Thread: Not "bouncy" enough for Saidi?

I am really working hard right now to learn something new and step outside my box. I have chosen Raks Assaya and have been doing it every night as part of my 90 classes in 90 days pledge (see the MichelleJoyce threads on this).

But, I just have trouble getting that much energy up. Am I just not a bouncy enough person to do Raks Assaya properly? I feel that I convey a wonderful energy when I dance cabaret abd I have really energetic shimmies.

Yet, when I work with the cane, I just don't have enough pep to keep up with the rythym and the steps. I always feel a beat behind.

Also, it does feel a bit like an aerobics class to me.

Not all sa`iidi is like an aerobics class. And unless the music really calls for it you don't need to jump every step. I've attended dozens of sa`iidi workshops - mostly by Egyptians - and only one or two would fall into what I think of as Turkish folk mode. Who are you learning from?

What you do need to do is relax. Cut the fancy arm work. Loosen the shoulders. Bring those heels down from time to time. If you use a cane (not a requirement for sa`iidi) then don't overwork it. Have fun.

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Vahana--I have seen you dance and I think you TOTALLY have the saidi energy and attitude in your presentation. You don't have to actually do the pony bounce sort of thing--or you can just do it a little bit!

Ah, Mish_Mish, you are very sweet!! Thank you for the compliment.

What I am working on is from Hadia's Raks Assaya video. It is totally outside my comfort zone, and she does a ton of bouncing or jumping. It looks amazing on her - not so much on me. ..l;,

I feel like my feet get tangled up sometimes. I do like the cane and I think it is something different that I really want to apply to me repetoir - but man, it tires you out!!

As Melanie and Kashmir said, Sa-idi style is not ALL bouncing and jumping. It's energetic in a sort of laid back and relaxed way, with the heels on the floor more often than in Raqs Sharqi. The bouncing and jumping should be, as Melanie described "just a slight lift of the heel to tap it down on the beat". You only have both feet off the floor if you use a jump (better described as a hop) to move from one place to another, for example to move forward or back using "step-hop-step-hop". The traveling kind of hop is very small - it's HOT down south in the Sa-id! ..l;, too hot for a lot of serious jumping and bouncing!

Originally Posted by Vahana

Ah, Mish_Mish, you are very sweet!! Thank you for the compliment.

You naturally have the right kind of presentation--maybe check out some other saidi-ish types of performances. Aziza has a non-cane saidi to Luxor Baladna on her Aziza Raqs video, Tamra-henna from Southern CA used to have clips on her website or maybe they were on youtube...also, Mina from Dalloua Dance does some really awesome cane/saidi inspired work.

FWIW, Saidi gets slower and chunkier the longer you do it. I didn't feel that comfortable with it at first, since I have a big body and am not particularly skipperty, but I really like it now. Not so much cane, since I'm fairly challenged with props, but the skipping and back-jump and so forth just feel very natural and easy to me now. I would guess that this is just different, that's all, a different set of skills, and you will get used to it in time.

Actually, one of the critiques I've gotten on my saidi is that I'm too bouncy (I'm naturally so and have to fight it tooth and nail) and not earthy enough. So you're probably starting from a much better place than a tigger-type like me.

When I think about the bounce it's less about the going up and more about the coming down - the percussive earthy thumpiness :) of it.

Originally Posted by Vahana

What I am working on is from Hadia's Raks Assaya video. It is totally outside my comfort zone, and she does a ton of bouncing or jumping. It looks amazing on her - not so much on me. ..l;,

And don't forget, Hadia is like the energizer bunny!! She bounces all over the place . . . seriously . . . she expends a lot of energy that many of us might not have. When I take a workshop from her, I don't do the steps as vigorously as she does them (lazy bones that I am). If you cut the bouncing in half you'll probably do fine.

Ugh. Leaping and hopping about the stage like a Mexican jumping bean is not what Saidi is all about. There's no reason dancing Saidi should feel like an aerobics routine. In fact...your feet/heels need never leave the floor to do a Saidi dance.:-)

It's more about having the weight in the right place in the body, having the freedom/earthiness for the *flesh* to bounce than the skeleton. *Can* there be some hopping in Saidi? Of course, but you shouldn't look like you're on a pogo stick. That's too stiff. It's more internally motored.