Thread: Helping Students with their First Solo

Hello Ladies!

About two years ago I started teaching a number of girls from the ground up as well as have acquired some fabulous advanced students along the way... things are going great. I now have a stellar student/semi pro troupe I'm very proud of, and some of the girls who've never done solo work before are expressing some interest in putting together their own pieces. I'm beyond tickled pink!

Aside from a little in class discussion about movement variations and dynamics, improv work, rhythm study and a little dabbling in common folklore - I haven't given them any formal training on choreography/solo work. I have some ideas and was thinking about putting together an information sheet to help them out - aside from this, I'm thinking the best way is with private lessons.

What do you gals do? And do any of you have some good info I could include in this information sheet?

I really don't want to feed them to the lions. They're looking to me for guidance here and I want to provide them with both the tools and confidence to do so without overburdening them with too much info. (Sometimes I tend to ramble, and I think it's best to keep it short and sweet)!

There's an article on my web site about "your first performance". It's on the menu at Belly Dance Advice, Tips, How-To's

One of the things I do in my Level 2 classes is take a classic song like Tamra Henna, Tahtil Shibaak, etc., and show them how you can break down and identify a song's structure, even a really long or complicated one. I write the breakdown out, and then play a CD where I've separated out the different "parts" of the song. For example, for Tahtil Shibaak (the Queen of Balady Fatme version):

Intro/Entrance – Fatme sings an introduction , using her voice as a taqsim. A vocal taqsim is called a mawal.

Chorus 1
Chorus 2
Chorus 3
Repeat Chorus 1

Verse 1

Repeat Chorus 2
Repeat Chorus 3 (with slight change in phrasing)
Repeat Chorus 1

Verse 2

Repeat Chorus 2
Repeat Chorus 3
Repeat Chorus 1

Finale 1
Finale 2

Most of my students who have come to me for solo work have had me do the choreographing for them, with some collaboration on their part. But I've had a couple that have put together their own, and they've used the method above to successfully break down the music. With them, they've come to me with the work in progress for privates, and I offer feedback and tweaks to them.

As a student who is about to do her first solo, I can tell you what was important for me.
I needed help with breaking the song into its various phrases.
Although I didn't want it choreo'd for me, I did ask for basic movement suggesetions for sections and stuff like that.
Once I started putting it together, I went back for help with rough spots and tips on the "performance" end of things.

Musical analysis definitely helps with a solo. My teacher also did the musical breakdown. In her intermediate class, she did breakdowns of common songs (Aziza, Leila), and we'd talk abotu the different parts, different types of movements and quality of movements you might do in those sections. In her advanced class, we started to analyze the music more mathematically.

We also do solo performances in class and have classroom critique sessions.

I do a six-week session with my level 4 students specifically on solo skills. But I realized when I started putting together my lesson plan that I could easily spend a year on the subject.

I start with music selection -- if they've only ever danced your group choreos, do they know how to research a song? Is it appropriate for bellydance? Is it suited for beledi, oriental, tribal fusion, saidi, khaleegy, Turkish, etc? Are there lyrics, and where can you find out what the lyrics are?

Then we go over so much more material -- the basic structure of a choreo. Traveling steps (if they've only done group choreo they've probably never traveled with the same speed/energy a soloist uses to cover the space by herself). How to hold the audience's attention throughout the piece. How to decide which moves go with which pieces of music. And so on.

I have each student work on a solo piece during the session, and we share our works in progress, offering feedback & advice. It's SO exciting & rewarding to watch their pieces develop with their own personalities, so different from each other & from whatever I would have done! A few students who prefer NOT to work on a solo in front of everyone have always banded together to work on a duet or small group piece of their own.

Because this session was so lecture-heavy compared to previous sessions, I insisted they take notes & had a game-show style quiz at the end of the session, with Fabulous Prizes (bindis & dollar store trinkets) for everyone.

I'd be happy to e-mail you my notes, but I'm not sure they'd mean much to anyone but me....

Great stuff from everybody! Silly me, this is Bhuz, right? So it's all great stuff! ,r:;

I think the idea of breaking down the music into its natural sections is an excellent way to start -- as is selecting a piece of appropriate Middle Eastern music about 3-3 1/2 minutes long!

Question: is your group of advance/semi-pro dancers all in a class together? If they are, then it might be relatively simple to do as Lauren does, or as Nepthene's teacher has done, and do a full session (or two . . . or three!) of prepping for solos.

