Thread: Instilling a "presence", a "bearing"

On a different thread, Nabila-Nazem said:

All of the dancers and teachers that I know of who studied with [Bobby Farrah] have this ... how can I describe it? ... "bearing." These dancers command presence somehow, on stage or off. Although they tend to be very "stagey" folks to begin with, they seem to have been taught to convey a certain amount of theatricality into their persona no matter who they started off being. They're self-assured and dramatic, larger than life. Whatever quality he managed to instill in these people is hard to articulate but obvious when observed.

I thought it might be interesting for we teachers here on bhuz to explore what, exactly, we should be doing to instill these qualities in our own students. Here are some questions to consider:

• Is this a characteristic that belly dancers "need", or can someone be an excellent dancer without it?
• How do we help our students build a "dancer persona" that comes through even when shopping at the grocery store?
• How do we help students learn to be larger than life when they're on stage?
• At what point in students' dance educations do we begin this? When they're still beginners? When they reach the point where they're starting to perform? When they're in "advanced" classes? Do we use the same classroom exercises at each level, or do we do different things in different levels of classes to achieve it?
• Is this "larger than life" characteristic consistent with dancers in the Middle East (Egyptians, Lebanese, Turkish), or does it bring an "American accent" into the dancer's presentation?

I think you can be extremely subtle and still be larger than life. I don't think it necessarily has to do with how MUCH energy you project, but the way in which you project it. Kind of like the difference between "staring" at someone, and giving someone a "smoldering gaze."

[*]Is this a characteristic that belly dancers "need", or can someone be an excellent dancer without it?

My favorite dancers are able to project their energy and their emotions into ME. My most favorites move and make me actually feel those movements in my own body. This is very vague, but it has more to do with directed energy than any kind of stage "theatrics."

People who have that "Bobby lift" of personality automatically draw your eyes to them. It's hard to look away even when they're just standing there.

We don't HAVE to have it, but I'd sure love to have it.

How do we help our students build a "dancer persona" that comes through even when shopping at the grocery store?

One of my friends does a Bobby exercise with her students. You start by simply walking. Then she tells you to exude a mood. Walk the way an angry person would. Or a shy person. This helps you to actualize what kinds of physical cues we give off that alert people to our mood. Once you are aware of those cues and characteristics, you can use that awareness to change the emotional texture of a movement. Then you can pick out in your music the various ways of emotionally interpreting it.

Suhaila has you use music that you have a strong emotional response to, that isn't belly dance music. You identify what in the music causes you to have that reaction and then look at belly dance music for similar feelings.

Some teachers I've worked with have used acting techniques, but this is the kind of thing that really needs to be studied a long time and the concepts fully internalized before you can ever actually see them in performance.

Maybe affirmations? Actors tell you, Pick a myth and live it. You're a character -- think of walking and moving like that character. Or your character is dancer?

Personally I don't exude the character of dancer when I'm at the grocery. I know actors who aren't ON when they're shopping either. I'm not sure it's totally necessary to be 100% DANCER 24/7. Having confidence and being self-assured -- now THAT can be a 24/7 activity!

How do we help students learn to be larger than life when they're on stage?

Aziza Said posted some great advice once. She said when you hear the music, to conjure up a visual image of where you are when you hear that music. What does the air smell like? What colors do you see? Etc. You aren't just hearing the music -- you are creating an entire universe around it.

To me, the first step is active and dynamic posture. Stand as though energy is running through your spine, constantly moving. Practice posing with that energy. Then practice moving with it.

cont

At what point in students' dance educations do we begin this? When they're still beginners?

I start with beginners. Active and dynamic posture, moving with intent -- it's a lot more fun to dance like this. Lately, I've really focused on making them FEEL the energy behind the movement, and my students seem to really enjoy this approach.

Do we use the same classroom exercises at each level, or do we do different things in different levels of classes to achieve it?

I think we can start with simple textural exercises and build them up, once the students are comfortable with the music and the movements, to working on more complicated exercises for performance. But I think back to beginner ballet classes, and you always start with a barre "attitude" and working on dynamic alignment, even when you're 8 years old.

