#90daydance

[metabellydance]

Relecting Back on 2014 and Looking Ahead to 2015

I know so I am a little late with this post since I have been busy organising my lesson and troupe plans.

So at the beginning of 2014 I began writing this blog and if I'm honest I am surprised that I am still keeping up with it. It has been a great way to document my belly dancing life even if sometimes it was hard to write.

So what has happened this year? Sometimes it can be hard to remember as so much goes on but here is an update:

Took part and completed the 90 Day Dance Challenge

Developed my skills in hooping

Had a private on-line lesson with Žana

Performed with the Eastern Delights at UKC Belly Dance showcase, Summer and Autumn Performance Platforms and Multi-Cultural festival.

Organised the 'Bellydance Dreams' showcase

Attended workshops by Ozgen and Elis Pinheiro

Performed at Istanbul restaurant in Canterbury for NYE

My plans for 2015?

Start weekly lessons in Canterbury

Choreographing and working with my troupe of 5 members

Begin 7 week courses in Ashford

Prepare for next showcase (and find yet another venue)

Look on improving my own dance skills through private classes/personal development programme

Some of these may happen and some may not but if I can at least achieve some of these goals then I know that my dance career has taken a further step up.

[metabellydance]

Final Week of the 90 Day Belly Dance Challenge!

So I have finally made it through 90 days and I am feeling pretty proud of myself. I ended up missing another day this week which makes 2 out of the whole challenge which isn’t bad at all.

So here is how my last week went

Day 85 - Once I did a warm up I decided to go back to learning some belly dance hip hop from Anasma’s ‘Bellydance Hip-Hop Liquid Fusion’ DVD.

I focused on figure 8’s which included horizontal hips (both ways) and vertical hips (both ways) as well as chest and Undulations (I had never thought of them as figure 8’s but I guess they are really). Of course the drills are still pretty hard and she goes over them quite fast. I think I need to try practising them in my own time to get them correct in my head. I did start to feel inspired to choreograph a belly dance hip hop fusion dance so maybe I will when I have more time.

Lastly I went over some zill practise doing Singles, Doubles and Rolls from Basic Zill Patterns for Bellydance Beginners by Anthea (Kawakib) on YouTube. I have got these down so will focus more on the other videos in the series. Total Time – 55 mins

Day 86 - I decided to try Autumn Ward’s ‘Beautiful Technique’ DVD as I had heard it had a lot of useful information.

I began with the warm up and although I felt that it was quickly paced it did have some new exercises that I can include in my own warm up. I think after using this warm up a few times and I know it a bit better it will be very useful.

I then went on to technique and focused on the foundation section. Although it went over information I already knew there were some parts that made me think. I also liked the clear terminology.

To finish with this DVD for today I tried some of the practise flows and I found I enjoyed these since it was more dancing than in the technique. I was unsure how to use this DVD for practise but I found the guide online to go with the DVD so I will follow the lesson plans that are prepared.

I ended with a bit of choreography as I needed to fill in some gaps for the troupe veil dance to ‘Yearning’.  Of course it is always difficult to try something when there is only yourself. I am hoping in the next rehearsal we can get on with trying things I have planned rather than wasting time coming up with ideas. Total Time – 55 mins

Day 87 - I went over the Warm Up and Arms from Autumn Ward’s ‘Beautiful Technique’ DVD and I found it a bit easier to follow now that I had done it once.

It was quiet in the restaurant but I was glad to be dancing there again after missing a week.

I ended with my own cool down Total Time – 35 mins

Day 88 - I began with one of my favourite warm ups, the ‘Warm Up For Bellydance Workout’ and ‘Warm Up For Flexibility’ with Coco on YouTube. I feel these videos have a bit of everything and I always feel ready after using them.

I then decided to do some chapters from Ruby’s ‘All About Arms’ DVD. I went over ‘Frames’, ‘Hands’, ‘Basic Arm Techniques’ and half of the ‘Slow Pathways’. I only did half since I could feel my energy draining and I wanted time to do my Yearning choreography.

I came up with a bit of the chorus section of the dance to ‘Yearning’ that came be done with and without a veil. Tomorrow I will see what the other troupe members think.

I then finished my session with my own cool down in which I focused on my upper half. Total Time – 1 Hour & 10 mins

Day 89 - We continued the choreography for the Turkish Drum Solo in my Folkestone lesson today. It seems to be going well and my students are picking it up well.

