Thread: What were/are the 3 most difficult...

This crosses style lines:

1. My biggest issue is trying to make sense of the melange of styles/stylizations that is my education. Current struggle: incorporating the relaxed Egyptian style and the uber-precise Suhaila style into how I dance. My training has been so varied that I'm having a hard time making one cohesive dance style out of it all

2. Maintaining that relaxed Egyptian feel, and resisting the urge to do MORE just because I think it's more energetic looking.

3. Relying too much on imitating Randa, Dina, etc to get the "Egyptian" look, or Sema, Tulay, etc for the "Turkish look" etc. At some point imitation stops being imitation and becomes internalization, but I'm not there yet.

1 Posture
2 choreography
3 pops and locks
1 & 3 which I'm slowly improving on. #2 the choreography is a lost cause, because I like to improv.
I can go to a workshop even with notes only remember acombo or two. Its not for lack of trying.
Alrana

Turkish:
1. Attitude - need to be strong but playful
2. over-choreographing just does not fit
3. need to speed up - most Turkish dances seen on stage (and even workshops) are way too sloooow

(and additionally do not over-react when someone teaches/dances to Rompi Rompi even you hate it)

Egyptian:
1. Footwork - either to accept footwork emphasized styles do not fit you or just concentrate more on some other aspects
2. over-choreographing just does not fit
3. slow it down - when it feels to be too slow probably it is just right...

Fusion:
1. don't fuse if you do not know fused styles well enough
2. over-choreographing just does not fit
3. slow it down even more ,r:;

This is with all styles of bellydance that I've studied

1. Nice arm/hand position.
2. Level changes down to the floor - I have a bad right knee and it will give out unexpectedly sometimes.
3. Turns, mostly to the left. Kinda like Zoolander that way.

The 3 things I consistently struggle with are:

1. What on earth do I do with my arms!?!
2. Layering upper body movement with an ongoing shimmy...it JUST. WON'T. HAPPEN!
3. Multiple turns...ugh. Even with spotting, I get a headache.

But, hey! I'm always smiling!

Oriental:

1) Arms/Posture
2) Layering
3) Crisp movements for things like drum solos. I so envy the visual impact that nice, defined hip work has. . . but I just dont have it. LOL

Oriental and...

1) facial expressions - looking at my videos I so far have mastered just two ..l;,
2) coming down real low with my centre of gravity for baladi
3) crisp accents

Will you look at that, I now have the basis of my new year's dance resolutions ..g.:

My three are still pretty basic.

1) shimmies, mostly getting the Egyptian shimmy to run on auto-pilot without
tensing muscles in the legs.

2) layering

3) pretty graceful arms

If I had to pick a fourth it would be flexibility. My calves are like rocks, no matter how much I stretch them. Grrr.

Originally Posted by Bellissima

Egyptian Style

1. Making my knowledge explicit, finding out what exactly I do and why. I have no musical training so that may have something to do with it.
2. Footwork, becoming more conscious of what I do with my feet and beautifying it.
3. Recruiting my not-preferred muscles. I noticed that after dancing for hours at a hafla, I started doing new things, or old things in a new way. I think because my fave moves had worn out my preferred muscles, which made others more available.

This.

I have taken with so many teachers of different styles that there is no one defining style in my dance. In that sense, it's more Vintage Orientale than anything else (IMO). There's nothing wrong with that, but I want to be able to put on a Vintage Orientale show, and people *know* that's what I'm doing, or do an Arabic styled show, and have people know that.

Right now, it's like a soup, a little bit of everything thrown in for flavor, but you can't really say what.

1-footwork
2-energy projection (getting it to go outward)
3-correcting the muscle imbalance in my neck and shoulders: ie getting my shoulders down and relaxed

1. posture (esp. head and lower back) still working on it..
2. centering (balance and footwork) getting better, but this used to be my weakest point
3. finding more strength in my movements without having it look 'forced' (a challenge for next year!)

1.) My posture. I have a curve in my upper back that makes me look hunched over. I'm constantly keeping my sternum slightly lifted so that my torso is not so smushed. Hopefully muscle memory will eventually remember a more lifted and open pose.

2.) Isolation in my right side. My dominant hip is my left because I had that hip replaced. Since my right side bore most of my weight for many many years due to injury, my left hip is the one I naturally lift, show off, drop..ect. I want to be stronger in my left side so that I can have the stability to do hip work on the right.

3.) My arms. My arms always drift out in front of me rather than stay strong and open at my side. I'm starting to work on this constantly. I also have metronome hands. My hand will flop around on the 1 of every count of 8. I was a musician so I attribute that quirk to that.

Oriental..