Your information sheet could include such info as music selection (including length of performance), basic music analysis, stylization, traveling steps as a soloist (excellent point, Lauren, about the differences in travelling as a group and traveling as a soloist!) -- heck, everything discussed that can be broken down onto paper! Of course, not everything can be explained well (even briefly) in writing, so you might want to mention those items and indicate they will be covered in class/private/whatever you decide.

Good luck with this wonderful circumstance in which you find yourself. I've had a few students over the years who have asked for my feedback with their first solos and it was wonderful to see how they "conquered" their music!

Deborah

Originally Posted by casbahdance

Question: is your group of advance/semi-pro dancers all in a class together? If they are, then it might be relatively simple to do as Lauren does, or as Nepthene's teacher has done, and do a full session (or two . . . or three!) of prepping for solos.
Deborah

Thanks so much! Yes, there is tons of good stuff here. Bhuz rocks... ..g.:

No, my semi-pro girls have their own class... but I do like the session idea! I think I'll have to get the girls in question a little more versed in their rhythms and styles before putting them all in one class, but it may be workable sometime soon!

It may help to re-assure them that the SOLE PURPOSE of the first solo is to get them on stage by themselves so they can experience it and get used to that dynamic. And of course, it helps much that the venue/event they solo at for the first time is a low pressure occasion; a hafla or some such where they dance for mostly their own dance sisters.

I cannot tell you how many terrified gals I've calmed down by telling them the above!

Then, its kind of like their first performance (with a group usually): "That was terrifying, when can we do it again?"!

I think all the technical info - song breakdown, history, lyrics, instruments suggesting certain movements, etc. is really good but overwhelming if you are just getting your feet wet in solo work. And these are things a teacher should be teaching and the students should be absorbing in bits and pieces over the course of their time studying - whether they intend to ever perform or not.

Thinking back, it wasn't a particular class or workshop that prepped me for performing a solo. It was much more visceral than that. There just came a time when a piece of music "spoke" to me and prompted me to want to try to do something on my own. I was already playing around with it in my personal practice time when our teacher asked if anyone wanted to attempt a solo. I jumped in with both feet before good sense prevailed. Of course, even with further hard work prepping for our student recital, it wasn't the greatest piece of music and it certainly wasn't a great solo. But it was a significant notch in my bedlah along my dance journey ..g.:

What about having the students who want to solo come to you with their possible song choices first? I bet if they've expressed an interest in solo work they already have music picked out. Then have them bring their WIP to their selected piece so that you have a framework from which to help each individual. That way you can adjust how you will assist those who can't dance without a choreography framework and those who lean towards loose choreography or improvisation.

As a side note, I would have hated it if my teacher had told me I had to choreograph or conversely had to only improvise. Right from the beginning I personally felt comfortable having a loose framework and improvising within that framework.

The invaluable role my teacher fulfilled was in:

1. Helping me ensure that I travelled when the music suggested travel and stayed put when the music suggested staying put.
2. Giving me practical feedback re entrances/exits that I had planned.
3. Giving me feedback and suggestions when I asked how certain movements looked from an audience perspective.
4. Pointing out the most glaring things I needed to work on given my stage of development at the time - (common examples would be one rotating wrist, poor upper body posture, shoulders holding tension, too much bouncing, etc.)
5. Instilling me with the confidence that I could dance when the only thing holding me back was my fear of putting so much of myself "out there."

One thing I've always wanted is to be part of a class in which the members take turns bringing WIP for feedback. OR to have some of the classes be a cold run of improvising to a piece of music you've never heard before and then getting feedback. Now that would be cool. Not as intense as doing regular privates but intense enough to, I think, really begin to hone & polish technical, spatial, textural and entertainment skills.

Originally Posted by zorba

It may help to re-assure them that the SOLE PURPOSE of the first solo is to get them on stage by themselves so they can experience it and get used to that dynamic.

What can I say, Zorba, except that's a fantastic, encouraging thing to say to those terrified people! Smart man!

:Abiggrin: :thumbs_up: :shades:

Deborah

Find a song they love and listen to it. Practice to it. Listen to it. Figure out why they love it so they can remind themselves later. Listen, practice, listen, practice. Over and over and over and over and if they get tired of it near performance time remember that they loved it before they heard it 2347905684554423 times, and the audience will also.