In the troupe rehearsal we went over the mix that we are performing on Saturday since there are a few edits to the music that changes the choreography slightly. We also tried some of the choreography I came up with for the ‘Yearning’ dance. I am finding this one hard to create but I am going to keep trying until something sticks. Total Time – 2 Hours

Day 90 - In my Ashford lesson we learnt the rest of the Egyptian Pop Choreography to ‘Oul Tani Eyh’. The students struggled on some of the faster sections but we will go over it all next week so they feel confident about performing it at the showcase. Total Time – 1 Hour

So will I keep up dancing even though the challenge is over? Yes I will since it has certainly given me the motivation to spend an hour or so in the day focusing on my own dancing skills. Going over dance DVD’s has been a lot of fun and I believe that it has helped me physically and mentally.

I may not force myself to do it every day since sometimes I really didn’t feel like it but the challenge has reminded me how much fun it is to practise my dancing and choreographies. After 90 days it has become a routine so I hope that I will continue that routine as much as possible.

I have also enjoyed trying a variety of Warm Ups and Cool Downs and I think at some point I will write a list of all the moves I like and create a warm up and cool down from them.

A thank you to Andalee the founder of ‘Belly Dance at Any Size’ (www.bellydanceatanysize.com) for coming up with the 90 Day Challenge and thank you to all the wonderful dancers who have created fantastic  DVD’s with so much information and tips.

[blackboxphotos]

#bellydancelife #90daydance

[metabellydance]

Week 12 of the 90 Day Belly Dance Challenge

This week I was a little disappointed since I missed my first day since starting the 90 Day Challenge. I was preparing to dance at the restaurant of Friday but I received a call saying I wasn’t needed. I also had a friend round and so I just hung out. It wasn’t until after midnight that it suddenly dawned on me that because I hadn’t gone to the restaurant I hadn’t danced that day.

Since I am a perfectionist, missing this one day was so frustrating for me. In the end I tried to battle my ‘everything must go right’ approach. It’s not the end of the world after all, just one day that I can make up.

Day 78 - In my Ashford class today I decided to change things up from doing an elegant choreography to a fun Egyptian pop one to Nancy Ajram’s ‘Oul Tani Eyh’

This routine I have taught to Folkestone and the UKC Bellydance lessons but I hadn’t taught it to Ashford yet so it was perfect.

The students picked it up well and we all had a lot of fun Total Time – 1 Hour

Day 79 - Today I decided to use the Bellydance Rhythms Workout’ with Neon DVD for a bit of dancing, to move my body and a bit of a workout.

I did the ‘Movement Flow 1’ chapter which is the beginners flow. The rhythms used are the Ciftetelli, Baladi, Saidi, Maksoum, and Masmoudi. For each one I did 4 short combinations a number of times until then end when you go through the whole 20 combinations. I enjoyed it and will certainly be doing the ‘Movement Flow 2’ for intermediates at some point.

I then finished with another video from www.doyogawithme.com which was ‘Yoga for Runners: Post Run’ with Fiji McAlpine. I chose this one because I had been exercising and thought it might help as a cool down.

For some reason I couldn’t get on with this video and stopped half way through to continue doing stretches on my own.

I don’t know if it was because I was tired but I found it quite difficult. Balancing in some poses was hard and I wasn’t really enjoying myself. Total Time – 47 mins

Day 80 - I only did a little bit of dancing as I wanted to do some yoga so I went over the Ciftetelli, Baladi, Saidi combinations from ‘Movement Flow 1’ off ‘The Bellydance Rhythms Workout’ with Neon DVD.

I did try the intermediates but I think I need to do the tutorial sections so I understand what she is doing before trying to follow along.

 I then did ‘Yoga & You’ with Leah Bracknell DVD with a companion. This is a DVD I have owned for a long time now and I like the scenery, music and just the general relaxed feel of the DVD.

It was interesting to see how far I had come since this was my companion’s first try at yoga and I could see the difference in my flexibility. Total Time – 1 Hour & 15 mins

Day 81 - Today I decided to work on my hands and arms so I began with Aziza’s Warm Up from ‘Hands, Arms and Poses’ DVD.

