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!

Skillz & Drillz! Mapping Your Music

If I haven't said it enough before, I'll say it again: ya gotta know your music! But other than listening to it over and over again, what else can you do to get intimate with your tunes? Music mapping is a fantastic tool to find new ways to visualize your music's structure, so you can use it to maximum effect. There are many different ways to map your music, such as dividing out the 8-counts in each verse and chorus, noting time signatures of major changes throughout the song, drawing pictures to illustrate the feel of each part of the music ("this part is swirly, this part is sharp and jaggy, this is a slightly wavy line"), and there is also the ever-beloved Excel spreadhseet for those so organizationally inclined (I don't know what you're talking about...).

This month, it's time to make your own music map. Find a piece of music you would like to know better (if you don't have one in mind, check out Luxor Baladna from the Suggested Music List) and sit down with it. Listen through it a couple of times, until you feel you are starting to hear patterns emerge. For instance, think in terms of what instruments, sounds, or feelings come through, and when they repeat: "here the drums seem to come forward more, here the mizmar is really pushing to the top of the pile, then back to the drums." Or "this part is more quiet, this part is rambunctious, this part sounds really happy, then back to quieter," etc. Then select a method of choice to give each section a delineation, be it by counts, times, imagery, or whatever other way you would like to try. Maybe try a couple methods to see which one is the most useful to you. Once you have your map, consider what movements or movement families seem to best reflect each section of your music. Then put your feet to floor and see how it feels. Let me know how it goes, guys--I love to hear feedback on your Skillz & Drillz! work.

Skillz & Drillz! - Exploring Texture

Movement isn't merely a series of precise muscular contractions--it is a shaded expression which is the result of various artistic options we have at our disposal.  A movement can be fast or slow, big or small, can be deeply intense or light and airy, and so on. When working as a group in ATS, we try to synch up our expression, making similar choices to create a cohesive look.  But when expanding our abilities as an individual, it is fun to explore the possibilities!

This month's Skillz! Drillz! exercise explores the many textures we can bring to our movement.  Create a combo utilizing three or four different moves, 16 counts each.  Dance your combo through making it as big as possible.  Repeat it again, this time trying it as small as possible.  Repeat at hyper-speed, then again at mega-slow, and so on with each option.  Then split up your combo into parts and assign a different texture to each part--first half n' half of opposing textures, and finishing with all four sections layered with a different texture.  See how the use of the same moves but with different intent and focus can change the entire look and feel of what you are doing.