Thread: prop remove and retiveal

hi any one know of any good video clips of dancers putting down and picking up there prop?

I find that often when I do a stage show I want to do sword or cane in the middle of my routine, but if I don't have someone to hand it to me it can look awkward.(actually going to the curtain to have some one pass it to you looks awkward too). I usually find that I have to dance on stage with the prop, then put it down, later retrieve it only to put it down again to finish with the drum solo, then pick it up one last time to exit stage.

Any dancers incorporate dance steps to putting down and picking the prop?

If there is a curtain at the back of the stage, you can go behind the curtain and stick them underneath before you go on.

The most graceful way of picking up or putting down a prop -- used often in Ibrahim Farrah choreographies -- is to find a logical reason to do a level change down towards the floor, where the prop is that you want to pick up, or where you would like to put your prop down. In other words, make it part of the dance. Dancers can usually find someone to put props onstage beforehand.

I made a similar enquiry here before and someone mentioned they had a 'treasure chest' in which they carried their props and put them back in. Then, at the end of the dance, they danced out with the chest on their head. Neat idea! I'm still looking for one long enough to take my sword.

During one of Randa's performances she had someone scoot a cane from backstage across the floor to her. She feigned surprise and acted like it was a challenge, picked up the cane, danced with it then fired it offstage when she was done ..l;, Job done!

Probably not too practical with a sword though .w.:

This is an awesome thread, I have been considering this a lot lately. Mostly because I saw someone do a beautiful Melaya Leff on stage, only to finish it by going to the back to retrieve her melaya and shoes, bending at the waist, butt to the audience!

I've also been thinking of this. I'm thinking of entering a competition later this year and would like to do a cane dance, but I don't want it in my hands the whole time, so I was thinking of ways to retrieve/discard. I like the idea of the level change down to the floor! I don't know why, but I hadn't thought of it before. Duh! Anyone else have any ideas? It has to be natural, or else you get points taken away.

Originally Posted by Kash13

This is an awesome thread, I have been considering this a lot lately. Mostly because I saw someone do a beautiful Melaya Leff on stage, only to finish it by going to the back to retrieve her melaya and shoes, bending at the waist, butt to the audience!

Well, just in general, bending at the waist and sticking one's behind at the audience is not the best thing to do. .w.:

I advise folks to do as bintbeled mentioned: make prop retrieval and removal part of the dance itself whenever possible. If that's not possible, but you need to remove your prop before you exit the stage, simply remain in dance posture, walk to the prop, bend from the knees (a closed-knee squat with one knee on the floor, if necessary for balance) pick it up with a flourish and leave the stage.

Many times, it's possible to leave one's prop on the stage and a stage hand will remove it for you at the end or will place it for you at the beginning of your show.

Deborah

Originally Posted by Kash13

This is an awesome thread, I have been considering this a lot lately. Mostly because I saw someone do a beautiful Melaya Leff on stage, only to finish it by going to the back to retrieve her melaya and shoes, bending at the waist, butt to the audience!

thanks since I started this thread I have been on youtube look for dancers who execute this with grace and most I have found is dancer who throw their canes to the side when finished

For a cane or sword, you can spin slowly on the spot to place it behind you. I've done this before where there was a bar next to the dance floor - dance close to the bar, take sword/cane in hands, swivel on spot and place on bar while back to audience, completing turn back to front with *voila!* no prop.

If you are capable of squatting (I'm not), you can do the same thing swivelling while bobbing down, to place the prop behind you. You could either finish the turn standing back up, or kneel and do some floor/arm work with the prop hidden behind, before getting up again. Best done towards the back of the dance floor so prop is then out of the way.

I think if you did this and had to pick a prop off the floor after your music had ended, it'd be best to choreograph how you pick it up, just as you would choreograph a bow. Like Ballroom dancers do their twirly twirly grand gesture bow to the judges after their music has stopped. Looks polished.

There's this video, they put down and pick up the sword:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJWdPAGWOf8]YouTube - Sword Bellydance[/ame]

When dancing with a sword, it's kind of cool if you can sort of hide the prop and then pick it up. When dancing with a sword, I like to have it on the floor towards the audience and then drop down and do some floorwork, and then pick it up.

My teacher who dances a lot with a veil fan, usually hides the veil fan somewhere (when possible) and then dances over and pulls it out of the hiding place in the middle of the routine. The audience loves it.

Originally Posted by alyssaraks

I've also been thinking of this. I'm thinking of entering a competition later this year and would like to do a cane dance, but I don't want it in my hands the whole time, so I was thinking of ways to retrieve/discard. I like the idea of the level change down to the floor! I don't know why, but I hadn't thought of it before. Duh! Anyone else have any ideas? It has to be natural, or else you get points taken away.

Re: competitions: I have been in the Belly Dancer of the Universe Competition (BDUC) and the contestant is required to both place on and remove his/her prop from the stage; as alyssaraks mentions it's part of the judging criteria for prop use.

Deborah

I have seen one dancer who will have a sword or two stashed somewhere convenient for her (depending on venue) that is somewhat out of site, standing so the handle is at her waste when she wants one. Often her back is to the audience (or some of the audience) and the music is changing and she keeps it behind her legs a bit and then draws it up with the music. You can't really tell she grabbed the sword unless you are watching for it; so most people are surprised when it gets "drawn" out into the open. Guess it depends on the song though; I've seen her do it different ways.