As promised, here is the Englisg version of my article about the purity of oriental dance (English version) Bellydance. How it works… The purity of oriental dance (A fragment of the book by Mariana Savytska) The correct execution of dance elements and combinations in oriental dance is one of the most important criteria in professional bellydancing. But he/she is not always a professional dancer who brilliantly performs the choreography, and those who dance correctly are not necessarily professionals either. Let us make it clear. It may seem very easy to comprehend each word; the words are so familiar to everyone. We can work hard on choreography in a dancehall for hours, deliberately trying to perform specific elements and combinations; still the purity never shows up… The dance is beautiful only if it can be read by syllables and sentences. But due to nervousness and emotions the dancer hurries and does not complete the movements and forwards straightly to the next combination. This is like eating fast – without chewing thoroughly. We all know that one the main principle of healthy nutrition is to eat in small portions and chew thoroughly and slowly. Each part of our body has its certain task or so to say mission. And we must fulfill this mission ultimately, using our body as an instrument. The Purity of mixing. As bellydancers we are often forced to combine different elements, thus enriching the dance and making it more sophisticated. We intentionally force self development, which is normal, of course. If the beginner or even an amateur performs at least of the mixed elements inappropriate - the whole choreography appears non-legible. The syllable is lost; the sentence turns out incomplete and misunderstood. We can often watch the mixture of shimmy while working with hips. Though sadly it my sound but trying to shimmy the hip-drops, or hip-circles, or hip-pushes – the dancer loses control over the body: the hands become very shaky and chaotic, the dancer goes up on the toes, the back turns round, and the shoulders go down. The picture is miserable. That is why if you are not capable of doing high-quality mixing, please, leave the elements pure: pure hip work and separately – shimmies. The whole performance will look legible. You would better work on these elements separately during the first period of studies. The beginners are not recommended to shift to more sophisticated level, unless they successfully perceived the basics. Inappropriate shimmies are better hidden during the performance, because they can lead to extra muscle squeezing. Let your dance be pure and comprehendible for audience. The purity of shifting. Despite its inclination to chamber dance, the dancers of oriental dance are often forced to move a lot on the stage, because mane festivals have big dancing floors. Thus the shifts are very popular, complicated and sophisticated. The dancer uses different methods to move from one point to another: runs, jumps, slides, steps with hip kicks and steps with hip drops etc. Moreover, these steps and shifts are layered with turns, hidden steps and empty steps. And sometime the dancer moves around the stages using simple steps. Here comes the biggest mistake vivid to the audience – the dancer performs small steps as if saying: I’m just moving a little bit, hope no one will even notice. Guys, dear, we will notice and it will not meet any approval. The stage is your friend, but in a second it can turn into an enemy. You are the hostess on the stage and you must shift and move with certainty and dignity. The purity of improvisation This is a very painful question as for me. I have already written that the improvisation is only good in case if the dancer has very rich basics of elements, combinations and choreographies learned previously. Thus the muscle memory is working efficiently. The control over the body is taken and all the elements are performed in relaxed manner. Not every dancer has got this gift. Moreover, many people put a lot of efforts to learn to improvise and win the first place, regarding the time limits. In a hurry, the dancer intends to show as much as possible, and fails, because none of presented elements is complete. What I intend to say is that the improvisation of pure unmixed elements proves to be the winner than the one, composed of incomplete movement and illegible choreography the general. Dear Master Teachers, teach your students to dance with higher quality, than with much quantity!!! I wish all success Yours sincerely Mariana Savytska - Leus
Posted on: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 22:47:29 +0000
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