I then decided to work on my finger cymbal playing. As I have said before I have always struggled and tried DVD’s such as Michelle Joyce’s ‘Killer Ziller’ but found I got frustrated. I can do the patterns perfect but when putting moves on top I fall apart.

So ages a go I found a teacher on YouTube called Anthea (Kawakib) who has got some videos on zills for beginners. I remember enjoying it but I never really continued. So I decided to give it a go again and I loved it.

She starts getting into moving while playing straight away with very basic things such as playing while you walk. I found myself being able to do 99% of the 3 videos and felt like I achieved more than I did with ‘Killer Ziller’

I then went onto working with my hand weights on the ‘Core Weight’s Chapter from Belly Twins ‘Bellydance Core Conditioning’ DVD and then finished with a 30 min yoga session with the  ‘Bend and Stretch’ video by Melissa McLeod from www.doyogawithme.com Total Time – 1 Hour & 20 mins

Day 82 - I went over the intermediate combinations tutorial for Ciftetelli, Baladi, Saidi from ‘The Bellydance Rhythms Workout’ with Neon DVD. I then went on to the ‘Movement Flow 2’ chapter but I managed to only do Ciftetelli, Baladi rhythms since I started to feel a bit light headed and thought it best to stop. I had water during my workout but it might have been the heat or I was just feeling slightly off today.

I moved on to practising my zills on my own to a steady piece of music. I went over what I learnt yesterday which included Singles, Doubles, Rolls, Triplets and 3-3-7 with Zills. I was fine with slower music but then I tried a bit of a faster beat and think I was getting ahead of my skill level. I think next time I will follow the videos again so I don’t push myself. Total Time – 1 Hour

Day 83 - Today was the first lesson on the Folkestone’s class 7 Week Turkish Drum Solo course. After warming up I gave them a performance of the choreography and then went on to explain what makes the Turkish style different to Egyptian.

We then learnt 3 combinations to make up the first part of the choreography. It seems that on my last course I didn’t give myself enough time to teach everything where as this time I tried to give more time and found it was dragging a bit. I guess next week when we have part 2 to add on it will take more time.

In the troupe rehearsal we went over a mix I made which includes sections of 3 different choreographies. I thought it would be a good idea as we have a performance in a fortnight which we are just doing one song. I wanted to show a range of dances so decided to mix them together.

As for the veil choreography it is coming along very slow. I think I need to have a play around on my own later on in the week. Total Time – 2 Hours

Day 84 - Today I went over the Egyptian pop choreography I taught last week. As I had new members I made sure to teach technique as I went along. This meant we didn’t get as far in the dance but at least the new members know how to do the moves.

I only have less than one week until I finish the 90 Day Challenge and I am interested to see how my last week goes.

[metabellydance]

Week 11 of the 90 Day Belly Dance Challenge

Some of my sessions are getting shorter than they used to be. I think this may be because I have been doing performances on Saturday for the last fortnight so my energy has been low, especially on a Sunday.

Here is how week 11 has gone for me

Day 71 - Since we didn’t have time to do Part 6 of the Modern Egyptian routine at my Ashford class I decided that we would work backwards going over Part 6, 5 and 4 since these are the sections students were struggling with.

It was nice to really focus on getting these parts tight so that when we did the whole dance they felt better about these sections. Total Time – 1 Hour

Day 72 - I began with my own warm up today and then went on to continue learning combinations from ‘Combination Nation Vol .1’.

I enjoyed the combination by Zafira but I found the one by Ruby a little tricky to get. I know after a few tries at my own learning speed I could get it.

I then began choreographing a beginner choreography for my taster lesson next week The music is ‘Bellydance’ by Saad and thought this would be great as it is short, repetitive and most of all fun.

I then ended with Stretching Exercises after Bellydance Workout’ with Coco on YouTube since I had not tried this video.

It wasn’t my favourite cool down but it did the job to stretch my muscles. Total Time – 1 Hour & 10 mins

Day 73 - Today I decided to finally do the whole Aziza’s ‘Ultimate Bellydance Practice Companion’ DVD

I have had this DVD for a while but I have never done the whole thing in one go but rather selecting certain chapters.

It certainly helped me to practise the basics plus more. Trying to keep the body in good posture and the moves tight and precise.