Is this "larger than life" characteristic consistent with dancers in the Middle East (Egyptians, Lebanese, Turkish), or does it bring an "American accent" into the dancer's presentation?

Fifi and Nagwa stand out to me as being "theatrically" larger than life, but then I've been moved just by watching something so small and subtle as a shoulder turn by Samia Gamal, or a head roll by Tulay Caraca.

There's larger than life and then there's "flamboyant" but I wouldn't say either one is particularly "American."

Great topic. Hmmmm must ponder, but briefly, yes, must have to be "excellent".
Doesn't mean "large" or "flamboyant" to me, but more along the lines of charismatic, magnetic, present. Transcends borders.
And can definitely start teaching early on, dance with intent.

Part one:
I think it is very importnat to instil the idea of a 'dance persona' for students. It doesn't have to be a certain persona; so many well known dancers are well known for individual aspect of their personality that shine through. I think as instructors of belly dance, we have to realise how important personality is to our dance and acurately incorporate that into our lessons.

One of my first instructors would say belly dance is 'a lotta technique, but more heart and even more soul' It sounds uber cheesy but it's so true :D In a typical performance, we have less than half an hour to: make people like us, convince them we know what we're doing but aren't having too much trouble doing it even though it's obviously complex or amazing, then convince them what we do is valid, then make sure they understand we like what we do and are deeply into it, then try to make them understand that they too should like what we do and be into it, AND be entertaining AND embody the music to the point of translating its very purpose and intent--all with a smile. This, in my opinion is impossible to do without personality and without a dance persona.

I would say that it's even important for those students who aren't interested in dancing professionally some day--it's such an important part of the dance that to truly learn the dance IMO, you have to learn to dance what you feel and you have to encorporate persona.

What I like to do for my students is to make em walk. Sounds simple enough but it really works. On the first day of classes (heehee) I line them up and have them walk to me to music--no extra movements, just walking. It takes about 5 minutes out of class but they (eventually) enjoy it and it improves their individuality and stage power. I slowly allow them to add in simple movements, but we stick to the same rules--walk and try and look at me the whole time. Simple simple, but by the end of a session of classes, they sort of create something uniquely them in their walk. Once the walk is no longer a challenge, we do improv circles that incorporate the same idea. I think the hardest part of teaching persona is to make sure students learn a persona that is Theirs and not Yours. In my more advances classes, we focus on pulling out rhythms, beats, accents, melodies, etc that compliment or express their personality and then adding moves to express this.

I find improv/walking/music searching/etc encourages individual molding. There is also a heck of a lot of support in that sort of environment--because every other student is doing the same thing. With all that support swirling around, it ususally mixes with confidence, and it's been my experience that when something makes a student confident, they tend to carry it with them--even outside of class.

Part Two:

I think the idea of a dance persona in belly dance is universal, I do think that certain characteristics tend to favor certain areas. IE, in American belly dance the idea may be 'BIG' and 'HERE I AM', where as in other areas, the idea may be 'suttle' and 'why of course I'm here'

The main point is that personality/persona needs to be there from day one. Mind you, this philosophy may cause you to lose a few students, but then again so will over-emphasizing technique or talking about history or being in an economic crisis :D Still,I sorta kinda think that if key ingredients such as 'persona' are left out, it just doesn't work. There is nothing harder for an advanced student than having to go back and re-learn or completely learn something they should have learned years ago.

On a related note, here's another question to ponder: How can a teacher who suspects she's not larger than life today develop that quality in herself if she doesn't have a mentor to help her find it?

Is it possible for somebody who lacks this quality to teach it using techniques suggested by participants in this thread? Can you teach what you don't personally possess?

Originally Posted by *Shira*

Is this a characteristic that belly dancers "need", or can someone be an excellent dancer without it?

I think of this as being two separate qualities. You can be an excellent technical dancer without having great stage presence that oozes personality and commands attention. You can have great stage presence without being a very good technical dancer. I believe a performer is born with certain kernels of magic that develop into these traits. With proper training, you can maximize what you're born with, but some folks just have more "it" than others. Maybe the issue is not that Bobby "made his dancers big," but rather students seeking "big" gravitated to him.

