Skillz & Drillz! - Taking Your Dance for a Walk

We tribal bellydancers work with a foundation format which is built largely on dancing in tight spaces--Carolena talks about working in the narrow aisles between tables in restaurants, and needing the flexibility of improvisation to be able to make it work.  Barring transitions in and out of chorus, and leader transitions and fades, our vocabulary tends to stick to the spot.  So it can be challenging sometimes for ATS-based dancers to take their vocabulary on the move.

This month, we're taking our dance for a walk.  Take the moves you know, and see what they feel like when they travel.  Try them in a straight line, then move in an arc, take it around in a spiral--get creative!  Have you only ever moved forward with a given move?  Try taking it backward.  Maybe it feels awkward or strange to take it in a new direction, but even if it isn't an ideal artistic choice in the end, challenging your body to try and make it work can bring some new skills to the fore.  The process will allow you to develop different muscles, and the trial-and-error of attempting something new will help you think outside the box when creating choreographies (improvisational or otherwise) in the future!