The shimmy certainly pushed me to my limits since most of the chapter you are doing a basic shimmy and then adding layers on top. I am going to be feeling it tomorrow in my body but it was still a great practise. Total Time – 1 Hour & 5 mins

Day 74 - I began my restaurant dancing with the Warm Up from Aziza’s ‘Ultimate Bellydance Practice Companion’ DVD

I then performed at the restaurant which was a little quiet but the people who were there seemed to be enjoying my dancing. We had three birthdays tonight so that meant dancing to the Happy Birthday song three times. Total Time – 40 mins

Day 75 - Today my Folkestone students and my Eastern Delights troupe performed at the Folkestone Multicultural Festival 2014. You can find out more about how this went in my last blog post.

We began with a group warm up and a couple of rehearsals of the choreography so my students felt ready. We went to the stage and performed our Modern Egyptian dance.

Later my troupe met up for a warm up and rehearsal of the drum solo before again going to the stage area to perform.

Lastly I did a cool down to stretch my muscles. Total Time – 45 mins

Day 76 - It took me a while to do my dancing today since I was feeling tired from yesterday and had a slight hangover.

I was going to do a Pilates video from www.doyogawithme.com but I really didn’t want to push myself too much. So I chose to do ‘Beginners Yoga for Leg Strength’ with Melissa McLeod. I didn’t realise it was the same teacher as the last Yoga video I did until I began. I must enjoy her teaching.

My balance could do with some more work and I found holding the lunge difficult so this one would be a good video to come back to often. Total Time – 20 mins

Day 77 - After the Multicultural festival performance it was time for a taster lesson in Folkestone. Although I didn’t get as many as I had hoped I still managed to get a few new members which means the promotion helped a bit.

We went over posture and basic moves and then the short choreography to ‘Bellydance’ by Saad to practise those moves. I find time flies when I am teaching basics as there is so much for new members to know.

Once the taster class was over we had a troupe rehearsal. For the first half (after warming up) we went over some of the skirt choreography which is coming slowly. The second half we rehearsed the sea themed choreography for ‘Yearning’ and made some minor changes to help make the dance better To end we did a yoga session using moves I had learnt from Aziza and Rachel Brice’s DVD’s as well as the online Yoga videos . Total Time – 2 Hours

I am still trying to make sure I don’t miss a day and trying to do at least 10 minutes even if I am feeling tired. My muscles always seem to ache and I had hoped that this would not be the case after the 90 days yet it doesn’t seem to be changing.

[metabellydance]

Week 9 of the 90 Day Belly Dance Challenge

I’m still hanging in there and I am determined to do the whole 90 days even if some days my muscles are aching and my energy is low.

From looking at my past blog posts you might think that I am not struggling as much as I say. After all I have been dancing for at least an hour most days. I find that once I get changed into my dance gear and move furniture I am ready and focused to make use of the time. If I don’t do this I find my dance session is a lot shorter.

So take a look at how my 9th week went

Day 57 – For my Ashford lesson we were upstairs in the room with carpet and no mirrors. It’s not my favourite room but when our usual one is in use it is better than having nothing at all. It is still a good size so space isn’t a problem.

We finished learning the choreography by the end of the class which gives us 2 more lessons to practise the dance before performing at the Multi-Cultural Festival.

I have noticed that the students are fine when following me at the front but as soon as we turn to face the back I can see they get mixed up. I think I will have to have them start performing it without me so they can do it alone. Total Time – 1 Hour

 Day 58 - Today I really thought I was going to miss my first day. Once I thought about that it made me get up and do at least a little dancing.

I began with my own warm up and then went on to choreographing my solo in the sea themed dance.

This dance is a theatrical belly dance piece which includes a story to the beautiful song ‘Yearning’ by Raul Ferrando. As I have been focusing on the troupes section I decided to use this time just to choreograph the first few minutes of my solo which includes floor work.

Afterwards I went and practised my usual two dances Total Time – 20 mins

 Day 59 - For my warm up and cool down I decided to use the ones from Aziza’s ‘Ultimate Bellydance Practice Companion’ DVD as I hadn’t used it in a while.

It was better than I remembered as they were just long enough, included good stretches and Aziza is such a good teacher.

I went over Combo #3 from Sadie’s ‘Sultry Slow Moves’ DVD and included a veil at the end as she does although I had to follow rather than learn. I didn’t need to look at the screen when doing the dancing as I remembered the moves from last time.

