Thread: Giving good head...

Got your attention, eh? Okay, now get your mind out of the gutter!! ..g.:

I'm talking about your actual head and neck, and its involvement in dance.

Two great tips that I've gotten from different teachers lately are to look up whenever facing the back (gives a better line) and to tilt your head slightly while turning (works for some, not all turns, of couse).

I think a combination of sitting at the computer too many hours a day and wearing glasses all day - including in class - lends to this tendency to tilt my head down and forward, which is not attractive on stage. Is tilting the chin up enough to get the head aligned in proper posture? Are there muscles that you can condition into proper form? Visualizations? Do you use head/neck/hair accents (aside from the obvious ones in khaleegy and zar) and are these moves you practice? Whatcha got??

Originally Posted by Amber_moon

LOL. At least you dared to look.

Good points and good head is an area I'm currently working on .w.:..l;,
Actually Sonya of Arabesque uses head accents a lot when she dances. She definitely tilts her head with certain turns and she also ends her body waves up with a head accent - lower abs, upper abs, upper back, chin up. It really gives it a finished polished look.

OMG, so glad this isn't what I thought it would be. My first reaction to your title was "what the hell?!"

Yes, I definitely use head and hair for accents, especially for drum solos. I do circles and stretches to warm up, then lots of stretching afterwards. Otherwise it feels like whiplash the next day

Heh, heh, heh. I just had to look! Seriously, it's something I'm starting to pay more attention to during class and I've noticed that certain movements certainly require the head and neck to be positioned correctly...leans for one. Roughly half of the choreos we've learned use head turns as accents, whether they be drum solos or otherwise;we also do head slides in our warm up. It sure adds another tool in the dancer's tool box!

I think that imagining that your head is a "pumpkin on a stick" and try to have a straight neck with a "floating head" is a good mental picture.

Sitting in front of a computor long periods gives kind of a "vulture neck"which tilting chin up is not enough to correct.

I *lower* my chin instead when the audience is seated lower,
to "pull them in"-make them feel I have eye contact with as many of them as possible.(learned that from Samasem)

My teacher is working with me on not lifting my chin up quite so much (Kimarhi I believe has dubbed this "Pez-Head"), because it shows tension/strain in your neck. Instead, we are going for more of a cheek to the ceiling with a slight tilt that is much more flattering, especially if caught in a still picture.

I don't consciously use my head to accent a *lot* but I do try and think of where it is - emma-bessa's idea of floating on a stick. And I leave it facing front a lot and do tend to tilt it a little from side to side to create an appealing line.

Another useful head thing is one I got from Hadia, which is "look where you're going and your body will follow." SO useful for arabesque tournant and other turns.

I was taught a couple of things. To look at what ever you want the audience to look at. If you are doing lots of fun hip work, glance at the hip! If you are working high center, lift your head and chin!

Another thing I was taugh, which is very Egyptian, is reverb. If you this correctly, there is a little wobble in the head and neck.

Lastly, I lift not from my chin but from right below where my jaw connects to my skull. which would be about 2 vertabre below where the head attaches to the neck. If you life from there, the head floats.

Little tiny head accents are fun and add an additional layer and emotion to your performance.

{{{HUGS}}}

So much great stuff!! Fahtiem and Jenna both give such great head (*snicker*) but I haven't been able to make it to their classes lately. I gotta find the happy medium between Vulture Neck and Pez dispenser. Love the floaty head analogies and the pulling from the jaw! :)

people using search engines to hunt out bellydancer...um..fantasies...should enjoy your thread title.

Blanca is also excellent when it comes to 'good head' teaching. She teaches head position as an integral part of the choreography and drills in her 'Sensual bellydance' dvd

I have to admit it was not something I had given much consideration to until recently when I watched some of my practise on video.

I am actually pleased with this because it means my arms and feet have improved enough to for me notice more subtle faults!

Originally Posted by ozma

people using search engines to hunt out bellydancer...um..fantasies...should enjoy your thread title.

hey, gotta throw 'em a bone every now and then.

Heather Shoopman today in her workshop did some great head slides and using visualization to pull from the cheek. Indian-inspired, but could be incorporated and really loosened that whole area up for me.

...is Freud rolling in his grave yet? ..l;,

I think you give good head. I've never seen you give bad head. And I should know! LOL! Sometimes it is easier to move your head and hair around when it's longer. Maybe grow it out!

I should know cause I seen you dance so much!

LOL...I'm the gutter minded one that's laughing at the header.

Originally Posted by eshtabellydance

Sometimes it is easier to move your head and hair around when it's longer. Maybe grow it out!

I'v been trying for years, but it doesn't seem to want to grow any longer! Maybe I'll just have to bust out my Fifi wig from now on. ..g.:

Originally Posted by eshtabellydance

I should know cause I seen you dance so much!

thanks for clarifying. ..l;,..l;,

Not exactly on-topic, but this thread reminds me of a head-slide move Aunt Rocky called a "Monica" (as in Lewinsky). "Get it? Giving head?" and then she cackled evilly.

.w.:Oh you're naughty

Nasila, those two tips are great. Especially the tilting of the head while turning.

No problem, Hooked. I noticed that my primary teacher hardly ever moves her head while dancing and I've had a few people point this out as an area that needs improvement.

I can't believe how sore my neck is today from those heas slides on Sat! Oww!!

My instructor is all about looking over the shoulder a little when turning to give the body a more spiral look. It does look pretty and if you can maintain posture, no matter where your pic is snapped, you will look wonderfully posed. I tend to keep my chin at normal level but my head pulled back in everyday life giving me the most fab double chin. I have to work on keeping my chin out to give my neck length.

Love the title...

Unless you are in the middle of the dreaded undulation...always the perfect time for people to snap your picture! ..l;,

Originally Posted by mihnea

Unless you are in the middle of the dreaded undulation...always the perfect time for people to snap your picture! ..l;,

My cousin managed to get a shot of me with my belly pouched out every time I did it. It is the scariest series of shots of me ever taken and that includes me in the tub as a kid!

Elektra's video clip uploaded here on bhuz has a lot of great use of head accents.

Originally Posted by amirahdancer

Good points and good head is an area I'm currently working on .w.:..l;,
Actually Sonya of Arabesque uses head accents a lot when she dances. She definitely tilts her head with certain turns and she also ends her body waves up with a head accent - lower abs, upper abs, upper back, chin up. It really gives it a finished polished look.

And Sonya says "I little head goes a long way" so don't over accent it

Nilaja