How do we help our students build a "dancer persona" that comes through even when shopping at the grocery store?

Why do we want to? Robert De Niro's ability to play a great Mafia don doesn't have to come through when he's at Starbucks. Some people have naturally larger, brasher personalities than others, but entertainers who have no sense of how or when to "turn it off" are usually indicative of people who have poor boundaries or deep-seated emotional issues. The GP has a lot of misconceptions about us, and I'm afraid this idea would encourage more dancers to draw negative attention to a field the public already imagines is dominated by self-absorbed, flaky, sexpot weirdos. Isn't the fight to make them understand we are normal people with an interest in something no one should be ashamed of, not to channel Charlie Sheen in bedlah in the produce department? Part of the responsibility of being a performer is realizing there is a time for being larger than life and the center of attention, and also there is a time for putting the bushel basket back over your light.

How do we help students learn to be larger than life when they're on stage?

Hmm...first, most of the teachers who are already teaching have to figure out how to do it themselves...

(Too many questions for one post)

At what point in students' dance educations do we begin this? When they're still beginners? When they reach the point where they're starting to perform? When they're in "advanced" classes?

I don't think it has to be in the first six months, but it should probably start working its way into the curriculum by the advanced beginner/low intermediate level. I guess I'd like to see it start before students begin presenting themselves as soloists.

Do we use the same classroom exercises at each level, or do we do different things in different levels of classes to achieve it?

I don't know. I think you can only develop what's inherently there. I'm not sure if the critical factor is the increasing complexity of exercises or the repeated application of simple exercises.

Is this "larger than life" characteristic consistent with dancers in the Middle East (Egyptians, Lebanese, Turkish),

To some extent, I think each culture values its own set of qualities in their performers. Katy Perry is sassy and flirtatious in a different way than Dina is, but is that more because of individual personality or culture?

or does it bring an "American accent" into the dancer's presentation?

If the object is to bring your personality into full bloom, then it may not make sense to try to completely divorce from your roots, even if that means you are left with an "accent." Usually as dancers, our role is not to create a separate character like an actor does. Our performances are almost always defined in first person.

In response to Shira's second posted question:

That's a hard one. I do think that generally with anything, it is hard to teach it if you dont know how to do it yourself. But I do think it is possible to introduce this idea even if you as a teacher don't have it down. As long as you can observe persona and if you can recognise if someone is gaining individualism/persona/emotional connecting when they dance.

Maybe it would be simpler to teach if you can do it yourself, and certainly teaching it in greater detail would be possible, but to introduce the idea, I think can be done with little knowledge. I also think that a teacher can grow along side her students, IE learn to find her persona as they learn theirs. (as it is fully possible to have a great persona and not great technique, it is also possible to have awesome technique and work towards awesome persona).

Originally Posted by *Shira*

On a related note, here's another question to ponder: How can a teacher who suspects she's not larger than life today develop that quality in herself if she doesn't have a mentor to help her find it?

Sometimes I am afraid what passes for "developing that quality" is not so much the product of rigorous theatrical improvement, but more like the "When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple" effect. As women age, many of them get less self-conscious and more interested in doing what they please, regardless of what others say and think. Certainly the ability to not stew in a running mental commentary about what you are doing wrong and what other people think of you is a big component of being "larger than life" in performance, but this is kind of a lazy way of achieving it.

Is it possible for somebody who lacks this quality to teach it using techniques suggested by participants in this thread? Can you teach what you don't personally possess?

Part of me wants to say that anyone could read a Delsarte book to a class, and it's a personal journey, so how does someone else guide you to a more honest expression of what you feel? Part of me also thinks that most people who don't know, can't teach. I suppose the Sherpa doesn't climb the mountain for you, but it's hard to make it to the summit without a knowledgeable guide.

Originally Posted by *Shira*

Can you teach what you don't personally possess?

