Thread: Big drama moves

I'm working on a lesson plan for 'how to choreograph' and I want to give examples of the sort of 'wow' moments that can occur during a dance.

Leaving off Turkish drops & zar head spins because they're outside the scope of this class, here's what I've got so far:

- Big release of built-up energy (like after a really intricate drum or kanoun solo when the music opens up & you finally leave your spot & the audience usually applauds. As if you've been holding them captive until that point and now they're free to respond.)

- Moves that are very simple but totally *in* the music

- Backbends/laybacks (also probably outside the scope of this class

- Floorwork (done well, obviously)

- super-crisp isolations

- Barrel turns (with double veil or wings)

Can you think of any other showy moves that might create high drama/memorable moments during a dancer's performance?

A quick bend down/snap up with hair toss is always nice.

The "cleopatra fall" is a fun way to end a piece or to transition from standing to floorwork. I end my youtube piece with a slow collapse, though it's very effective done fast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oiyNVjE2QU

As simple as it sounds... A big, dramatic hip circle. Diana's right, people really don't do them very often. Especially when you have that split second little pause at the beginning that gets the audience holding their breath, then pull everyone's attention around the circle.

This one might be one of the hardest to do: stop dancing! When a dancer has been dancing like she's got a devil in her, and suddenly she STOPS and poses, pausing for a moment, that is very dramatic because of the contrast.

I'm also a fan of the biiiiiiiig hip circles.

If you're zilling, and mostly playing patterns with 3's, suddenly switching to singles definitely ups the energy.

OMG, that is one hot dance! You are beautiful! I love it

Julie

Your dance was wonderful, a real pleasure to see. Which version of Alf Leyla Wu Leyla were you using, I haven't heard that one before?.

Jahbie

Yes, I'll second (third?) the big hip circle, especially using slow, then rushed timing.

Spins or three-step turns after dancing in one place.

If balancing a sword or cane, pause, then drop into a kneeling position (one leg still bent up in front, not dropping onto both knees) with item still cleverly balanced on head. This is effective because it looks hard to balance, but actually isn't if you keep a nice, upright posture.

And not dramatic, but still attention-grabbing - a pause, then a well-isolated chest lift-drop or tummy pop with an appropriately amused expression. I've seen this get a laugh from many an audience.

Ooo, that was the one I was going to suggest. Looks good on many but spectacular on a long body with long hair and great arms.

For Creating drama, I love the build-up shimmy. It starts small and gradually ends in either the whole body bouncing shimmy (boobs butt and all) or the most exquisite full body tremble/shiver so you just see the dancer's hair vibrating, her outline blur and the audience whooping and hollering from the restrained intensity of it all... sigh

Adding to the big hip circle... you can add a plie to the back of the hip circle to change the level or, for higher drama, drop the head and torso down forward on the back part of the circle and swoop back up. Love that one!!

Great clip, Tamra Henna!

This is a great list, Lauren! How about adding sudden level changes for Shamadan and Sword? You know, like a sudden drop and rise?

Lauren,

You know I'm gonna say this but - DO NOTHING - or at least use a few minutes to stop and do something really drawn out and slow - even just a small, single-hip vertical circle. Or, 8s down really slow and languid for a few measures.

I love this list!

Some of my favorite "shines" involve a kick of the foot. ex: R step, L kick, step back onto L foot and dip body back while reaching up.

OR, Virginia's scissor kicks, reaching up and pulling hands down into a little back bend.

Stops are the best!!!

thanks for all the ideas!

Alimah

Yow!! gorgeous!

Alimah

edited: referring to Tamra Henna's video!

Thank you! It's on a friend's compilation CD - lots of good, fun stuff on it - and of course, the CD has the very distinctive title of Arabian Nights or something like that - when I see her next I'll find out the full info. I have another techno version of Alf Leyla, and I definitely prefer this one better.

I have that CD! The title of it is, indeed, "Arabian Nights." It has so many fun songs on it, including a Russian version of the "Kiss Kiss" song and a techno'ed up version of "Enta Omri."

Tamrahennatx, I heard that song start on your video and I knew I was in for a treat! To top off all that lovely dancing, the drop at the end made me go "WHOA." Bravo!

Thank you both for the info. I'd like to know who the artist is and if it's still around. I have two versions of this tune, one by Jalilah and one by Samir Seroor. Both are instrumental so it would be nice to have one with vocals.


Jahbie

What about that move where you drop down to almost floor level with knees together and upper body straight up, and then "bounce" back up again? I can almost never do it but it certainly gets a strong reaction from the audience (although maybe not for beginners unless they have some serious thigh muscles).
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I love that one, especially with sword! My problem is that I only seem able to do it once in a dance. I think I must have a subconscious fear that I won't be able to get back up if I work my thighs too hard by doing it multiple times.

hahaha... I ended up doing some unplanned floorwork once when I tried to do that twice in one short song!

