students, I think that overall it’s best to steer away from doing that. There can be conflict of interest and various complications, and in a way it’s overstepping a professional boundary. However, if you choose to befriend a student, it’s probably best to set some ground rules about how the friendship will be conducted during classtime so that things don’t get weird (for example, by mentioning a social outing in front of other students).

Now, if a student changes status by becoming a member of your staff (eg. an assistant, a teacher’s aide, a trainee teacher) or she becomes a colleague (eg. a fellow teacher or a solo performer), then the situation has changed so that you are now on a more equal standing, so then you’re not overstepping professional boundaries as you would if you were student and teacher. But still, think carefully about whether a friendship is the right step to take. People change when they gain anything that resembles power.

And last but not least: best of luck in finding some good friends in Bellydance! 

Getting Changed Before A Show

First, ask about the change area when you get booked for the show.  Even if there's no relegated change area there is usually some room that you can use. If all else fails, every venue has a bathroom that you can get changed in.

If you don’t have a galabeya (traditional overcoat) or similar to put on top of your costume, then this is what to wear:

• A button-up shirt or t-shirt with plenty of neck room (so that you don't mess up your hair and smudge your makeup as you take it off). Wear this on top of your performance bra.

• A pair of pants that won't mark your tummy or hips. No need to wear the bottom half of your outfit - that will be in your bag.

• Have your performance shoes on and have hair and make-up 100% done.

The most modest way to change goes as follows (remember that even if you have your own changeroom, you very rarely have a locking door - someone could burst in at any time):

• Leave your pants on

• Put your skirt over your pants

• Take your pants off

• Put your belt on

• Keep your top (button-up shirt or t-shirt) on until a couple of minutes before show time

• When you take your top off, cover up (for warmth and modesty) using your veil

Getting The Most Out Of Workshops

I received the following request for advice via email:

Despina, I am a student/performer of the art of the Middle Eastern Dance. I have a couple of questions for you:

Can you please give me some tips/advice on how to make the most of workshops. I am one of those unfortunate students who do not learn a lot in a big setting. Recently, I attended a workshop with 120 participants. I enjoyed it but did not learn a lot. Can you also please provide me with tips/advice on how to make the most of instructional videos?

My answer was the following:

If the workshop is choreography-based, maybe think about learning individual moves rather than the choreography itself. Have notepad handy (get a very small one, the size of your palm so that you can easily dance while holding it and a pen). Just scribble madly during the workshop, writing down as many individual moves as you can. If you can walk out of there with 10 new things, you're doing well.

Then, the next step is to practice at home straight away - spend two hours practicing what you put in your notes that same day. I know it'll hard as you'll be tired, but do give it a go, even if you only manage half an hour of practice. Do at least a little bit of work on the techniques on each day that week to consolidate the new information.

The following week, start to make up your own little choreography including those new moves. By using the moves you've learnt in this way you'll consolidate them.

Next, use improv to make the moves part of your repertoire: choose a song you know really well, and choose one of your new moves. Dance the song, incorporating the chosen move as much as you can, so that your body gets used to it and develops muscle memory for it. Then do the same with another new technique. Go through all the techniques like this.

Then choose another song. Do the same as above, but this time choosing two moves instead of one from the list you made from the workshop. And on you go. Aim to get about 10 new things from a workshop - if you get more, great, but aim to at least go away with 10.

As for instructional videos, I'd use them in chunks. For example: practice and perfect whatever the first five minutes of the tape does for a week. Then move on to the next five minutes for a week. Then the next five, etc. Until you get to the end of the tape.

Then do it in 10 minute chunks (again, consolidating the information for a week at a time) until you've gone through the whole tape like that and made each move part of your body’s memory.

Then make a list of new techniques from that video and do what I suggested above with the workshop: that is, make a choreography including those moves, and then include them (first one by one and then two by two) in an improv song of your choice.

Hourly Rate

This is about another special little moment I’ve had over the phone with a potential hirer for a performance.

Quoting her 150 dollars (which was the rate at the time – this incident happened many years ago) for the 20 minute show, the woman balked.

“Can’t you do any better than that?” she wanted to know.

“That’s my price,” I said as nicely as I could.

“That’s a hell of an hourly rate!” she said.

“Yes, it would be if I were an hourly rate. But it’s not. I don’t work eight hours a day, five days a week at that rate,” I said.