From there I carried on to go over Technique 4 and then into Combo #4. I especially liked doing the Maya’s with ¾ hips as it was a little challenging and looks great. I also enjoyed the switching sides with a pelvic pop.

Once I finished working on my technique I went into choreographing the chorus for the troupe dance to ‘Yearning’ as well as going over my solo from yesterday. I ended up adding one of the moves from Combo #4 into this dance as I felt it worked well.

Before cooling down I felt my abs could do with some more work. I did a few core body exercises as well as a few wrist strengthening exercises from the book ‘Strength Training – Exercises for women’ by Joan Pagano. Total Time – 1 Hour & 40 mins

Day 60 - To warm up I did half of the warm up from Ranya Renee’s ‘Modern Oriental’ DVD as I had to sort something out suddenly and didn’t get to finish.

I then went and danced at the restaurant which was pretty quiet for a Friday. A group of Arabic guys were playing a doumbek to my music which was a lot of fun. It isn’t often I get to dance with a live drummer and although it seemed that they were still learning how to play, it was interesting for me to try and dance along. Total Time – 30 mins

Day 61 - I wanted to do something different and challenging today so I chose Anasma’s ‘Bellydance Hip-Hop Liquid Fusion’ DVD.

The warm up alone is 20 mins although I felt my muscles needed to be warmed up before stretching. Other than that I like this warm up for days when I have a bit more time.

I then went over the lines technique which included hips, chest and shoulders in frontal, horizontal and vertical planes. Although the technique sessions are quite easy as they are basic moves the DVD challenged me in the drills because of the hip hop style. I also worked on circle technique which also included hips and chest.

 I struggled with making the shoulder moves like hers. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with my hands as when I tried to copy hers it still didn’t look right. I will have to keep at it.

To finish I did my own cool down using some stretches from the warm up. Total Time – 1 Hour

Day 62 - As I thought the warm up and cool down from Aziza’s ‘Ultimate Bellydance Practice Companion’ DVD was great so I used it again.

I then walked through my choreography for ‘Lonely Star by the Sea’ as I am performing it this Saturday. I also went through how I will breathe to help bring more emotion to the piece as well as making it easier for me to dance. After a couple of rehearsals I am feeling confident.

I then went over Combo #4, Technique Part 5 and Combo #5 from Sadie’s ‘Sultry Slow Moves’ DVD and I have not found any of it too challenging apart from the Maya move layered with a chest figure 8. This is one of those difficult Sadie layers which will take a lot of practise.

I then decided to run through the drills I practised last time from Anasma’s ‘Bellydance Hip-Hop Liquid Fusion’ DVD. Total Time – 1 Hour & 25 mins

Day 63 - As the Folkestone Multi-Cultural festival is in 2 weeks I decided to hold a 2 hour lesson so that students would feel more confident to perform.

Many of them found the quicker section difficult so I went over it many times until they could do it without me.

It was hard work especially for the students who are used to dancing for 1 hour but they seemed happier about the routine by the end.

Next week we shall do the same but in costume so they can practise the moves in their costumes. Total Time – 2 Hours

This Saturday I am performing at the Sevenveils Summer Performance Platform which is when I finally perform the ‘Lonely Star by the Sea’ choreography. I am going to be practising in my costume next week as I am concerned that my veil may catch on some of the crystals. Better to find out sooner rather than later.

[metabellydance]

Week 8 of the 90 Day Belly Dance Challenge

The challenge doesn’t seem to be getting easier, in fact it is getting harder as I go on. I thought I would get used to dancing a bit every day but I find myself sometimes struggling to get myself motivated to begin.

I have also found this week that the weather has affected my mood. It has been dull and rainy for the last few days making me feel less energised to get up and dance.

Day 50 – Today I taught my Ashford class for the Tuesday lesson. We continued the same section as the Folkestone students learnt yesterday but they picked it up as I explained the moves while teaching the choreography instead of teaching moves and then the choreography. I think I will start doing this in both my classes. Total Time – 1 Hour

Day 51 - I began with the Warm Up from Michelle Joyce’s ‘Perfect Hips’ DVD and then went onto doing ‘Combo #1’, ‘Technique #2’ and ‘Combo #2’ from Sadies ‘Sultry Slow Moves’ DVD.