I think you can, as long as you realize what exactly it is that you don't have a firm grasp on. Of course, it's something you might not even realize unless you have a mentor, or a really great ability to watch video of yourself while putting yourself in the shoes of somebody else. Once you realize it though, I think it is possible, though it may take some creative thinking and problem solving to figure out how to teach it effectively.

This very thread is something I'm currently working on for myself and it did take a mentor (or two) to point it out to me. Now I think it's such a big piece I've been missing all this time that I'm currently brainstorming on drills I can work on with my students. I've tried things in the past such as dancing with different emotions and personas, but I never made them a regular routine.

I'm interested to see what other ideas people come up with, and I'm excited to work on these myself along with my students.

I don't have a whole lot to contribute. I don't think having that dynamism off stage should be a *goal*, but do something enough times, or devote enough of your life to it, and you're going to see it in your everyday life too- just like the posture and grace which you just can't hide, once you've committed to moving a certain way.

This is something we work on at all levels. I use the walking with a certain feeling/personality exercise too. I think it really helps people understand the mood of different pieces of music too. When I think of stage presence and general bearing, I think it comes from really being committed to the role you are playing at the moment. That doesn't have to be some fantasy story you tell yourself to get in the right mood (tho it can be!) It can be as simple as saying "right now, I am a dancer. I am the physical embodiment of this music." I may carry myself differently when I put on my role of mother, or Sunday School teacher, etc. but knowing how to commit to a role in dance has given me a greater self confidence and ability to commit to my other roles as well.

Another exercise I really like is to limit your movements and find a way to make them expressive anyway. So, you've learned how to put a mood into your walk? Great. now find how to put a mood into an arm roll. into a hip lift. into a finger flick. into an eyebrow raise. Then let 2 parts play with each other. How can you express the mood with one arm and your head? with one arm and the opposing leg? I'm not entirely sure I'm there yet, but I'm aiming for the day I can stand there and perfectly express what I am trying to express. If you are totally dependent on one eyebrow to communicate the essence of the music, you'd better believe you learn to commit with that eyebrow!

Can you teach it if you don't have it? I agree that you can learn with your students, but you'd better be a couple steps ahead and have a darn good idea of exactly *what* you are teaching and what good methods are! I am grateful to my first students for putting up with me as I learned the ropes as a teacher- but I still regret that they didn't have then the teacher I am now.

And I look forward to other suggestions on how to teach this. Sometimes it is hard to resist just screaming "commit!" at my students! I often resort to intense imagery to help them understand the level of energy & intensity I want from a piece (telling them to pretend they just clawed their way out of the deepest pit of hell seemed to work for one piece )

Originally Posted by *Shira*

On a different thread, Nabila-Nazem said:[*]Is this "larger than life" characteristic consistent with dancers in the Middle East (Egyptians, Lebanese, Turkish), or does it bring an "American accent" into the dancer's presentation?[/list]

Shira,
I think it may definitely bring an "American accent" (very well-put, BTW) to the non-MEern dancer. Most dancers over there are not Dina, Nagwa, or whoever. Just as most actresses here are not Elizabeth Taylor or some larger-than-life personality. They have lives and frequently other careers to live. It is nice to have a stage presence but a lot of MEern audiences and dancers snicker behind the scenes over the dramatics that American and Eastern European dancers seem to indulge in. Just an opinion. The fact that you question it shows good insight.

A lot of this "presence" or "bearing" is theatrical technique: exaggerated upper body lift; upper body extended toward the audience; openness of the throat area; opening up the face; etc. It can definitely be taught, and can give the illusion of great confidence on stage whether the dancer feels that way or not.

Farrah dancers tend to raise the chin more so than other dancers, too, apparently. When I first met Dahlena years ago at a workshop, I introduced myself and told her I studied with Bobby. She said that she had known that I was a Bobby student when I walked through the door, because my face was "in the air."

Oh, and I teach simplified versions of this stage dynamics technique starting at the beginner level.

Originally Posted by bintbeled

Oh, and I teach simplified versions of this stage dynamics technique starting at the beginner level.

Me, too.