To cut to the end of the story, she hired me at the rate that I requested. But now you know what to say if someone tells you that your ‘hourly rate’ as a performer is out of hand. If they're not convinced (and you want to be a smart-alec and risk not getting the show which, frankly, sometimes you don't want if they're going to be that bloody difficult):

“I do anything from one to three shows a night, two nights a week. So in end I make between 150 and 800 in a week, depending on the week. And costumes cost around 1000 dollars each, and I have to have quite a lot of them because the restaurants can’t have me looking the same every week. Plus there’s the music – it’s at least 30 dollars per CD and you have to have a big collection of them to get even a dozen good songs to make up a measly three shows.”

That should shut them up. At least for a minute or two.

How To Get Really Good At Bellydancing

There are two little rules to getting really, really good at Bellydancing. Just two. And if you do them, you’re guaranteed to become a good dancer. Ready? Here they are:

• One: begin dancing

• Two: continue dancing

I’m not trying to be a smart-alec here, because it’s that simple: start and keep going. Of course there are more details to it than that, but truly, they are the only two things you need to do to become a really good dancer.

Hypocrisy And Double Standards

The question has been presented to me many times, from very many different people and in different forms. These are excerpts from emails I've received over the years:

1.       I’m confused. I’m married to an Egyptian man. As you know, Bellydancing is part of his culture but when I asked him if I could Bellydance (we were watching a Bellydancer on TV at the time) and he - to my great surprise - said no! What’s with that?

2.       My friend’s parents are Turkish and her father has a problem with her doing Bellydance classes with me. I don’t understand - I thought Bellydancing was part of the Turkish culture! What’s going on there?

3.       My boyfriend is Lebanese. He doesn’t like it if the performer gets me up to dance at family functions. I told him that if I wasn’t allowed to dance, then he shouldn't be allowed to watch the dancer. He said that watching the dancer and me dancing were different. I think he’s being a hypocrite. What do you think?

4.       Knowing the way Muslims are about modesty and covering up their women, how do the half-naked Bellydancing costumes fit in to the equation? This seems like a contradiction.

5.       I keep having the same argument with my father (my parents are Greek) - he doesn’t like Bellydancing (I take classes and want to eventually perform) but he says that it’s bad enough that I do classes. He is totally against me performing and says he’ll disown me. But Bellydancing can be done in a very tasteful way, with tasteful costumes – so if it’s done like that, then what’s my father’s problem? How am I going to convince him that he’s wrong?

Unfortunately, as I have the same problem with my own parents, I have no suggestions or advice to give on this topic. All I know for sure is that these attitudes are deeply ingrained and extremely common. In fact, you'll find that in every single culture that has Bellydancing within it has a similar in attitude: as long as it's not their daughter/wife/sister/girlfriend/relative doing it, then it's okay.

In my opinion, it's a hypocritical attitude, contradictory thinking, and an unfair double-standard. Worse, there’s not much you can do about it. So there are really two choices: bow down to the primitive mindset or do what you believe is right.

If In Doubt

This is my golden performing rule: if in doubt, do a figure eight. That’s right, a plain old eight (or what is commonly known as a ‘backward figure eight’).

Think about it...

You’re mid-performance and can’t remember your choreography. Or you’re doing a fully improvised show and are having an off night. What do you do? You can’t ask the band to stop. You can’t halt everything to have a little think about the matter. No, a professional solo performer doesn’t have that privilege.

You need to have a quick solution, one that will suit all situations and circumstances, one that will look good in any costume, one that will work in ballroom shoes or barefoot. On top of that you’ve got to do something that will not only match any music you are using at the time, but something that can be used pretty much at any point with pretty much any given music. You have to be able to easily slip into the movement from whatever foot position you're holding, and from whatever technique you're doing at the time. It needs to be something that can change tempo effortlessly, and one that looks good whether it’s being done quickly or slowly.

What technique fits ALL this criteria? None other than the humble figure eight! No other move is as versatile, no other move can do what the figure eight does.

Yes, if in doubt, my golden rule is: do a figure eight.