Anything which changes the tension of the dance. Going from tight, small, internal moves, to something big or with a major level change will do this. Even soemthing as minimal as changing the direction of the energy. (Borrowed for Alvin Ailey's Cry - have your arms in what Sarha calls a mid vee, palms down and with head looking downward. Then just shift so the palms are upward facing, lifting the arms about 6" and turning the face up. When you change the arm/head position, the chest automatically opens. The feeling is that of going from closed to open.)

Ainsely, asimatiyat - I love that move, especially when I am dancing in heels.

{{{HUGS}}}

Oh.. the one I always forget about... face the back and do some stuff there (big figure 8's, arm movements, shimmies, etc). Just remember that posture is even more important when you turn your back to the audience.

These are AWESOME responses!

my two favs have already been mentioned - big hip circle and do nothing - so i'll vote for my secret weapon: combine them. i'll drag out a big hip circle slower and slooower and sloooooooower then stop, and hold hold hold hold, then finish the circle slow or fast depending on the music.

my pal Sa'eeda was wowza-matic in her drum solo at Hipdrop showcase on Wednesday: she was shimmying like mad in the buildup to a big dum, and when the dum hit, she just stopped. then shimmyshimmyshimmy stop.

Yeah... I'm working on a drum solo and was told that my shimmies were good but I needed to vary the intensity with something like a slooow, big hip circle. I tried it and I luv the way it feels.

i love drama (love turkish drops!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), but i hope you emphasize that too many of these moves take away from dance and turn the whole dance into a circus. i see so many american dancers do their whole shows with nothing but circus tricks.
i've been told by a lot of eqyptian style dancers that zar work should never be done in a show, but who knows. andreya of cairo was known in nyc for her morrocan head rolling (it was amazing, i was scared to do it).
good luck!!

Originally Posted by testadmin

I'm working on a lesson plan for 'how to choreograph' and I want to give examples of the sort of 'wow' moments that can occur during a dance.

Leaving off Turkish drops & zar head spins because they're outside the scope of this class, here's what I've got so far:

- Big release of built-up energy (like after a really intricate drum or kanoun solo when the music opens up & you finally leave your spot & the audience usually applauds. As if you've been holding them captive until that point and now they're free to respond.)

- Moves that are very simple but totally *in* the music

- Backbends/laybacks (also probably outside the scope of this class

- Floorwork (done well, obviously)

- super-crisp isolations

- Barrel turns (with double veil or wings)

Can you think of any other showy moves that might create high drama/memorable moments during a dancer's performance?

Originally Posted by shirel

i love drama (love turkish drops!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), but i hope you emphasize that too many of these moves take away from dance and turn the whole dance into a circus. i see so many american dancers do their whole shows with nothing but circus tricks.

This is a good point. I was going to introduce the idea that it's nice for a dance to have a 'focal point,' a 'wow' moment. I intended to cover these as 1/2 of one lesson in a 6-week session on 'how to create a solo dance' so hopefully it'll come across as a very small part of the whole. But it sure won't hurt for me to mention that these moves are the habaneros of the dance -- a bit adds gusto, too much makes it unpalatable.

If I were in the class, I'd love to learn more about how to add accents - a well-timed little kick of the skirt hem, a little sharp lift of the chin, flipping hair out of your face so that it looks like it's part of your dance and not just a distraction....

That's funny: I'm dealing with this specifically in episode two of my (AHEM) video podcast, which I'm editing right now! (Context: choosing how often to repeat an element, based on how dramatic it is.)

From your description, it sounds like you're looking for what I'm classifying as both medium- and high-drama elements. Off the top of my head (the file is on my other computer so I can't double-check right now), here are examples that I'll be mentioning:

Medium-drama:
(repeatable 2-3 times in a routine)
- backbends
- spinning at length
- shimmy w/ strong stage presence & high emotional content
- the drop-to-squat & bounce up
(please be sure to warn your students about this one; I hurt my knee really badly when I did it carelessly)

High-drama:
(typically doable once in a routine)
- backbend with fast figure-8 cane
- turkish drop
- my "cheater's drop" (goes forward, not back, but still looks pretty cool). You can see this at the end of this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHJLK_mA9_Y

I'll be breaking the cheater's drop down in detail in my podcast, but I'm not sure when I'll have that out; editing takes *forever*. When it's ready, you can find it at:
http://taktaba.blogspot.com
or you can subscribe in iTunes, and it'll be automatically downloaded when it's available:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/M...t?id=202283701

Hey Nadira, I just spent the last hour and a half watching your podcasts and you tube videos! You are a wonderful dancer and I enjoyed watching your performances.

I will watch out for your next podcast (wanna see that forward drop broken down!)

Wow, I just checked back in with this thread because I'm teaching this portion of the session tonight. What a terrific collection! I'm going to add a section on Prop Highlights (backbend w/cane, drop or spin while balancing, veil tosses, barrel turns w/veil or wings) as well.

Nadira, I'm off to watch your videos now.

I like the idea of talking about accents as a separate subject, though it may have to wait for another session. The subject of stage fright/feeling comfortable enough to project well onstage came up & took a whole hour of our time, but it was a GREAT hour!