Thread: Most creative explanations for dance moves...

Originally Posted by phillyraqs

Momo Kadous describes one movement as a banana - it is a vertical figure eight on one hip, either with the foot on the ground, or you can let it go to trace the figure eight on the floor.

However, in the workshop I was in, he's doing the move over and over (with no description, of course, just follow his little tush!) and saying "Bananabananabananabanana" over and over. And we were all having a tough time understanding him and saying "flower?" "bread?" "huh?"

How this move relates to a banana, I have no idea, but I can still walk up to anyone in that workshop, years later, and say "banana?" and they instantly crack up.

(PS I love Momo, don't get me wrong, and that was a great workshop, but I can't think about naming moves with out saying "bananabananabananbanana" to myself and laughing.)

Yes he said it at a workshop and I went WHAT??? Did he just say BANANA? What'll be next? I need a Momo-translator! ..l;,

My cute Turkish teacher explained basic posture like this:

Door is shut (contract lower abs so pelvis is in neutral position)
but the window is open...
(chest is lifted)
so the sunshine can come in!
(and she said this with a big joyful smile - that's also an important part of basic posture..g.:)

I thought that was very nice because I always have to smile when I think about this!,r:;

Cute descriptions!
Credit to Old skool: typewriter or eating corn on cob for chest slides w small drops.

Originally Posted by TexasRuya

Zombie thread!

It's not a zombie thread--it's an early second birthday party!

Here's one I haven't seen yet...When I lived in the South, I heard alternating large and small undulations (camels) with a level change called "C Cup, A Cup." (Big chest circle, little chest circle,...)

Originally Posted by aamel_MirahAmmal

One of my favorites was a combination that a group of my beginners came up with based on goofy move descriptions I'd used in class.

I described the horizontal figure 8 in part as "now imagine you're stuck in a giant round vat of icecream with icecream scoops on each hip...scoop from front to back on one side, slide through the center, scoop on the other..."

I am sooooo stealing this! It's a fantastic visual and I think it's gonna work!

Thanks for sharing!

Deborah

Originally Posted by laura 2

When teaching the top half of a camel (old skool AbCab version, not an Egyptian style undulation), I tell the student to pretend there is a bowl of whipped cream just in front of their bust. They are to then reach forward with the chest and scoop the whipped cream into the front of their bra, then lift up and out of the bowl. While it works really well to illustrate how you should not bend at the waist, it never fails to generate a lot of giggles.

To describe keeping movement vertical, I used the squeezed between two wall image for a long time. But I shamelessly ripped off another anology from my daughter's dance teacher that works even better - pretend you are in the slot of a toaster. There's something about the mental image of the hot coils in front and back that makes keeping the move vertical as possible seem like a really good idea.

These are great, too!

How did I miss this thread the first time around???

Anyway, similar to Laura 2's whipped cream idea, my mom has used (and I now use, of course) the "scooping sand" approach. Just pretend you're laying (lying?) on the beach and scooping the sand up into your bathing suit top. Then I demo a gigantic version of it. Gets a laugh every time.

Deborah

Originally Posted by lunascura

My troupe has a move that we call "Gotta pee!"

Let's see if I can describe this movement...

You lift one hip up from the back and drop it down in the front, making an upside down U shape with the hip. When you drop the hip in the front, your knees pull together slightly. Then you lift the hip up, circle that leg backward with a ronde de jambe and step backward onto that foot. Then you repeat the same with the other side. The "Gotta pee!" comes from moving your knees in toward each other when you drop your hip/pelvis in the front.

And the syllables of Gotta Pee roughly match the pace of the movement...

I've finally reached the point where I no longer giggle when we are practicing and I call out "Gotta pee! Gotta pee!" to remind my new troupe members of the upcoming moves.

I learned this as a San Franciscan ..g.: No idea where the name came from though...