Improvisation

So you hate improvisation? Chances are the more you hate it, the more of a perfectionist you are. Perfectionism has its pros and cons. The good side is that when you do a job, you do it perfectly. The bad side is that you kill yourself until it’s perfect and flog yourself if something goes wrong. Which is why you hate improvisation – improvisation requires you to be willing to experiment, make mistakes and make a fool of yourself occasionally. The remedy? Get over it. Stop flogging yourself and just dance.

I'm The Best

A performer or teacher who tells you “I’m the best” is not the best.

Firstly, because there's no such thing as The Best of anything – there simply can’t be because what is 'best' is subjective.

Secondly, who the 'best' is should be a comment for someone else to make, not the person in question. Any person who actually has the audacity to announce to you that they are The Best, has a massive ego. In my opinion, this person must be avoided at all costs. The fact is that they might be good – they might be even be excellent…but there ain’t no such thing as The Best. And if there is, it generally won’t be the person standing there making a speech about how they’re it.

Laziness

Laziness might be the only thing stopping you from being a better dancer. You don’t have to practice for 20 hours a week. Just start with 10 minutes a week. Guaranteed that once you start those 10 minutes you won’t be able to stop for at least an hour anyway.

Learning From Different Angles

ALL dancing relates to other dancing and I believe it’s important for advanced dancers to not only continue with classes in your dance of choice (if you’re reading this article, then it’s probably Bellydance) but also to do classes in other types of dance. Doing classes in other types of dance styles not only challenges you from a dancing point of view, but helps you to learn dance from a different angle than the one you normally see it (that is, from a Bellydance angle). More importantly, it will help you re-engage in the feeling of being a beginner again. In the ego-driven dance world, reminding yourself of the awkwardness and difficulty of being a beginner will help keep your feet on the ground. And the more advanced you are, the more important it is to keep it real. I’ve seen many a dancer get very advanced and go diva. It’s an ugly sight, and rather nauseating. Keep your feet on the ground and keep the people around you from having to take anti-emetics whenever they see you coming.

Mixed Level Classes

One the one hand you don't want to overstrain the beginners, on the other hand you would like to present something exciting and new to the advanced students. How do you cope with a mixed-level class? With practice you can. Here are some tips:

1. When doing simpler drills: get the more advanced students to layer a shoulder or hip shimmy along with the technique they're practicing. If that's not enough, add some phantom finger cymbals (ie. just using their fingers or putting one zill on the middle finger) to the shimmy. That should sort them out!
2. When doing physically taxing drills: reinforce that students rest when they need to (whether advanced, intermediate or beginners).
3. When doing a simple or moderate level choreo: have the advanced girls use phantom finger cymbals so their co-ordination is challenged even though they're not doing a particularly difficult choreo.
4. When doing advanced choreo: teach the technique in the form of drills the week before going into choreo. That will make it easier for the beginners. In essence, you'll be taking them to a beyond beginner level just with those particular moves, and they'll be able to cope adequately with the tricky choreo.

Muffle Your Zills

To muffle the sound of your zills when you practise, all you need is a pair of baby socks (preferably winter ones, not summer ones as they’re too thin) to put over your thumb zills.

“But what’s the point of practising zills if you can’t hear them?” I hear you ask. Simple: although it's good to practise being able to hear what you’re playing, it’s also good to practise zills without being able to hear them.

In a sense it’s similar to touch typing: you can only learn to do it properly if you stop looking at the keyboard. When you master touch typing, you will know if you make a mistake because you’ll be able to literally feel it. You won’t need to look at the computer screen or watch your hands to monitor how exact you are. The answer is in your fingers. Same with zills! You need to learn to play them without needing to hear them. Think about it: when you’re performing and the music is blasting, or if you’re in class and the whole class is making a huge racket with zills, how will you know what your zills are doing? The answer, again, is in your fingers. You’ll be able to feel it.

Phonecall

In 1997 - my first year as a teacher - I received a phone call. It went something like this:

Caller: Is this Despina?

Me: Yes it is.

Caller: This is [caller's name]. Do you know who I am?

Me: Yes I do.

Caller: I tried to register my business name the other day with the Department Of Fair Trading and they told me that there was another name too similar - your business name - and that I couldn’t register mine.

Me: Well, that’s the rule I guess.

Caller: Do you know that I’ve had [the business name she’d just tried to register] for over 10 years?

Me: Oh. So the Department has made a big mistake. Because if you’ve had that business name for over 10 years, then the Department Of Fair Trading shouldn’t have allowed me to have mine since they’re so similar. I did ask if there were similar names. They said no. And so I registered.

