Meeting with Nanci Traynor

I just came back after visited Nanci Traynor. Knowing that she is leaving Malaysia in June, I feel sad too..... :( And as always, all good things must come to an end! Nanci told me beside teaching Yoga and Tribal belly dance, she cant earn enough for a living expenses in Kuala Lumpur, Ya…the field of dance is highly competitive nowadays. She made the good decision for  her dance career in the future by leaving Malaysia. 

Nanci Traynor  organized Beatrice Tribal workshop today, 13 May 2012, I would love to be there,  but I really cant go due to my very tight schedule.  I am already back and working now in the  office. Nanci only expected 10 participants and I hope she manage  to get more.  I hope our local belly dance teacher dedicating their full attention to their dance. It does not matter what kind of dance you are pursuing, either.  Most importantly, fully committed to dance! Remember, experience and exposure in a variety of dance styles is important for creating versatile dancers.

  

We talked a lot about dance in belly dance circles. A lot of time  the dance community did not see her. I don’t know what’s wrong?? I guess because she is very honest and straight forward, and I really admire that.  Most of the time Nanci is doing Improvisational Tribal Style Belly Dance. She didn’t choreograph it! And there was no choreography in 30 hours workshop, which we were studied with her last time.  I have to admit, some of the participants felt frustrated because there were too much art involved. But I was  impressed by the way she balanced content and technique. I have to say that I don’t get a negative feeling of that, I respect what she do. Part of what we learned was the arms, the posture, the formations, cue and move. Nanci add a cue that is consistent with the format and add something fancy such as a turn. The moves are changed through a series of subtle cues and transitions made by the lead dancers. It was interesting that we lead again and again  during the workshop. The beauty of the dance is you can dance with anyone else, anywhere in the world who also understands the 'language’. You don’t need the choreography.  May be some of the dancers prefer the choreography more than improvised.

We discussed our views and the way others view belly dance, things we’ve struggled with, and how our journey within the dance has been. I believe hard work and dedication always win out in the end. If you believe in yourself, never give up, and work until you see your dream become a reality.

The dinner was great, no one drank, I am  happy to have a chance to say goodbye to her! We didn't have much time together, but I appreciate our teacher student friendship & I hope you will remember me always! Looking forward to see you Nanci, what we promised somewhere out there, very soon!