I didn’t do the ‘Technique #1’ chapter since it is teaching basic moves and I wanted to use my time to challenge myself a bit more. I picked up the Combo #1 easily but when I started ‘Combo #2’ I found there were some moves that needed explaining as I couldn’t work out quite what she was doing. I went back to ‘Technique #2’ and then I understood a lot better when coming back to the combo section.

It certainly did challenge me but I managed to do the combinations by the end. I think they just need more practise since I found it difficult to move easily and fluid.

I then decided to work on my upper body so I used some exercises from the book ‘Strength Training – Exercises for women’ by Joan Pagano which included using light hand weights.

To finish off I did the stretches from the same book to cool down and especially stretch my upper body. Total Time – 1 Hour & 20 mins

Day 52 - I was quite busy today preparing for a photo shoot in the evening so I didn’t have too much time to do some actual dancing.

I decided to get my body moving so I could be more flexible when taking photos so I did a bit of improvised dancing in my living room as well as practising the two dances I am currently learning. Total Time – 10 mins

Day 53 - I decided to use a warm up from a different DVD so I chose ‘Every Shimmy in the Book'’ by Boẑenka

I found the warm up a bit quick and it didn’t really add anything different to the current warm up but it was still nice to try something from another dancer.

Because I found the warm up too quick I went on to do the Shoulder Shimmy, Basic Shimmy, Choo Choo Shimmy, ¾ Shimmy and the ¾ Shimmy Side to Side chapters.

Dancing at the restaurant I found that a lot of the customers were British who are less likely to clap along and cheer. Some of them were still watching with interest which made it worth it even if they are not as expressive as other cultures.

I finished with my own cool down. Total Time – 50 mins

Day 54 - I again went over ‘Lonely Star by the Sea’ which I am getting more confident with each time I practise it. I only have 2 weeks before I perform so I am going to make sure I practise it on a daily basis.

I also went over the ‘Dum Tak Tak Sound’ and focused on the 2nd half since I forgot arm placements now and then. I worked through the choreography with the notes in front of me until I remembered. I also changed a few moves and arm positions as I am still concerned it will be too much for my students.

Before cooling down I decided to work on my quads as I struggle when changing levels when I dance as they are not strong enough. I used exercises from the book ‘Strength Training – Exercises for women’ by Joan Pagano and did squats against the wall to on a chair as well as using weights to extra resistance.

Again I used my own cool down. Total Time – 1 Hour and 15 mins

Day 55 - I began with my own warm up and then went back to doing the ‘Combo #1’, ‘Combo #2’ from Sadie’s ‘Sultry Slow Moves’ DVD. I also went on to the ‘Technique Part 3’ and ‘Combo #3’ which I really enjoyed. This part went over lots of graceful moves such as extensions, walking with a foot drag, arabesques, passé and also how to use your eyes to enhance your performance.

I then went over the 2 dances I am learning. The ‘Dum Tak Tak Sound’ went pretty well but the ‘Lonely Star by the Sea’ was not so good. I am not sure if it was because I was feeling quite hungry and low energy but I kept getting confused with my moves. After the 3rd go I finally got it.

I ended with the ‘Cool Down’ from Rachael Brice’s ‘Serpentine’ DVD which I enjoyed as always. Total Time – 1 Hour & 30 mins

Day 56 - I had the troupe over to my house for a rehearsal due to there being another bank holiday today.

We began with a warm up which I lead and then went into going over what we had come up with for our sea themed dance last week.

We then started to work on continuing the dance although we left some gaps as we couldn’t come up with anything. Instead of trying to find something to fit in and wasting time, we just skipped it and carried on with the next section. It is coming together nicely although it was difficult to use the veils in my house.

We finished by doing the Cool Down from Rachael Brice’s ‘Serpentine’ DVD as I felt it would benefit them as well as myself and was something fun to do together. Total Time – 2 Hours

  As I said at the beginning, this week has been pretty difficult at times. The best way I have found to begin is to change my clothes into something comfy, make some space instead of being squashed and do a warm up. This gets me ready to dance physically and mentally.

[metabellydance]

Week 7 of the 90 Day Belly Dance Challenge

This week has been a bit choreography focused but it needed to be done as I have performances and courses coming up soon. This means it gives me more time to practise.