Caller: The reason they let you have that name is that mine wasn’t registered.

Me: Right. I see. In which case, the Department didn’t make a mistake.

Caller: You are obviously trying to use my business name and my reputation to build your business!

[Up until this point I had been calm. However, the moment she accused me of malicious intent in choosing my business name, I lost my temper. In fact, I had just been about to say that I was actually already thinking of changing my business name, so I’d do it so that she can have hers. But the thought of saying that went out the window when the accusations began.]

Me: Excuse me????!!!

Caller: You knew that that was my business name and you purposely chose a similar one.

Me: I did nothing of the sort! And frankly, if yours had been registered – as it should have been – then I would never have been able to use the name I’m using.

Caller: You’ve got some cheek to use my name, and – .

Me: I beg your pardon!! I’ve got some cheek? Some cheek to do what exactly? To register my business name as the law requires? If you’d done the right thing and had yours registered all this time we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

Caller: I’ve been in business for over 10 years, and now you – .

Me: Hey! Don’t you dare accuse me of anything. If anyone should be accusing anyone it’s me accusing you and dobbing you in to the Department for trading illegally!

Caller: You took my business name!

Me: Firstly, under the law it wasn’t your business name. It wasn't registered and therefore wasn't anyone's business name. And secondly, I’ve seen your advertising around the place, and you seem to use at least three different business names. In which case, ignoring the fact that you’re trading illegally, there’s no consistency in the names you use, so I don’t think that you can claim that it’s YOUR name at all. Think about it carefully and call me back when you’ve calmed down!!

Caller: I won’t be calling you back.

Me: Good!.

And I hung up.

An interesting phone call, don’t you think? I actually did change my business name – to the one I have now (Dreaming Of Jeannie Bellydance Academy). I did it for two reasons: one, because (like I said above) I was actually thinking of doing it anyway. I didn’t really like the name I’d chosen and wanted to change it. And two, because I didn’t want this woman harassing me for the rest of my life. I thought to myself, “I was going to do it anyway, now that this encounter has occurred, it’s a good reason to put the wheels in motion.” I did it and haven’t looked back. It’s a shame that I had to have the above conversation to propelled me into action, but still: no regrets!

Relying On The Audience

I received the following comment within an email:

Middle Eastern audiences are just so much more fun to dance for. They appreciate the dance much more and so I perform better. I also enjoy it more, which after all is what it's all about, and get a buzz from it every time.

My reply to this comment was:

I know it's easy to enjoy shows more when the audience reacts in a certain way, but don't depend on that for your own enjoyment.

(Note: I don't actually agree with the comment about Middle Eastern audiences being more fun to dance for. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't. Sometimes they show their full appreciation of what you do due to the fact that they have understanding of it and prove to be a supportive, enthusiastic audience. Sometimes they've seen so many Bellydancers that it's old hat to them and they act indifferent and aloof, almost completely ignoring you. Non-Middle Eastern audiences are the same: sometimes they're great, sometimes they're not. Sometimes, due to their inexperience of what they're seeing they can react inappropriately. For example, men can be lewd with comments like "Take it all off!" and women can take the dance the wrong way with comments like "Go dance for the men, I don't want to see this." Sometimes it's such a novelty for a non-Middle Eastern audience to see a Bellydancer that they are the most attentive, appreciative and enthusiastic audiences of all.)

Smell The Part

After doing performances, you will be sweaty, at least a little smelly, and in desperate need of a shower. This doesn’t mean that if you’re already smelly (eg. from exercise, a long days’ work, etc) you should go to a performance smelling like you’ve just finished it.

You need to go to your performance looking, feeling and smelling fresh. I know some of you might be saying: “but I’ll have to have another shower afterwards as well! I took one this morning, and having one before as well as after performances is three showers in a day…isn’t that excessive?” Yes, it does seem like one or two showers too many, but that’s what you’ve got to do. \

Don’t get me wrong, you don’t need to shower before each and every performance if you’re not smelly to begin with (although you always need to shower afterwards, that’s for sure…and if you don’t, then you’re not dancing hard enough…or maybe your performance was at the Arctic Circle…). So, if you start off fresh, no need to shower beforehand. If you are a sweaty heap, you must. The fact that you’ll just end up a sweaty heap again is no excuse to go into a show as one.

