Thread: The more you know...

Recently I was told that a friend of mine could not take any more math classes at his university because he had 'all the math'. I'm not sure if this means only that he'd taken all the math classes at his university or somehow knew all the math there was to know. It sounds implausible but I know several highly gifted young men and this one wrote symphonies before he was ten and is pursuing robotics as a career.

I bring this up because it seems like the more I learn about this dance, the more I realize what a vast amount of knowledge I don't yet have. Sometimes it makes me feel like a poser! ..g.: My question is whether I'll probably *always* feel like that, no matter how much I've learned, and is it any more possible to know 'all the bellydance', any more than my friend can possibly know 'all the math'? That is, is there a time in which you can really say to yourself, 'I have no more to learn'?

Because to me it seems like there's always some new and rich world with this dance, and I can't really imagine that day coming! I could compare it to writing; I'm also a writer and when I read something like 'Lord of the Rings' I feel like throwing down my pen; when I see a fantastic bellydance performance I sometimes feel like hanging up my bedleh, so to speak. That is, I sometimes despair of having the knowledge/talent/grace of Tolkien, in the first example or, say, Fifi, in the second. I was wondering if others feel the same?

That is, is there a time in which you can really say to yourself, 'I have no more to learn'?

Yes...as I stare up at the fluffy white linning of my casket. And then only cause times up!!!!

Originally Posted by anala

Yes...as I stare up at the fluffy white linning of my casket. And then only cause times up!!!!

teehee!

i feel like that all the time, but i've only been dancing for 4 years. i think that with any artform, it is a lifelong study. and for me, trying to learn as much as i can about another culture's history/music/dance adds a whole other layer of knowledge to be gained! its worse than starting at square 1, more like square -721...

I think we go through a phase of thinking we've nailed this bellydance thing. When that happens and how long it lasts depends on how much knowledge you're exposed to, how knowledgeable your teachers are, your dance community.

Some people hit that point at 6 months to a year and stay there forever. Some hit it at 4-5 years and stay there only a few months...

Then, hopefully, some mind-blowing experiences open you up. A workshop, a discussion on bhuz... something makes you realize how much there is to know. And that's when the learning finally *begins*

I don't think it can ever end. For one thing, there are actually dozens of cultures to learn about, each with its own take on the music and folk dances of the regions. Then there's the history to explore, even if you only go back as far as video and audio tape will reach, there are SO many dancers, composers, musical styles to learn about.

Add that to the fact that the dance is still changing and evolving -- new techniques and other stuff to learn are coming out of Cairo and Istanbul (and New York and London) every day!

If that's not enough for you, of course you can study Arabic. Or develop costuming skills. Teaching skills. Anatomy.

*mind boggles*

I know exactly what you mean! Depending on my frame of mind at the time I can either be inspired or depressed. I think part of it has to do with accepting your own limitations (whatever they are). It's not likely that I'll ever be graceful and floaty. I'm not in everyday life, either. Sometimes I see that as a challenge and sometimes I see it as a barrier. The most important thing for me is to enjoy what you are doing. It doesn't matter if it's something you are working hard for or if you are just cutting loose and going with wherever the music takes you. Now if I could just take my own advice sometimes....

I think it's that so many performers impress me so much, and there is *so much* information out there. I want to go take classes from *everybody*! ..l;, At least I know I love this dance enough to notice that there is so much that can still be learned. I think it's really a lifelong thing.

Originally Posted by Andrea2

I know exactly what you mean! Depending on my frame of mind at the time I can either be inspired or depressed. I think part of it has to do with accepting your own limitations (whatever they are). It's not likely that I'll ever be graceful and floaty. I'm not in everyday life, either. Sometimes I see that as a challenge and sometimes I see it as a barrier. The most important thing for me is to enjoy what you are doing. It doesn't matter if it's something you are working hard for or if you are just cutting loose and going with wherever the music takes you. Now if I could just take my own advice sometimes....

You took the words right out of my mouth!

Originally Posted by Lauren_

*mind boggles*

.w.:.w.:.w.: I completely agree.

Originally Posted by BreaMorgiane

I bring this up because it seems like the more I learn about this dance, the more I realize what a vast amount of knowledge I don't yet have. Sometimes it makes me feel like a poser! ..g.: My question is whether I'll probably *always* feel like that, no matter how much I've learned, and is it any more possible to know 'all the bellydance', any more than my friend can possibly know 'all the math'? That is, is there a time in which you can really say to yourself, 'I have no more to learn'?

Yes, I always feel like this - maybe because I did some workshops with some awesome dancers early in my journey. The downside is that I resisted teaching a lot that I learnt from these dancers (especially at the national workshops put on by MEDANZ) as I knew I was just scraping the surface. Then I discovered there were teachers out there presenting the material I learnt with much less exposure to good sources (in one case the only "source" was a workshop I presented which I didn't feel I should have!). So this year I offered three folkloric workshops (along with Safe Dance and Teaching Methodology ones).

I think there is never a time you can say you have no more to learn. I've always been impressed with people I think may be close to knowing it all and yet are still learning.

I think it's also true of life. I think you can never really know everything, even within your own field.

Oh yes definately. The more you learn, the more you realise how much more there is to learn. Thats what I love about it and I've been doing this 20 years.
The day I stop learning is the day I stop dancing

Originally Posted by Candi

Oh yes definately. The more you learn, the more you realise how much more there is to learn. Thats what I love about it and I've been doing this 20 years.
The day I stop learning is the day I stop dancing

Ditto!

I definitely feel this way most of the time and it was a huge obstacle to my "feeling" ready to teach belly dance. I had taught briefly in other dance forms, but I was apprehensive for quite a while that I was ready to teach bellydance.

I finally came to the realization that I will always be growing and learning, but I also have an overwhelming need to share and give back what I have learned. So, I decided that rather than waiting to hit some ambiguous knowledge level I would just go for it!

But it's typical of me to question am I good enough or knowledgable enough. Life has to push me out of the tree to get me to fly...

My new article called "Now What?" just posted on Gilded Serpent. It covers ideas on how to grow and learn more about this dance form. [sorry about the shameless plug]

I have been dancing for 12 years and there is still stuff I want to learn. Will I ever stop learning nope. I will be always the perpetual student.

Alrana

I feel like more of a "baby dancer" now then when I was a "baby dancer"! Just learned that I have much to learn! Never is any dance form finished! You ALWAYS have more to learn!!!
By the way, my fluffy white liner better damn well be beaded and fringed or I'm hunting the whole lot of my family!!!!..g.:

I also feel more like a baby belly now than before! It's weird...I feel the same way about Scottish history, which I've intensively studied for a decade. There's just so much to know out there. Do you ever feel like you get to the point where you are afraid you won't have anything more to teach?