1. Zills still challenge me (I don't practice nearly enough though)

2. Being emotive on stage and feeling comfortable doing it - I did great in class where I knew everybody, but getting on stage was another story. I am getting better at relaxing while performing, but it is still difficult for me sometimes.

3. Musicality....

-Posture (I've got broad round shoulders)
-transitions (do this move and this move, but I'm dancing, there must be something in between)
-nice flowy shimmy (my left knee as tendencies to jam right in the middle of it)

1) Posture... I do something weird with my back/chest and it looks like I have my shoulders hunched, but doesn't feel like it to me. It really bothers me!
2) Spins and traveling moves. I have horrible balance and can hardly even do a spin/turn without wobbling!
3) those pretty, graceful, ballet-like moves. I am very grounded and ooey-gooey when I dance

The 3 most difficult things for me were 1, doing a standing freeze on my toes and doing a locking sequence. 2. learning how to completely involve my audience, hook line and sinker, heart mind and soul. 3, putting up with bitchy dancers in the dressing room.
..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,
Andrea

Originally Posted by kina

This.

Right now, it's like a soup, a little bit of everything thrown in for flavor, but you can't really say what.

Yes you can. I proudly call my dancing American Mongrel style! And mean it! BUT! I can do a mean Sharki or Turkish Orientale when needed!

{{{HUGS}}}

Originally Posted by sharifeh

style, I'm not sure Im kind of all over the place with style

1, turns and spins
2. posture
3. turns and spins lol

Dito to the turns and spins :)
I am wondering if it is so difficult for people who've never taken ballet or jazz as kids? or any other formal dance training ..l;,
I'll have to add something like "consistency" for myself, too (giving a nice overall picture - when I get filmed different things hinder the "completion of the picture" at different moments - sometimes the head placement, sometims the arms or hands etc).
That is aside the many technique points I will not "get" unless I practice WAY more ..l;,

Oriental:
1. Not trying to be like everyone else.
2. Not trying to be like everyone else.
3. Not trying to be like everyone else.

1. pops N locks

2. big loose shimmies (mine tend to be more like freezes except my 3/4 which is great ... it's puzzling, but maybe strength related?)

3. Emoting to the "next level" i.e., doing everything with intent and focus, and varying my energy level to reflect my intent

1. arms arms ARMS!
2. floor work (hurt my back in non-dance related incident)
3. facial expressions (go from nice smile and happy face to looking down in concentration while gaping mouth for air!)

At least I'm good at zills (unless I have to move my arms too much)!

Originally Posted by Fotia

Can I add a fourth? When I was in college, I got my concentration face and I carried it over to dance. Like this: ,m::

Thank God I got rid of it!!

..l;,..l;,

Originally Posted by baadrobot

The 3 most difficult things for me were 1, doing a standing freeze on my toes and doing a locking sequence. 2. learning how to completely involve my audience, hook line and sinker, heart mind and soul. 3, putting up with bitchy dancers in the dressing room.
..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,
Andrea

Oh, yeah, that #3 is a bad one! We've got one very poisoness creature in our troope...very difficult to deal with....

Still working on these for 2010!
1)Maintaining & layering over a hard shimmy ( the twisty kind)
2)editing down while improv-ing ie not throwing in the whole kitchen sink of movement vocabulary in a panic! LOL
3)zils ( well, not working on this one ever)

1) at times i'm objessed with some dancers and everything look like her !
2) deciding what to do, makes me mad, 100 ideas
3) veil... they hate me, i tell you !

1. Getting my long, pointy-elbowed arms to be graceful
2. Keeping chest lifted
3. Remembering my own choreography..l;,

1) Arms/upper body carriage/tension/position
2) Confidence in myself and my dancing
3) Not pulling scary faces

1. Anything involving my left hand. I swear it belongs to someone else

2. NOT hitting every beat, I'm gradually beginning to let go a little, sink into the music and stop the hyperactive accents and getting ahead of the music

3. Not thinking I'm boring. I like to loosely block my choreo/improvs because I find it keeps me from being the A.D.D. shimmy-drop-twist-undulate-back flip-spin dancer

Style is Egyptian, with Fusion creeping in here and there (not necessarily the same performance, mind you)..g.:
1. Finishing movements. I get so excited about the next move that I rush to get there.
2. Too much thinking while dancing. Really makes the zils go clompclomp.
3. Choreography retention.

style: Turkish-AmCab...ish haha

1. arms! I graduated from T-Rex arms a few years ago but I still struggle
2. zills...which is pretty sad for Turkish, bahaha
3. going sloooowwwww.....big problem for me. i'm all energy, energy, athletics, and energy. i'm really working on taxims and slow songs