Now, if you are not of the sweaty heap variety, you still need to do a couple of things pre-show to smell the part. The most essential are: wash your face and hands, clean your teeth, and wash and re-deodorise your underarms. Also, if you have show after show after show in one night, a minty spray into your mouth and a spritz under your armpits between shows will also be needed.

On the subject of breath, let me add some detail: as a general rule, raw onions and garlic are OUT on the day of your show (and the day before when it comes to raw onions). Small amounts of cooked garlic and onions are okay. You might not be kissing your audience, but you will need to speak to at least one person that night, and if your breath smells like it comes from the bowels of hell, then you can rest assured that you won’t be asked back to that venue to perform.

“Being the part” includes not just looking the part, but smelling the part. Be fresh going into a show, arm yourself with breath sprays and deodorants, and go forth and dance with confidence!

Stop The Ding

To stop any unnecessary dinging of your zills while you’re on stage, place your index finger underneath the middle-finger zill (sort of like when you cross your fingers). That should be enough to keep one zill away from the other and stop random dinging sounds occurring when you’re least expecting and when they’re least needed.

Student’s Checklist

You will need the following items in your class bag at all times:

• Veil

• Zills

• Any relevant handouts you’ve been given

• A face towel (to dab yourself dry in the warmer months)

• Spray-on deodorant

If you’re learning it in class at the time, you’ll need one or both of the following:

• Stick

• Sword

If you’re not wearing it to class, have in your bag:

•  Dance pants

• Tank top/singlet/t-shirt

• Hip scarf

• Flat ballet shoes, jazz shoes, jazz sneakers

• Socks or sockettes

• For the warmer seasons a t-shirt for some warmth going to and from class

• For the cooler seasons several long-sleeved layers for extra warmth

Items that should be packed into your bag just before going to class:

• Wallet (make sure your license is in there and money for class)

• Mobile phone (remember to put it on ‘silent’ before you start class)

The Frustration Of Learning

This question has been posed to me many times: how did I deal with the frustrations of being a beginner and wanting to learn everything at once? The answer is: badly.

I hated not being able to do everything straight away, so I found it quite exasperating at the start. I disliked not knowing it all now – or more accurately, yesterday! But I was in love with Bellydance and as stubborn as they come, so I was going to learn quickly, and no one was going to stop me. A lot of practicing at home helped me move through any technique difficulties quickly and meant I progressed at lightening speed.

Having said all that, I must let you in on a secret. If you stay passionate about dance, the frustration of wanting to be further ahead than you currently are never stops. As learning is an ongoing thing, it happens for as long as you dance. You’ll NEVER stop learning. You’ll always know less than someone else. There will ALWAYS be more to learn.

When I had this epiphany, I stopped expecting immediate perfection from myself. I do still insist on learning constantly and quickly, but always with the acceptance of the fact that learning anything (not just dance, but anything) is a life-long process. The best thing that you can do is enjoy that process. Enjoy the fact that the learning will never stop because it means an exciting adventure is always just around the corner! 

The Golden Rules

Don’t take Bellydancing too seriously, it’s meant to be enjoyable remember? Every time you go to class remind yourself of the Golden Rules:

• Keep breathing

• Keep smiling

The More You Know

The more you know the more you will realise how little you know and how much more you can learn. So in my experience, the better a dancer is, the more humble they are. If someone is spouting off about how great they are, take their words with a humungous grain of salt (maybe an entire shaker-full of salt). A truly great dancer, teacher or performer doesn’t need to tell you all about it - they'll show it and you'll see for yourself.

Troupe Gig Cancelled

When a phone call comes through for a gig, this will be the approximate occurrence of events:

• An enquiry phone call is made to the troupe leader (usually your teacher), stating time, date, venue, and type of gig. A ballpark figure is given as to how much it will cost depending on how many dancers are available. The troupe leader takes the potential client’s contact numbers so that she can get back to them as to whether there are enough troupe members available for the event.

• The troupe leader approaches troupe members to ask if they’re available, and their replies determine if there are enough for the gig.

• The troupe leader calls the potential client to let them know the outcome. If there are not enough dancers, it’s left at that. If there are enough, the exact cost based on numbers available is then told to the potential client.