So as a teacher I get a little fussy about trying to find positive visualizations for movements. I've definitely heard the 'throw up' or 'cat with a hairball' comparison for a body roll (upward moving undulation), but I'd be horrified if a dancer (especially one of my students!) made the face that went with that visual! Maybe it's just me, because I live in what I like to call a 'glass face'. If I'm thinking it, you can best bet it's written all over my face for all to read ,r:; For undulations I have them visualize a ball of light. They scoop it up with their pelvis, draw it up into their belly, grab it at the back of their shoulder blades and lift it onto their chest. Then swallow it back down and gently release it into the earth. Maybe sounds kinda froofy, but at least no one's making acid indigestion faces ..c::

One of my favorites from when I was a student was when my instructor was trying to impress upon us why an Arabic II step with a camel was NOT supposed to involve the pelvis in the undulation. She grabbed a hold of her bum with both hands and proceeded to do this very fast, very exaggerated camel layered with the Arabic II step (flat, ball, ball) and crow like a peacock! ..l;, I hope I learned the lesson- I certainly haven't forgotten it!

saqra has the best names for zil patterns...the one that stuck forever in my mind is for a short masmoodi (123 123 1234567) gotta dance, gotta dance, got a chicken in my pants

oh yeah and "i could eat a jelly donut for my lunch, but i won't" which is a roll with a hiccup (rlrlrlrlrlr rlr) hehe

Originally Posted by jawahir

oh yeah and "i could eat a jelly donut for my lunch, but i won't" which is a roll with a hiccup (rlrlrlrlrlr rlr) hehe

reminds me of the world dance NY dvd, i can't remember which one, where she is talking about emotion "i want the pizza, but i shouldn't...... he doesn't need that french fry, i need that french fry..... but i cant!"

Originally Posted by jawahir

saqra has the best names for zil patterns...the one that stuck forever in my mind is for a short masmoodi (123 123 1234567) gotta dance, gotta dance, got a chicken in my pants

Ooh! My current dance goals revolve around building my comfort level with zils. Keep the goofy zil pattern mantras coming! ..g.:

Originally Posted by raqFariha

reminds me of the world dance NY dvd, i can't remember which one, where she is talking about emotion "i want the pizza, but i shouldn't...... he doesn't need that french fry, i need that french fry..... but i cant!"

Opulent Motion with Sarah Skinner. It was fun watching you laugh in the middle of the computer lab at something no one else could hear ..l;,

Originally Posted by jawahir

saqra has the best names for zil patterns...the one that stuck forever in my mind is for a short masmoodi (123 123 1234567) gotta dance, gotta dance, got a chicken in my pants

This is awesome! ..l;,..l;,

It is amazing how many of you are using similar metaphors to me and each other: scooping and melting ice cream, writing utensils attached to various body parts, bowls and cups spilling or not spilling various liquids. I have my own variations on these themes, but some pretty similar stuff.

I've found lately I don't typically revert to my kooky descriptions until after I've tried to break down in the which muscles to use approach. But I find I can be very in the moment with my metaphors when they arrive. I have to admit I had one get away from me yesterday, somehow we ended up hitchhiking on a space ship performing for our lives to the ruling members of a tri-gendered race. Then I thought about it and I realized...what?

Originally Posted by shems

It is amazing how many of you are using similar metaphors to me and each other: scooping and melting ice cream, writing utensils attached to various body parts, bowls and cups spilling or not spilling various liquids. I have my own variations on these themes, but some pretty similar stuff.

I've found lately I don't typically revert to my kooky descriptions until after I've tried to break down in the which muscles to use approach. But I find I can be very in the moment with my metaphors when they arrive. I have to admit I had one get away from me yesterday, somehow we ended up hitchhiking on a space ship performing for our lives to the ruling members of a tri-gendered race. Then I thought about it and I realized...what?

..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,

Originally Posted by Glindella

Opulent Motion with Sarah Skinner. It was fun watching you laugh in the middle of the computer lab at something no one else could hear ..l;,

hehehhe, it's good for them to wonder ^_~

Originally Posted by tigerb

My teacher has a load of "code phrases" that we instantly understand, but must sound bonkers to an outsider:

"How's Oscar?" When she initially teaches neutral pelvis, she likens the pelvis to a fishbowl. Oscar the fish lives there. If you forget to engage your abs, the fisbowl spills the water and Oscar gets out. (And tucking too hard spills him out in back.) So "How's Oscar?" means "is your pelvis neutral and your abs engaged?"

"Slide the butter dish." When she teaches a hip slide, she explains that you want the butter dish to stay on the table when you move it -- don't tip it up or down. So you slide the butter dish to the right or left.

"Big tray of cookies" -- Particularly for the non-dancers in the beginner class. They never know where to put their arms. So she tells them they've got a gigantic tray of cookies for all their friends and to hold it as they walk across the floor. If someone's arms come too far forward, she'll say, "More cookies! More cookies!" For closing arms in a slow turn, she'll go to "hug a big tree," and for faster turns "hug a little tree."

Greetings, tigerb!