I slip it in several times each lesson, in various ways, so they start to think in those terms while they're still trying to figure out that thing we're doing with our hips . . . . I know it doesn't *stick* at first, and maybe not for a long while, but I hope that one day a student will see how the technique and the dynamics of stage work go together. Awesome when it does!

Deborah

Originally Posted by *Shira*

On a related note, here's another question to ponder: How can a teacher who suspects she's not larger than life today develop that quality in herself if she doesn't have a mentor to help her find it?

Is it possible for somebody who lacks this quality to teach it using techniques suggested by participants in this thread? Can you teach what you don't personally possess?

This is an interesting question.

I would think, a GOOD ENOUGH teacher, a really great teacher, might be able to teach something she herself can't do.

But, it would be difficult -

On the other hand it is also difficult to teach what you do know and can do!

I would think, the ability to become "other," to transform in the dance, is a vital part of performance art.

It's also not something that we stop learning throughout time, in fact, as we age it might be even more necessary to project. We must project something that isn't there anymore, example, youth & beauty - something many people associate with dance, any dance.

So the dancer's craft becomes in large part an actor's craft.

I think I disagree with the idea that the dancer persona is something we take to the store. There has to be a line between She Who Flies On The Stage and She Who Shleps To The Store - for a number of reasons.

One of those is psychological. It is flat out impossible to become, on a daily basis, this glorious creature we create under the lights. People go nuts trying, literally, nuts - many performers crash and burn trying to maintain the edge, the high, the glamor of who they are and what they experience while performing.

There's a practical reason too - it's important in daily life to blend in, to just be a person.

That said, body language, bearing, confidence - the dance and performance technique can improve all of those, so that we are more confident and proud in our daily lives as well as on stage.

But - the two aren't the same. The performer performing is something other, even if, over the course of a lifetime, the two personae - dance & woman - may start to blend and overlap.

That can be a very positive thing - but - it can also be very confusing if it happens too fast. I have run into this and I've had students encounter it too - suddenly blossoming in one realm, rapidly blooming offstage as well and then running into the fact that one doesn't know how to handle being this new, lovely creature.

By the same token one might express evil, darkness, something wild onstage -

do we really want to take that offstage?

We can and some of us do - it has consequences.

Dancers often deal with archetypes, powerful imagery and emotional expressions, ideals that are not always kind and gentle - learning to manage all these aspects of our persona/personality or should I say personae/personalities - can be a daunting challenge.

There's a lot to this. It isn't all positive and it can be unsettling.

Originally Posted by NiamhODonnell

Shira,
I think it may definitely bring an "American accent" (very well-put, BTW) to the non-MEern dancer. Most dancers over there are not Dina, Nagwa, or whoever. Just as most actresses here are not Elizabeth Taylor or some larger-than-life personality. They have lives and frequently other careers to live. It is nice to have a stage presence but a lot of MEern audiences and dancers snicker behind the scenes over the dramatics that American and Eastern European dancers seem to indulge in. Just an opinion. The fact that you question it shows good insight.

Really? Nadia Gamal had an extremely dramatic presence, so do most - MOST - Flamenco dancers. Many strong oriental dancers are dramatic and no they aren't all American or European.

I don't think it's "indulgent" to feel and express the music and/or emotion from within or coming from the music or a moment that's created by a choreographer or something - el duende - transient yet transformative that flickers into a live performance.

With respect, perhaps your comment reflects a sad attitude on the part of people who don't necessarily regard oriental dance as art, or dancers as artists.

Therefore maybe they snicker.

That's their problem.

Can we teach what we dont possess? that's a good question.

I need to ponder on that one a little longer.

PS initial thoughts.. we need to establish what is simply 'hidden' and needs drawing out and what just isnt there..

Originally Posted by caroline_afifi

Can we teach what we dont possess? that's a good question.

I need to ponder on that one a little longer.

PS initial thoughts.. we need to establish what is simply 'hidden' and needs drawing out and what just isnt there..