• The troupe leader makes sure the potential client has her contact details, and gets an idea of when to expect a call with the decision so that specific preparatory rehearsals can begin.

• It’s now up to the potential client (and possibly another person or even a committee, depending on the event) to decide on whether or not to go ahead with the booking.

• The potential client gets back to the troupe leader with a ‘yea’ or ‘nay’ and rehearsals specific to this gig go ahead if the booking is made.

I’m outlining this process because I had an eye-opening (and irritating) encounter in the first years I had a troupe. Basically all of the above happened and in the end the client didn’t want to book the troupe. I wasn’t fazed – sometimes they book you, sometimes they don’t. Now, besides weekly classes and rehearsals where we saw each other face to face, the troupe and I did most of our communication via email, so as per everything else, I told the girls that the gig wasn’t on via email. A young troupe member approached me when I next saw her, extremely upset because I had asked her availability for a gig that didn’t come through.

“You should never have asked me if you didn’t know a hundred percent that the gig was on!” she told me.

So, she was upset at the fact that I had asked her before I knew it was on for certain. If you read the list above, you’ll see that that’s like saying “You should have taught me to dance BEFORE I came to your class” – it just doesn’t work that way. I couldn’t have known for certain until I went through all the steps (one of them being to ask who was available). I mean, how in the world was I supposed to know what the client would end up saying? Do I look like Nostradamus?

Maybe I was already too jaded by being in this business for a few years (it had been about 4 years since I’d started performing when this happened), and I knew how fickle the industry was. I knew that gigs came and went, that there were bookings and cancellations. I figured that as long as a gig isn’t cancelled after you’ve arrived at the venue (that’s happened to me a few times) or cancelled while you’re in the car driving to it (and that’s happened to me a couple of times too), then it’s not a big deal.

I explained to the girl that this is the name of the game. And the fact was that I couldn’t actually accept a gig until I ask the troupe members if they’re available first. I have to ask this before I tell a potential client that the troupe is available otherwise it could end up that I promise something that I can’t deliver. I mean, I can’t accept a gig for X many girls, tell the girls when it’s available, and just expect them to drop everything so that I can honour the booking. I have to ask them first, right? And only then do I tell the client if the troupe is available. It all seemed logical to me. Anyway, the girl seemed to understand, but I didn’t see her many times after that, so maybe she didn’t understand all that well.

Anyway, I hope the above helps those of you who are new to being in a troupe and to the world of performing. The fact is, that until you’re actually on stage, there could be a cancellation. So be as organised as you can, as clear as you can with the clients, but, for your own sanity, learn to roll with the punches. 

Whinge Whinge Whinge

I never heard so much whinging as when I say the word ‘improvisation’ in class. And I’ve listened to many excuses from students standing in corners, very still, not moving a muscle. They say one, some, or all of the following:

• I’m stuck

• I don’t know what to do

• I’m not inspired

• I’m tired

• I can’t think

• I can’t improvise

• I hate improvising

And here are my answers to all of the above:

• Stuck? Copy others in the class. Hop from one student to another doing whatever move they’re doing. Yes, I’m telling you to cheat. But don’t just cheat, cheat while you listen to the music and make a connection between it and the movement your body is making. With enough practice, class time, and experience, you’ll be able to do it on your own and soon you’ll have people copying you.

• Don’t know what to do? Do figure 8s, circles, drops, and shimmies. That should tide you over until you can figure out what to do.

• Not inspired? You don’t need inspiration, you need perspiration – move your body!

• Tired? So what? I'm tired too! Pinch yourself, slap yourself, wake yourself up, and START DANCING.

• Can’t think? You don’t need thoughts, you need motion. MOVE IT!

• Can’t improvise? Just keep trying, otherwise you’ll never learn. If nothing else, go through your mental list of techniques. And if in doubt, do a figure 8 while you think about your next move.

• Hate improvising? We all hate it to begin with. And that’s because it’s hard. No one said it was easy, but just keep practising. If you practise enough you will get better, no question.

You’re putting yourself out there when you improvise. It’s like going on a tightrope without a net below you. It’s quite unnerving. But, it’s essential. And its mastery will give you freedom in dance. If you’re waiting for the ability to improvise to suddenly fall upon you, you’ll have better luck waiting for a money tree to start growing in your back yard. For goodness sake stop complaining about improvisation and just do it.