#alia thabit

[bellydancevids]

Alia Thabit - Tahtil Shibbak

[bellydancevids]

Alia Thabit - Faithful

[bellydancevids]

Alia Thabit with Djinn

[bellydancevids]

Alia Thabit - Bitwannes Beek

[bigtimebellydance]

Ooooh, it's coming back!!  (The new "term" starts February 7th, 2015!) XD  Who else wants to join me in participating in this amazingly transformative & uplifting adventure??  I did it not last year but the year before, and it was INCREDIBLE. ^_^  Alia is SO sweet, and the participants are a fabulous, supportive network of truly wonderful people.  (And while there are lots of bellydancers who take part, you DON'T have to be a bellydancer to participate! :D  This is open to dancers of ALLLL types, styles, abilities, ages and levels!  -Even if you are physically impaired, have other issues facing you, "dancing" can consist of just wiggling your hands, or laying in bed, dancing in your mind. ^_^)  Come and dance with us! *bounce bounce*  

♥

[thebellyblog13]

THE ART OF THE DRUM SOLO - lalalalalalalaeeee!

The Art Of The Drum Solo - lalalalalalala!

So…. what does it take to make a great drum solo???

I asked 16 amazing dancers and 2 drummers, and here’s what they had to say! 

“Leave room for playfulness when there are pauses. Add rhythm changes for variety.”~ Yasmine @Yasminedance

“The drummer has to be good and work with the dancer. It has to be musical not just for show.” Both the drummer and dance need to be emotionally connected. ~ Uza…

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[bigtimebellydance]

90-Day Dance Party Challenge - Day 42

Day 42.  (Hooraaay1  I have The Answer!  Now.. who's got The Question..? ;D)

Note to self: When acquiring a new place in Portland OR to live, must remember to make sure there's a cat-proof dancing space. *lol* Between one being an attention whore and the other in lust w/anything wavely (i.e. everything flowy like veils, tassels & skirts *lol*), dancing w/2 adorable kitties nearby can be hazardous- for me AND my dance stuff! I had Skye plop down right next to my left foot while I had a SWORD on my head n' refuse to move- even though I was gently rolling him over and over w/my foot so he'd get out of the way, and then Ouna, bless her li'l pea-pickin' heart, grabbed my veil juuust toward the end of my last song. (And I know she fought her instinct of wanting to snatch it from the get-go, so I'm proud of her for not giving in until my dance session was almost over. *lol*)

As for the DANCING on the other hand, today was prop day at the WaterHouse! :D I brought out Inana (my sword) and one of my first ol' veils, and basically gave myself an improv-style refresher course on various prop techniques. :)  With both the veil and the sword, I was a bit worried I'd lost a good bit of my movement vocabulary at first, as they both felt awkward and gawkish, floopsy and wobbly. But after a little reacclimation, both felt a LOT better over time, and we all kinda fell into the swing of things n' ended up a relatively stable, mutual cooperation. :) (Hoooraaay for symbiosis. ;D)

Tonight I was also reminded of how much nicer silk veils flow- even synth-silk- as opposed to the cheaper, slightly cotton-y starter ones I first bought years ago- and used to night (as it was just the first thing I grabbed). I thought it'd be fine, but I discovered that after working w/my newer veils, the silk (and pseudo-silk) ones just mooove so much better.. fly so much more fluidly and easily.. and get caught on things so much less! (Plus, they're not as staticky.. you know..?) I have to admit, I always thought that people were just being kinda hoity-toity when they talked about how fancier materials in their props moved better, performed better, etc. But after this semi-direct comparison, I can hereby say that even as a po' girl, the fancy stuff really does sometimes move and work better. ..Whether I like it (or like to admit it) or not. ;))

It was nice reacclimating myself to my veil and sword tonight, forcing myself to remember bits of info from classes & workshops I haven't taken in years, or really had the chance to practice much in a formal setting since. While yes, I'd still like to get Belladonna's DVDs to refresh my sword skills and remind myself of the finer points of certian techniques, and yes, I still want to snag a few veil DVDs as well, I think I remembered more than I was fearing I'd lost. Plus it was especially nice to get reacquainted w/my sword. After one song that was kinda iffish I just decided to keep going instead of putting her down like I'd originally planned, and I think it paid off.  I just kept her on my head and danced with her there, feeling her balance and letting the music move me, the two of us remembering what it was like to dance together, and I think that did a great lot of good. :)  It let us get used to each other again, you know..?  I was reminded of my sword posture, my head angle, how to move and how not to move w/my sword just sitting there atop my head, and it felt great. :)  By about half way through the 2nd song w/her and through to the 3rd, I think we'd gotten our groove back, I'd remembered more moves, and we'd become more reattuned to one another- so I could concentrate more on the emotion and the improv than "oh crap, do I remember how to do this move..? What was that motion again..?" You know..?  And by the end of the 3rd song, I didn't wanna take her off. ^_^  

So overall, tonight was a pretty good experience. :) I danced to some really fun music which made getting reacquainted w/my props definitely more engaging & fun. N' though it took a little futzing and fidgeting at first, it's nice to know not that all my technique was lost. ^_^  Also, that one point in my back still gives a good hard twinge now & then, but I think it's something about leaning over and how I hold my abs when I do certain things (like bending to the side, leans & such), so I've been trying hard to not only eke out what causes it, but to bloody make it STOP. *lol*

Here's to reviving old, good knowledge, and putting away icky, old pain! -And here's to starting great new practices n' cultivating new skills & intentions, too! Hellllooooo Spring! We need your rejuvenating, reviving, & recuperative powers! ^_^

♥

Songs for Tonight: Warmup: Jermaine Dupri - Gotta Getcha (ft. Missy Elliott)

Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway  (veil)

Rhea's Obsession - Dreaming Blade  (I'll give you 3 guesses, n' the first 2 don't count. ;))

Mandy Moore - Saturate Me  (veil)

Adam Hurst - Four Wings  (sword)

Jen Titus - O Death  (sword)

Johnny Cash - God's Gonna Cut You Down  (sword)

Devdas - Silsila Ye Chaahat Ka  (veil)

♥

[bigtimebellydance]

90-Day Dance Party Challenge - Day 40.

Day 40.

Well, as promised I tried to record tonight/last night/this morning's shadow dancing, but man.. I found it makes a biiiig difference in your dance and how you feel (both while you're dancing and after) when you know you're being recorded..! *lol* I lost myself occasionally, but ftmp I found I was trying too hard and concentrating too much through most of it, so I guess my next hurdle in this experience is learning how to "let go" w/an audience present. :) My dancing's better, my passion & attachment to the music is better, so I hope I can get this, 'cause that being able to let go is a HUGE part of my connection to the music (and thus, a part of this dance and what I love about it for me). Hmm... maybe I should just keep the camera and stand up and around for a while, so I can get used to it. :) Then find a little laser pointer, n' trick myself into thinking it's on. *lol* But the biggest, hardest part will be finding the ease w/myself to not only be truly free when I'm dancing, but not to pick myself apart once I see what I see on the screen. I may have come a good ways in consciousness and self-confidence in recent months, but it's easy to fall back to bad patterns when you see yourself through the eyes of a cold camera lens... (..Even if you know the people who'll be viewing it are likely only gonna be supportive, loving hearts.)

Ah.. more to work on, I guess! ;D

♥

Tonight's Playlist (featuring songs that dearly move me, inside & out):

Loreena McKennitt - Marco Polo

Niyaz - Beni Beni

Jhoom Barabar Jhoom - Theme Song

Dhanush - Why This Kolaveri D

(No warmup or cooldown. -I know-- I'm a bad monkey. *lol*)

♥