#dubstep madness

[daniellebellydance]

DC Day 88: Holiday Travel, pt. 2

Anyone who's my friend on facebook knows the ordeal of trying to get to the airport despite being stuck in traffic. Basically, the whole experience had me in a panic, and it takes a lot for me to panic. 

The plus side is that I didn't sleep much. It left me a lot of time to think of the choreography. It came in bits and spurts. Alas, I left my iPhone in my bag in the overhead compartment, and I was too lazy to go get it. Still, I could hear the music, and I could see it. It's time to make it into reality.

[daniellebellydance]

DC Day 81: Trust

One of the important aspects of being a teacher is trust. The students are trusting that the teacher knows what she is doing, that she has the mastery of her technique and she can explain it well. The teacher must trust that the students will be in attendance every week ready for whatever she'll teach.

Tonight was my last class of 2012, and it was admittedly all over the place (at least by my standards). I usually have an idea of what I want to teach when I'm in the shower. It goes out of the window by the time the music starts. At the very least, I try to think of one thing to focus on for a song or two. I did my usual stuff, but decided to do pelvic locks on the down with chest lift/drop on the half beat while traveling. It's up to me to be able to offer and break down a challenging layer. On occasion, I'll flub up something. However, I will never teach something I don't know how to do. I always want to make sure that I can do it before I offer it to my students. After all, they are trusting me with their safety, and I am going to make sure that their bodies are safe and sound. I'll push and I'll challenge but it is always with the intention that we can be the best dancer possible.

I'm honored to have their trust. I'm glad they have mine.

[daniellebellydance]

DC Day 74: I Love My Class

My students are awesome. The highlight of my week.

That is all.

[daniellebellydance]

DC Day 67: Jigsaw Puzzle

The beginning stages of teaching choreography are so much fun. There's this feeling of "You're asking me to do what?" that happens when teachers present the first movements. It's the beginning of putting jigsaw pieces together. I'm looking at everything, and it's super overwhelming in the beginning. All it takes is the first few pieces here and there. Each teacher has his or her own specific method to the madness. I used to be a pretty linear choreographer, but now I like to jump around. I'm jumping around with Airbreaker as there are sections that I can see clearly, and others that are still foggy.

I can't wait for the finished product.

[daniellebellydance]

DC Day 63: Airbreaker, pt. deux

It is official. Airbreaker is the tune for my class. It's our class theme song. Yay! I started working on a part that is quite complicated because it's robotic yet continuous movement. Every count as a very specific move and there's no half-assing here. Nope. Not in my class. Stay tuned for Thursday!

[daniellebellydance]

DC Day 46: Fire

Last, but not least we have Fire. Initially, I was worried because I really had no idea what I was going to do with Fire. How do I explain Fire within the context of belly dance? When I think of Fire, I think of intensity, passion, desire, creativity. That's not something that another person can teach, in my opinion. It's like when I played the piano. I was quite good at it, but I didn't love it. I stopped taking lessons at the first opportunity I could. My fire for belly dance is there. After all, I've been at this for a long time with no signs of stopping.

It wasn't until one of my yoga classes with Matt that it hit me. Cultivating heat from within. It's that feeling that happens when I know I'm pushing myself to my max. "Feel the burn!" as they say. That was my plan. Dance your very best. Dance your hardest. Feel your muscles working at that moment. Have some DOMS for a few days. It's your will to work hard. I'm having some trouble explaining it, but it makes sense in my head.

[daniellebellydance]

DC Day 39: Dance as Communication

Today was a rather fun class. Well, I think all my classes are fun, but this one especially so. In accordance to the theme of Air, we worked with negative space. That meant that the students would pair up and create these continuously moving shapes according to a pose. It was pretty cool to see. My favorite part is the laughter. It was one of the times when we shouldn't take the dance so seriously, but rather allow it to be a way to explore. Plus, it's a great way for my students to get to know each other. It's an awesome conversation-starter.

I think dance is an amazing way to establish connections. I think about how a friend, B, and I met. Sunday morning Ecstatic Dance. We actually were quite far away from each other when our eyes locked and big goofy smiles on our faces. We shared this dance from a distance before closing the space. Good times. I don't remember even speaking with him until weeks later, but I remember the ease that developed through dance. I've certainly met lovers through dance. In fact, it's the only way I meet them these days. I can tell who I cannot be safe with through dance. Dance as a method of communication is a very powerful thing.

[daniellebellydance]

DC Day 25: Air

Teaching AIR was quite fun today. If anything, there's so much that I want to provide in class that an hour doesn't seem like enough time. Heck, I don't think two hours would be enough time. I have to say, I think it's harder when you have too many ideas to work with than not enough because I don't want to pull focus. It's better to work on one or two things and develop rather than a million and one things without cohesion. This week was drills and traveling steps. Next week is drills and space.

I don't know how my students feel about it, but I'm greatly enjoying this exploration in dance while utilizing dubstep. It's challenging my approach to movement and in that, it's challenging what I wish to offer in my classes. Thank you, my awesome students for trusting in me!