True. That's a point of discussion in itself! What is innate (in anything) & what can be taught/learned (in anything).
Seeds vs planting?
Stage presence in theater, as Latifa referenced in post #15 , is routinely taught using fairly specific sets of concepts. It is my belief that some of these teachers and coaches do not have "star" quality themselves (some do), but have taught many "stars:, & cultivated the qualities to enhance that "presence". That's the mark of a gifted teacher.
My opinion is that Bellydance presented as performance doesn't have separate rules from any other performing art. (meant in non snarky way).

On the note of "grocery store stars", in 100% agreement with Sophia in post #18 that it is necessary to separate. The few "famous" or star quality people that I am acquainted with - look like anyone else in everyday life. Most definitely do not wish to carry that persona everywhere.

Lastly, our concepts of what is that "presence" will vary widely too.

Originally Posted by bintbeled

Oh, and I teach simplified versions of this stage dynamics technique starting at the beginner level.

Absolutely!

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

. . . . Charlie Sheen in bedlah in the produce department . . . .

Winning!

I think there's a difference between a overly dramatic flamboyant (and possibly un-Middle Eastern) style and having a strong presence on-stage and we shouldn't confuse the two.

I took a private lesson very recently on having a stronger stage presence. To demonstrate some of the things that she was teaching me, the teacher walked slowly and subtle towards me in a way that made me feel like a deer in headlights. I couldn't look away, I was absolutely paralyzed. And the room was large and she is a very small person, but she absolutely took the entire room over. Yet all she was doing was walking.

This is what I consider this thread's subject to be about, and it's what I'm seeking for myself. After hearing "You're a great technical dancer, but..." or "You have got great musicality, but...", and then "there's something missing." This is what I feel was missing, and the more I think about it and practice achieving it, the more I see it in other dancers and it explains so much of the "there's something missing" aspect.

Originally Posted by SidoniaOfNashville

I think there's a difference between a overly dramatic flamboyant (and possibly un-Middle Eastern) style and having a strong presence on-stage and we shouldn't confuse the two.

I took a private lesson very recently on having a stronger stage presence. To demonstrate some of the things that she was teaching me, the teacher walked slowly and subtle towards me in a way that made me feel like a deer in headlights. I couldn't look away, I was absolutely paralyzed. And the room was large and she is a very small person, but she absolutely took the entire room over. Yet all she was doing was walking.

This is what I consider this thread's subject to be about, and it's what I'm seeking for myself. After hearing "You're a great technical dancer, but..." or "You have got great musicality, but...", and then "there's something missing." This is what I feel was missing, and the more I think about it and practice achieving it, the more I see it in other dancers and it explains so much of the "there's something missing" aspect.

Nice description of "it" !

Ok on a practical level:

Posture maybe #1.

Breathing - you can't dance let alone act if you are dying up there.

Confidence. You don't have to do very much if you are sure of yourself and feel comfortable on stage.

Note: this is the exact opposite of flamboyance. Somehow people are mixing up presence and the ability to express emotion with flamboyance. They aren't the same thing at all!

Not that flamboyance is necessarily wrong and/or inauthentic - there are Turkish and Flamenco styles and even some Egyptian stuff, with the cane etc, that are quite flamboyant - but - just to clarify -

So: how do we turn these ideas into action? We can teach posture, presence, inner calm, breathing, confidence in class but only performance experience will really make it all come together.

Therefore, teachers probably have to arrange for performance opportunities - past a certain point, it's all academic until it's out there onstage, in front of people.

Note: most students will never get to this point and probably don't want to; hence, the discussions we've had about performance track vs fun, fitness etc.

But, I think Dance Persona should be taught right from the start anyway, since these concepts (posture, breathing, inner calm, confidence) are also a part of good technique.

And - two other concepts - both important also: music interpretation and personal expression - this = what do you want to say? Without that, there is zip.

Ideas?

Originally Posted by Elibelinde

Really? Nadia Gamal had an extremely dramatic presence, so do most - MOST - Flamenco dancers. Many strong oriental dancers are dramatic and no they aren't all American or European.

