Fear of Group Improv - It Gets Better

Recently in class a student asked me how long it took me to feel proficient at tribal group improvisation.  I told her it would be wildly different from person-to-person, depending on previous dance/movement experience, mind-body connection, home practice, etc.  But most important of all? Showing up. Which leads me to a little anecdote about my baby dancer days...

My introduction to tribal style bellydance (live, not the FatChance® videos I had watched avidly) was via Paulette Rees-Denis of Gypsy Caravan.  Up here in Seattle, a gal was hosting monthly workshops with Paulette, where we would get a blissful two or three hours of dancey goodness every 30 days (I was still taking my Am Cab classes weekly, but tribal was my calling!).  I looked forward to it every month. You bellydance whippersnappers growing up in the community today don't know what it was like back then--no tribal for as far as the eye could see. Most people had no idea what it was, and there were only a handful of VHS tapes on the market which taught the basics. We walked uphill both ways in the snow... well, anyway...

Dancing with others - you are supported!

I remember what it was like to be a new dancer learning tribal bellydance.  It was such a switch for me from other dance and movement styles I had studied.  In the other forms I either performed solo, or if I danced as part of a choreography, I was only responsible for myself--what moves I needed to be doing, when and where I needed to be on the stage.  If I made a mistake, it certainly had an effect on the overall presentation, but ultimately I couldn't single-handedly derail the entire group with a little flub.

When I came to tribal bellydance, suddenly I wasn't just responsible for me. I was responsible for other people! As a leader, what I did was directly connected to, and immediately to be emulated by, those following me.  I loved following, that felt easy. It was a lot like choreography in that if I didn't catch it quite, no biggie, it was just me "messing up". But as a leader...whoooooeee! The pressure I put on myself was so great that I would leave the classroom before we got to the group work we would invariably do at the end.  I just felt too self-conscious to lead other people in the dance, and felt it better to sneak out the back door (literally!) than to push through my insecurity. ME?! One of the least self-conscious, most gregarious people I know. Me. Out the back door. *shaking head at my past self*

Four Steps to Becoming a Great Dancer

 I did it. I solved the riddle. I have cracked the code.

Right here, right now, I am going to give you the mysterious formula, the secret recipe, the magic wand to wave over your dance life that will give every single dancer reading this the power to become a stronger, more beautiful dancer.   It is a four step plan, which works regardless of what style of dance you choose to pursue; and is effective for all ages, all shapes and sizes and fitness levels.  Whether you have aspirations to take to the stage, or just want to be able to dance socially with greater confidence and grace, this method is for you.  I have used this method myself for years so I can attest to its efficacy, and in fact all the best performers I know have employed this same method to achieve similar results.

It is 100% foolproof, and only requires a little time each week to work!

Are you ready...? Read on!

A group improv lover's dilemma: debate?

An online friend, dear Leslie-Jean (Miss Boo, to those on tribe) remarked the other day on her Facebook status that she was exhausted by debates and discussions about ATS/tribal. And frankly, it is genuinely tiresome, and not for the faint of heart to leap into these topics of discussion in any medium. My latest was a discussion on one board about Tribal Fusion, and some misunderstanding that Rachel Brice does ATS. *le sigh*

When I pointed out that she doesn't in fact perform ATS, and has more cabaret background than anything else, and in fact calls herself dark cabaret now, I was directed to a video of RB and another dancer doing a very simple lead-follow at some party, using a few moves which one would identify as ATS. When I pointed out that it was not RB performing ATS, but an example of casually playing around with a fellow dancer improvisationally, the arguments came back that RB had taken private lessons with Carolena, and that those were "definitely ATS moves". This is one of those times I realized I really had to sit back and let it go. Because while that person was right--Rachel has done some studying with Carolena (after she had already been dancing the style she is known for because, as she said, she wanted to be able to back up the "tribal" in the "tribal fusion" label she had been stuck with), and those moves are used in ATS vocabulary, it wasn't an example of Rachel "performing ATS". And if I tried to go into any depth explaining why, I might just frustrate and anger the person who made the misinformed assertion in the first place. And in the end, I would come out being attacked for my attempt to educate, be stuck with some of the usual "you're just trying to shut other people out" bull, when all I was trying to do was help disseminate some facts about what is and is not ATS/group improvisational bellydance. But here is what I would have written: