Thread: Stages of Belly Dance - Group Project

So I was thinking about the stages of BD that we all probably go through....

Stage 1: you see BD, you love it, you drive your family crazy watching dancers at every festival and state fair you go to...this stage may last indefinitely, as you find the funds, time or courage to do something about it.

Stage 2:

Hmm...

Is there a stage for the puberty induced "OMG Bellydance is like Sooo uncool 'cos like my mum does it!"...?

Which was exactly me about 17 yrs ago ;-)

Wow... counting back those years suddenly made me feel incredibly old

stage 2: you go to as many classes as possible

You take that often irreversable step of joining your first class. Then, you're either hooked, or you're not. After studying many other forms of dance for years, on the first day of my first bellydance class, I knew that this was it!

Hey Baby Shakes (LTNS! All my fault btw...)
Um My stage 1 went a little differently. But it's a cute idea so here's the rough stages of my dance life!

Stage 1: Mom found belly dance class flyers, thought it was a healthier hobby than comic book collecting. Signed me up and took me to class.
Stage 2: I fell in love. *chuckles*
Stage 3: Made contacts with experienced, respectable dancers and began absorbtion process.
Stage 4: Performed numerous "Stupid Human Tricks" for friends on command.
Stage 5: Made first costume.
Stage 6: Danced at first paid restarant gig. (ie... embarassed myself at first restaurant gig.)
Stage 7: Bought first costume. (Danced in first costume till it damn near came apart at the seams. That was one loved costume!)
Stage 7: First Costume Malfunction.
Stage 8: First Self Taught Dance Prop.
Stage 9: Danced at first big dancer event.
Stage 10: First Leaving of the Nest, ie moved out of area and had to begin again.
Stage 11: First Classes Run in Beginning Belly Dance.
Stage 12: First Intermediate Classes Run in Beginning Belly Dance.
Stage 13: First Troupe Formed. (Awww what a precious moment!)

This is about where my personal stages end and the "lifes lesson" ones begin.
Stage 1: First Auditions for Dance Troupe.
Stage 2: First choreographies composed for Dance Troupe.
Stage 3: First Frustrations with Dance Troupe...
Stage 4: Etc...
I think it all kind of goes down hill from there. *chuckles*

~*Gen*~

So true Nanda, but all your friends think it's real cool that your mums a bellydancer. Thank god puberty ends eventually.

I always see it as:

Stage one: Attend class for some reason and decide belly dance is soooo cooool and that you love it.
Stage two: Do everything your teacher says ever, practicing all the while.
Stage three: Perform in a few group class numbers, thinking of the music as a sort of background mishmash of Easternness. Hate mizmar.
Stage four: Start to be able to hear the music a bit more, and develop more specific likes and dislikes. Realise mizmar is misunderstood.
Stage five: Get ready to make up your own dances! EITHER do it alone or with a group. Realise Middle Eastern music is REALLY HARD. Decide to belly dance to western tracks instead.
Stage six: EITHER get bored with western tracks and return hat in hand to the wonders of really hard ME music, immediately deciding to dance to songs that are way above your level, OR stick to western tracks/group work and pursue "humorous" belly dance or tribal fusion.

Originally Posted by mamarama

So true Nanda, but all your friends think it's real cool that your mums a bellydancer. Thank god puberty ends eventually.

Lol... I think it became cooler when I could fit into her costumes And fill them out... "Ooo sparkles" ..l;,

My personal journey, plus a few the typical things we encounter in teaching our classes:

1. go in to learn how to dance like shakira or insert whatever reason like seduce your sultan
2. learn its not easy, there is more than shaking
3. perform in a restaurant before you are ready and embarrass yourself
4. join bhuz to feed your obsession, learn all sorts of new things, and feel embarrassed for yourself for what you didn't know.
4. go to your first hafla and become dazzled by the local stars
5. you perform in your first hafla fusing bellydance with everything but the kitchen sink
6. Dance cane to beladi or some such, learn the rhythms, feel embarrassed for yourself.
7. learn that it is a dance that comes from a culture and feel embarrassed for yourself.
8. dance like a crazed beauty queen to Om Kalthoum or some other inappropriate music, learn the lyrics, feel embarrassed for yourself.
9. realize that raks sharqi is sufficient in and of itself, does not need to be fused, and feel embarrassed for yourself ;)
10. think you are the **** until you go to your first workshop and show and see even more amazing dancers.
11. see clips of Egyptian dance stars and realize you are but a peon.
12. you become a mature humble dancer (hopefully) with a healthy respect for the art and culture of the dance and ask Bhuzzers before you embarrass yourself in public.

I recall I read that the stages were something like:

1. When at a hafla, too shy to dance, much less with anybody else.

2. When at a hafla, up and dancing, but too cool to dance with anybody else, especially those in stage 1.

3. When at a hafla, up and dancing all night outdancing those in stage 2, having a ball watching others, and making those in stage 1 get up and dance.

LOL- Sumaya, my list is so close to yours, really, there's no point rewriting it. Take out a the fusion and add

Start teaching way too early because "I'm just teaching beginners," learn the truth about what a pathetic peon you are and feel embarassed for yourself and sorry for your students.

Imagine our dance journey without Bhuz.... <shudder>

Originally Posted by s1dur1_sab1tu

So I was thinking about the stages of bellydance that we all probably go through....

Stage 1: you see BD, you love it, you drive your family crazy watching dancers at every festival and state fair you go to...this stage may last indefinitely, as you find the funds, time or courage to do something about it.

Stage 2:

I thought this was it. Just one stage ..l;, ..l;,

zumerrad and sumaya hit it on the head. that whole understanding the music finally really makes it click. it's so much more intricate than i ever thought.