I don't think it's "indulgent" to feel and express the music and/or emotion from within or coming from the music or a moment that's created by a choreographer or something - el duende - transient yet transformative that flickers into a live performance.

With respect, perhaps your comment reflects a sad attitude on the part of people who don't necessarily regard oriental dance as art, or dancers as artists.

Therefore maybe they snicker.

That's their problem.

I think maybe I oversimplified my point of view, but I stand by it. The presence of a dancer should be parallel to her standing as a dancer. It is wonderful to see the emotion of a skilled dancer as it comes through her bearing and the exquisite simplicity of her movements. Not so pretty to see fledgling dancers fling themselves about with exaggerated facial expressions and athetoid arm movements. This is what I used to do and I cringe to think about it, so please don't think I am criticizing others. Now I speak Arabic, understand the music and culture better, and my dancing is much simpler. And audiences like it more even though I am putting less effort into it.

Originally Posted by Elibelinde

Breathing - you can't dance let alone act if you are dying up there.

Since you brought it up, let's use breathing of an example of something that can be addressed as a mechanical issue, a theatrical issue, and a demonstration of sublime talent.

I had been dancing about a year before someone mentioned breathing to me beyond, "Don't forget to do it during the hip drills, so you don't get a stitch in your side." Clearly this is working at the mechanical level. Your body needs oxygen to dance properly. The second workshop I attended, the teacher, Mesmera taught an exercise where you breathed in as you lifted your arms and exhaled as you lowered them. Nobody had pointed out how such a small change could affect movement to me before. Perhaps if I had taken previous dance classes, I would have already been aware of this. Some people are naturally able to recognize that this is something you do. For me, it was like being in freshman art class and having the teacher explain that you drew what you saw, not what you knew was there. It was a revelation.

A few years later, I was talking to my teacher (a different dancer) about Mesmera's workshop and breathing into movement, and how this had been such a "light bulb moment" for me. She replied. "Of course. Everybody knows that." ...At which point it was hard to bite my tongue and not say, "Well, then why don't you teach it? You've never done any drill like that in class. Other students here who didn't take that workshop probably don't know it. It's not THAT obvious."

It is that obvious to naturally great dancers, and people who are so attuned to their music and so comfortable as performers that they can sigh with the singer and add that little hitch in their breath as the music changes emotion. Everybody else? Not so much. This knowledge expedites the process of being a soulful performer. It's still possible to be inhaling and exhaling, flapping your arms about and looking klutzy. Muscle tension and body lines are part of bringing the movement to life, too. And when teachers don't tell students, for all but the great natural talents and the ones with years of previous dance training, you are dooming them to a long process of trial and error where they can't quite figure out what they're not doing right.

Everybody comes to class knowing how to get oxygen into their lungs. First they need to understand that breathing is part of the dance. Then they need to learn how to use their breathing to manifest emotion in personal and expressive ways.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

A few years later, I was talking to my teacher (a different dancer) about Mesmera's workshop and breathing into movement, and how this had been such a "light bulb moment" for me. She replied. "Of course. Everybody knows that." ...At which point it was hard to bite my tongue and not say, "Well, then why don't you teach it? You've never done any drill like that in class.

I wish you would have told her that!

Yoga classes can help people learn to breathe with intention. It's one of the reasons I think yoga is useful cross-training for belly dancers.

For those reading this thread who would like to learn about the use of breathing in dance, Eva Cernik does an interesting job of incorporating breathing techniques into her workshops, and Ranya Renee teaches workshops dedicated to this subject.

Originally Posted by *Shira*

I wish you would have told her that!

Yoga classes can help people learn to breathe with intention. It's one of the reasons I think yoga is useful cross-training for belly dancers.

For those reading this thread who would like to learn about the use of breathing in dance, Eva Cernik does an interesting job of incorporating breathing techniques into her workshops, and Ranya Renee teaches workshops dedicated to this subject.

i for one need it specifically related to dance. in my brain yoga breathing is tucked into the file cabinet under "exhale while you stretch, do-do-dot-doo-do-do-doo" (to the tune of "whistle while you work" ^_^)