The Science Behind Learning Shimmies

Mahin has an excellent article on the physical processes which are engaged when we first learn to shimmy, which of course applies to learning any new moves.

"The Engine That Stalls

Remember back to your early days, instructors! New students, yes, we’ve all been where you are. You get your shimmy going and a few seconds later your knees mysteriously stop by no will of your conscious brain, You pause, then you start it back up again like an old car that stalled at a stop light. What is happening and how do you “fix” it?"

See the full article here: http://mahinbellydance.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/the-science-behind-learning-shimmies/

Mm Mm Monday - Devi and Acushla Duet

Posture, body line, technique! Everything we aspire to, demonstrated in a duet.

Northwest Folklife is coming up!

Okay, this is so incredibly cool, I had to share. The Northwest Folklife Festival is one of the BEST festivals Seattle has each year. Having performed there many times in the last decade myself, as well as an attendee countless times throughout my life, it is something I always look forward to. The schedule is always so overwhelming--in mostly a good way--with so many fantastic events to see and participate in. I used pore over the schedule and release a hand-typed e-mail/newsletter list of bellydance and world dance events I would recommend to my friends and students each year. It was a labor of love, since I knew how hard it could be to parse the complex schedule each year to find the stuff you really wanted to get to see.

Well, they now have this awesome personalized calendar application on the website. You can search for events by type - dance performance, music performance, workshop, panel, etc. It gives you a list by day of the events, with mouseover or clickthrough for further details. Then if you create an account (very quick and easy) you can click the star next to the event name and add it to your personal calendar for future reference, to link to your friends, or to embed on a website. SO GREAT!

So here is my personal list of events I would recommend you might want to see or participate in. Some I admittedly know nothing about other than the description (never seen the Bellingham Circus group for instance, but sure sounds fun!), but I wanted to put stuff on there I would go see myself. Hop over and take a look and maybe create a schedule for yourself. Below is my list of bellydance, flamenco, Bollywood, and other world dance and performance arts events I decided to add to my roster!

Mm Mm Monday - Heavy Hips, a blast from my past

Back in the day, young dancers didn't have as many resources for learning and inspiration in tribal bellydance. There were only a few videos out, and they were from two very specific groups/styles. You didn't much get to see what else was happening in the world of group improvisation--very few had websites, and even fewer had actual video footage you would watch online.

Well this video was one of the early ones. Heavy Hips was under the direction of Palika Benton; they had a beautiful website (with some awesome articles and wares for sale, too!), and some video footage of their work, which was definitely in the vein of tribal group improv but had its own flavor which seemed steeped in the Jamila tradition of dance (so think Bal Anat).  This was a video I watched a lot, and I had printed out photos of their troupe for my inspiration wall, so they were an long-distance influence on who I imagined I wanted to be as a dancer. I hope you enjoy this video from 1994!

Fabulous Friday - La Vie Parisienne