Lovely Ladies, Lets Practice Dance!

How are you over there? Do you do your homework after Nigma Workshop? I’m talking about the dance practice. I hope you practice too, a minimum of three days a week, three or five mini practices a day, or five minutes a day, or better yet both. After so many workshops with Nigma, I’m loving it! I even practicing in my mind when I travel to work, of course I cant lead which foot goes where. I just listen the rhythm of the dance, by tapping out the beat with a finger. Sometime I do finger dancing on tabletop during my office hours. It’s only way to help. But you need to get your legs and body involved often also. Muscle memory helps you remember your dance figures, and remember, practice makes perfect if you practice perfectly. Hurry up, make a quick note for a future practice!!

I’m also very happy and very busy right now working on our upcoming event. I will let you know shortly, but, in the meantime, I just wanted to keep you posted on some important message that Nigma has asked me to send her regards to all of you. She is having difficulties in accessing Internet in Bali. If any one of you has emailed her, she would not be able to read your email, so be patience, once she is able to access the internet, she definitely will reply to you.

Here I want to post some info of ‘MED Professional Training for Dancers & Teachers with Nigma in Bali for year 2009. The date has been postponed roughly in September 2009 and the actual dates will be announce soon. Get yourself plan to join Nigma’s next teacher training in Bali. For those of you lovely ladies who are interested to improve your dancing skills with MED Master Teacher, this is not limited to the mechanics of teaching movements, it includes how to deliver a good time by teaching your student dancing. Ideally you educate them and yourself at the same time. As a dance teacher, if you don't make it fun to your class, you'll lose them. This is my teaching experiences.

My knowledge and spirits have been greatly increased by an amazing time with Nigma, so I’m even more excited about the Teacher Training in Bali.

Belly Dance Teacher With Nothing To Teach??

There has been many dancers bringing in many wonderful artists to teach belly dance. There are also many workshops presented throughout the year. I’ve seen the teacher when she first started teaching, she went to workshops and bringing the choreography back to her troupe then performed all over in the local event, I know she teaches none of her own work! it was cool! They just want to perform without creating their own choreography. They don’t have to spend time creating, and it would be good to perform without giving a credit to the chorographer. Hey! they’ve forgot things like copyright issues.

Ok fine! I even seen one of the teacher B she learnt it from A for a while, and she become a teacher after that. And B is teaching the same choreography that A use in her class routine, and guess what, when you go to the showcase, they are all the same choreographies you will see.

I remember when I first started teaching, I spent a lot of time when creating my choreography. It nearly took me a month to finish the whole music. As I grew in the dance, with the right knowledge and a concise process of creation, choreography can be much easier nowadays. It takes time for me to really learn how to teach well. Besides, my ability to teach also grew and I didn't need other people's work as a crutch anymore.

To create an exciting, dynamic dance, all you need to do is mastery of oriental dance technique, knowledge and acceptance of your capabilities and limits, understanding of the oriental culture and music, a good ear for rhythm and instrumentation, and the ability to visualize the effect and feelings you wish to portray.

Choreography is a talent like dance which can be learned, practiced and improved. However, also like dance, choreography is an art.

Life of Teaching Belly Dance ......

I wrote an article for my belly dance in 2006 regarding my experiences teaching dance. Since then, I never write again. But on and off, I will write my blog.

I am currently busy. It's been quite a long time with not even a update in my blog. Shame on me!!! Lots of things happened and if I tried to tell everything, you would be surely bored to death. So here goes some highlights of teaching days…

Since I started teaching, I'm always curious ... I don’t hand out a printed copy of my class rules, and I just go over them verbally. I've taken many classes with other instructors, and I do not recall receiving written or verbal instructions from any of them. Each time when I teach a new beginenr group, I do have a handout that I give out the first night of class, a kind of general info about Middle Eastern dance and the different kinds of styles and my philosophy. I’ve found that this works well.

Sudent asked me CDs for home practice, Usually I never give or burn to sell. I bought those CDs by independent musicians records copmany, and each time I’ll write a review or email to artist. I’m supporting those artists so in turn can get more music in the future! In this day and age, most music is quite easy to find and purchase. I don’t want to reproduce it, which is not a right in copyright issues.

My job is to actually TEACH DANCE, and along the way I want to make that experience fun, challenging, and gratifying, no matter what level someone is working at! Always, whether in group classes or in private lessons, I bring to my students two things : an extensive knowledge of dance and also my ability to communicate that knowledge with skill, humor, and honesty. And frankly, Sometimes it is the student, and their ability, or willingness, and I try to nudge them where they need to go.

I recently completed my intensive yoga course. I have revised my warm up to more seriously address the core muscle issues. My workout is no more that 5-6 minutes in length, but does warm up. This is important for the person who really wants to learn how to dance, I mailed flyers for publicity and all the belly dancers I knew. I want to start a new class for BellyRobics. I believe that this is beyond the "something fun to do" stage and into the "really want to learn how to dance" stage.

Fell in love with ATS Belly Dance

This is a hot topic for me right now. For as long as I can remember I have always loved to belly dance. This time I fell in love with American Tribal Style Belly Dance (ATS). The very first I attended Nigma’s ATS Tribal Certification Program, I was hooked. And it made me understand what is the different of ATS and Tribal Fusion. ATS describes the FatChance style of bellydance, and that the word "tribal bellydance" encompasses other styles, is the copyrighted Tribal Bellydance style of Carolena Nericcio, founder of Fat Chance Bellydance, based in San Francisco, California.

In this training program, we've all been drilled on the moves with finger cymbal repeatedly. I can really shut my brain off sometimes, because the moves are coming from muscle memory, and it's not dependent on what point the music is at, etc. That's what makes an ATS performance so magical, that silent communication that makes us wheel and move like a flock of birds.

I feel blessed to have belly dance in my life as well as the fabulous friends that this dance has brought to me.

If any one of you want to use the phrase "American Tribal Style" or the term of ATS for your dance style in an official way, there are resources available in the form of certification programs developed by Carolena, as well as teacher certifications and sister schools that are beginning to sprout around the world. I wish All Tribal Bellydancers owe a debt of gratitude to Ms. Nericcio and Fat Chance Bellydance Tribe.