It may help to re-assure them that the SOLE PURPOSE of the first solo is to get them on stage by themselves so they can experience it and get used to that dynamic. And of course, it helps much that the venue/event they solo at for the first time is a low pressure occasion; a hafla or some such where they dance for mostly their own dance sisters.

Yes, yes, yes!

It was only realizing the above that finally got me to haul myself through the experience of my first solo, that and the knowledge that it was 4 minutes of my life that only really mattered to/would be remembered by me.

Naturally its good for the dance to place emphasis on performance skills, professionalism, good technique and musicality but for individual confidence, it can really pay off to make things appear a bit less 'high octane'.

Thanks guys. This has been helpful. I'll post what I come up with after it's all prettied up. :-)

Originally Posted by Bellybabe

The invaluable role my teacher fulfilled was in:

1. Helping me ensure that I travelled when the music suggested travel and stayed put when the music suggested staying put.
2. Giving me practical feedback re entrances/exits that I had planned.
3. Giving me feedback and suggestions when I asked how certain movements looked from an audience perspective.
4. Pointing out the most glaring things I needed to work on given my stage of development at the time - (common examples would be one rotating wrist, poor upper body posture, shoulders holding tension, too much bouncing, etc.)
5. Instilling me with the confidence that I could dance when the only thing holding me back was my fear of putting so much of myself "out there."

EXCELLENT comment!

Deborah

Originally Posted by Bellybabe;184349 k.

The invaluable role my teacher fulfilled was in:[LIST=1

[*]Helping me ensure that I travelled when the music suggested travel and stayed put when the music suggested staying put. [*]Giving me practical feedback re entrances/exits that I had planned.[*]Giving me feedback and suggestions when I asked how certain movements looked from an audience perspective.[*]Pointing out the most glaring things I needed to work on given my stage of development at the time - (common examples would be one rotating wrist, poor upper body posture, shoulders holding tension, too much bouncing, etc.)[*]Instilling me with the confidence that I could dance when the only thing holding me back was my fear of putting so much of myself "out there."[/LIST]

This is exactly what my teacher and I went over just last night for my upcomming debut! Especiall the first two and the last.

I thought I might add one more hurdle.... The I don't know enough moves. At one time I started a running list and this help immensely to gain confidence. Then to find out you don't have to use all of them was shocking!..g.:

Originally Posted by zorba

It may help to re-assure them that the SOLE PURPOSE of the first solo is to get them on stage by themselves so they can experience it and get used to that dynamic.

That's a wonderful tip Zorba!

I'm actually preparing to dance my first solo tomorrow evening with the first choreography I wrote. So looking at tomorrow in that light makes it much less strenuous!

Originally Posted by Hathor

That's a wonderful tip Zorba!

I'm actually preparing to dance my first solo tomorrow evening with the first choreography I wrote. So looking at tomorrow in that light makes it much less strenuous!

Good luck, Hathor, and welcome to Bhuz!

Deborah

Originally Posted by Adishakti

Hello Ladies!

About two years ago I started teaching a number of girls from the ground up as well as have acquired some fabulous advanced students along the way... things are going great. I now have a stellar student/semi pro troupe I'm very proud of, and some of the girls who've never done solo work before are expressing some interest in putting together their own pieces. I'm beyond tickled pink!

Aside from a little in class discussion about movement variations and dynamics, improv work, rhythm study and a little dabbling in common folklore - I haven't given them any formal training on choreography/solo work. I have some ideas and was thinking about putting together an information sheet to help them out - aside from this, I'm thinking the best way is with private lessons.

What do you gals do? And do any of you have some good info I could include in this information sheet?

I really don't want to feed them to the lions. They're looking to me for guidance here and I want to provide them with both the tools and confidence to do so without overburdening them with too much info. (Sometimes I tend to ramble, and I think it's best to keep it short and sweet)!

Several of the teachers I have taken from will have an improv session for the last 5-10 minutes of class and you have to come up with your own moves to various music. I found that helpful.
Also another teacher has everyone get in a line and take turns going out, posing and then dancing to music or live drumming. Then she has us pose again before our turn is over. That is more scary, but it's defiitely helpful. She does it almost every class.
I did take some privates before my first performance but I don't know that they would be necessary unless they need help coming up with somehting or want an opinion on how their dance looks.

Originally Posted by atareen

At one time I started a running list and this help immensely to gain confidence. Then to find out you don't have to use all of them was shocking!..g.:

Oh yes, this is a good one! Keep it simple and about what the music says rather than throwing every move you know "out there" to the audience.