Aww, I miss Mona!! (I've gotta love that I'm five states away from you, but I could tell right away that you and I had the same teacher.) Those are definitely some of her classics!

She also used some of the more typical metaphors: being in the slot of a giant toaster for moves in the vertical plane, keeping an orange under each armpit when framing our hips, and "making nice to the wall" in front or back for various undulations/body waves.

I also use her explanations when contrasting different styles of walking for beginners. First, we walk normally (heel first) as if we're in the grocery store. Then, we walk like cats, ball of the foot first. Next, we add a bit of jazz walk technique, pressing forward the shoulder opposite from the foot that is stepping. Finally, to maximize the sensuousness in our movement and expressions, Mona would tell us to think about our feet "making love to the floor".

Then there's the warm-up movement where we would trace the inside of an ice cream cone with the part of our torso from the solar plexus up, or from the belly button up. The whole time, it helps if you imagine that you are embedded in concrete up to your solar plexus or belly button. That transfers to any upper body isolations, too, if you think about being embedded in concrete up to your hips, but leaving the abdomen, chest, etc. free to move.

Finally, it's not so much an explanation, but a demonstration: when teaching hip slides back, Mona would come up behind each student, place her hands on the student's hips, and pull directly back. Most students automatically assume the correct posture when you do this, with abs engaged and back straight. However, getting them to be able to assume this posture on their own later is a lot trickier, so I'm definitely going to be trying the "don't spill your drink" tray metaphor next!!

Thanks for the explanations, everyone. Please keep them coming!!

When I can manage the drive I take classes from Eva Cernik and she has some pretty fun zil pattern sayings too (what I dub mantras). The one that I recall at the moment is "Shave and a hair cut". Do I remember what rhythm that's supposed to be? Nope. But can I play it? Heck ya! ,r:; My zil skills are in need of TLC for sure ..l;,

Oh, how I love analogies! These are great!

The ones I use most often are:
Hip circles: pencils on the hips drawing circles on the floor
Snake arms: Balloon inflating with air under your arm, then push it down with your elbow to deflate it
Upper camels: Scooping ice cream into your bra
Headslides: frankenstein bolts on your neck being pulled from side to side
Wrist circles: mixing pudding with your hands
Shoulder shimmies: one balloon in front of (or behind) each shoulder, bat them out of the way

For various sliding isolations I often say "There's a string attached to your X, and it's pulling in X direction".

Originally Posted by theesfield

hmmm...if I had Crayons on my nipples, I more the likely will be drawing lines closer to the floor than on the wall ,f::

Nilaja

OMG I totally understand ..l;,

Originally Posted by nasila

Did no one mention the Big Butt Wipe? It's PF's description for a large hip circle...like you're swiping your arse along the wall behind you. Never fails to make me laugh!! ..l;,

I also like Zahra's "wag your tail" though I have no idea what the move is really supposed to be called...if it even has another name?!

I call that the Fanny Fly-by (American definition of the word "fanny" - not British). It never fails to get giggles.

I also use the crayons on the nipples for ribcage movements, and tell students to hold the crayon with their kegel muscles and draw on the floor for circles and flat figure 8's.

Originally Posted by tamrahennatx

I call that the Fanny Fly-by (American definition of the word "fanny" - not British).

I nearly plotzed when a friend from Scotland told me what "fanny" means over there. Straight-up C-word.

Fanny means the same here in Australia. You can imagine the laughs when we hear someone say "Fanny Pack"

and tell students to hold the crayon with their kegel muscles and draw on the floor for circles and flat figure 8's

They'd have a massively dropped pelvis in that case. Well, unless I have a particularly strange vagina, which I don't.

Originally Posted by zumarrad

They'd have a massively dropped pelvis in that case. Well, unless I have a particularly strange vagina, which I don't.

So how would you describe it? I want them to visualize drawing the circle internally, not outward from the hips. I'd prefer a small circle that rotates around the core to a circle traced from the outsides of the hip bones. When I visualize this, it causes me to tuck a smidge, rather than release.

Originally Posted by tamrahennatx

So how would you describe it? I want them to visualize drawing the circle internally, not outward from the hips. I'd prefer a small circle that rotates around the core to a circle traced from the outsides of the hip bones. When I visualize this, it causes me to tuck a smidge, rather than release.

Maybe a track for a marble inside the pelvis? You have to keep the marble going---if you release at the back it 'stalls.' When I do this I even imagine how it would
sound! ..g.:

I'd like to add that you could also imagine a metal cake pan sitting inside your pelvis with the marble inside.