Day 43 - Another Ashford lesson in which we went over part 4 (the slow section) so others could catch up and then we went back over parts 1-3. This dance is looking good and coming along at a good pace Total Time - 1 Hour

Day 44  - I finished the last part of the ‘Dum Tak Tak Sound’ choreography and then went through and changed lots to include moves I personally wanted to use and to simplify it by slowing down moves or giving more time.

I also practised the drum section of ‘Lonely Star by the Sea’ choreography and managed to remember nearly all of it so next time (maybe tomorrow) I will continue to learn the end. Total Time - 1 Hour & 10 mins

Day 45 - I began with the warm up from Ranya Renee’s ‘Modern Oriental’ DVD as it is quite long and also focuses on technique as well which is a plus.

I then went over the Lonely Star by the Sea’ choreography up to where I last learnt. I then continued to learn the rest and I am very pleased to say it is finished. Parts of the last section sometimes get a bit confused but I have time to practise and I hope to practise it at least once a day.

 I ended with a cool down from ‘Jillina’s Drum Solo Choreography’ DVD as I was a bit tired to do a long cool down and this one is short but has good stretches  Total Time - 1 Hour

Day 46 - I am still enjoying the Warm Up from Ranya Renee’s ‘Modern Oriental’ DVD although I could do with finding some new warm up moves.

 Tonight the restaurant was a bit quieter but still a good number of customers to dance for including a birthday party. Sadly the birthday party was a bit rude and I felt they didn’t really want me there and were making fun of me. This type of behavior used to bother me but I now feel more secure in my dancing and myself to not let it get to me.

 Once I got home I did a cool down of all the stretches I have picked up from the various DVD’s and workshops. 1 Hour

Day 47 - Today I was booked to perform a 15 min performance for a retirement/birthday party as a surprise.

 I began with a warm up after putting on my makeup. It was difficult as I was in a relatively small bathroom but I made do and used many of the moves from Ranya Renee’s warm up as well as some other favourites.

 I then went out to perform in the back garden which was filled with many English/Chinese guests. Dancing on grass was difficult but since I was improvising ¾ of the setlist it wasn’t so bad. I performed  4 songs including an entrance, Baladi, Arabic pop song and a drum solo (and a short finale for my bow).

As it was a long garden I made sure I went up and down so that all the tables could watch as well as turning and dancing for the people behind me. This is another reason why improvising is a good idea at these events. I got the birthday guy up to dance which went down well with the audience and the guy. It was so much fun and everyone had only nice things to say which was lovely. Total Time - 30 mins

Day 48 - As I was planning on doing some of Ruby’s Flawless Floor work’ DVD I decided to begin with her 10min Warm Up. I still think this is a great warm up due to it making me feel warm and ready afterwards. I think this combined with the Warm Up from Ranya Renee’s ‘Modern Oriental’ DVD could make a fantastic warm up.

 I did also bit of the Technique chapter from Ruby’s DVD as I wanted to strengthen my lower half but due to doing a lot of walking yesterday. I think I also felt like I couldn’t really do all the things she instructed as my legs are not strong enough. Next time I try this DVD I think I will just do the strengthening chapter each time until I feel ready. I got tired and decided to move on.

I practised both ‘Lonely Star by the Sea’ and ‘Dum Tak Tak Sound’ and both are getting there but there are still little sections I am forgetting so I will keep on working on both.

I ended with my own cool down Total Time - 40 mins

Day 49 - As we were practising the faster section of the choreography I am currently teaching my Folkestone lesson some of them seemed a bit worried about not being able to learn it in enough time. I believe that they just need to work on the sections they can’t remember and just need to go over it until they are confident they know what is coming next. I also think I need to make sure I got over the section of the routine before teaching it so I can get the counting right rather than trying to remember in the moment.

 In the troupe session we did a warm up using some of the moves I have been using in my own warm ups at home. We then went into choreographing the beginning part of the sea veil dance which is coming along at a reasonable pace. I think they are so many ideas rather than not enough and we just need to choose the moves that work best with the music. For the sections I am not dancing in I am trying to give ideas to the other dancers but letting them decide since they are the ones who need to feel it with the music. Total Time - 2 Hours

So as I said at the beginning it was choreography focused and I am hoping next week to work on strengthening my body so I can then perform my dances with more ease.