Thread: confused help....spin off

Ok so music is the key, I had some critiques over on tribe and they also pointed this out, I always though it was about ME interpreting the music. Even after some emails and tips from an unnamed great authority on turkish style (dont want to name names here..l;,) I find that My step is off on that music as well. So my question is

I have 1 year left here so teacher is NOT an option, but will be soon, so over the next year this will be my project.........sooooo how do I ESPECIALLY with egyptian music know when to shimmy, when to travel etc, I dont even know where to start other than what some have said when critiqueing my video, with out looking i believe it was shimmy at the mizmar, I can barely understand where the mizmar is, other than some one pointed out at X;XX time..........HELP..c::..c::

I know listen, but if i dont get it now it is just a waist of time to listen, all i do is sway with the melody I still DONT get it.....books, dvds, even bhuz help anything point me some where, and give me baby steps. I was never taught this AT ALL, so treat me like i am a baby begginer.w.:.w.:.w.:

Hello my dear...it was me that said "shimmy when the oud speaks to you". I didnt give you a time, cause someone posting after me did that. There is no rule to this...but when an instrument is strong...when it is the predominate thing you hear, it is good to express that instrument in your dance. My 2 favorites are the kanoon and the violin. The kanoon has many strings and the sound hits your ear like a shimmer of light...therefore a shimmy is appropriate. If the kanoon is very prominante or solo, you may wish to stand in place and be that sound by shimmying with a layered 8 or circles and pausing with the phrasing of that instrument. The violin...sinuous torso movements, flute...beautiful high arms. The mizmar is used a lot in Saiidi music so the feel is earthy, cause the drum is the strong heartbeat. This is why I have not listened to Western music for 7 years now. I want to develope a real "ear" for the music. But I dont know who the cool bands are anymore!!!

It sounds like you need to start with learning the common instruments in Egyptian music - for example the mizmar. Since your choice of when to shimmy, etc needs to be driven in part by what instruments are predominating.

I think the easiest way to do that is to buy a couple of CDs that are basically solos of each instrument. For example, [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Mazamir-Sahara/dp/B0010DQA96"]Mazamir Sahara by the Upper Egypt Ensemble[/ame] for mizmar (listen to that 5 or 10 times and you will never again not be able to recognize a mizmar in a piece of music) and [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Oud-Mosaics/dp/B0010EPTYM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1217199671&sr=8-1"]Oud Mosaics by Amer Ammouri[/ame] for the oud. I'm sure other people can suggest CD's by kanoon and flute masters as well.

Along with that, do you have a set of good rhythm CD's? You can't just sway to the melody, you need to recognize the rhythm s as well, since they tell you a lot about what to do as well.

Once you learn the instruments, and if you have a good handle on the rhythms, I think you will have an easier time "just listening" since you will have the tools to understand what is going on in it.

I have a couple of suggestions.

My first suggestion is to get videos of famous Egyptian dancers. Choose whichever ones whose style you like best - Tahia Carioca, Naima Akef, Nagwa Fouad, Soheir Zaki, Nadia Hamdi, Fifi Abdo, Dina - all of them are good options. (I excluded Samia Gamal on purpose because many of her clips are intentionally Western-style, and could be confusing to someone who wants to focus on Oriental style.)

Anyway.

Pick whichever of the dancers I listed above inspires you, Watch one of her performances over and over again. You might want to start with a 10-minute segment, and focus on just that at first, rather than a full-length video. Look for nuances - listen to the music, and notice when she travels, when she shimmies, when she does fluid moves, etc. Try to reach a point where you think you can predict what she's going to do based on what you hear the music doing. Once you feel like you really understand the music she's using and the choices she made in that 10-minute segment, then try a different 10-minute segment by the same dancer and go through the same process again. Do this until you feel you really understand this dancer's style and her artistic choices of how she interpreted that music. Once you have done this, try a different dancer - notice how her choices match the first one, and how they differ. And so on.

My second suggestion is more Western (analytical) in its approach. Get the Bellydance Live series by Keti Sharif and work with that, especially volume 1 (Intro to Music). It'll help you improve your knowledge of the musical instruments and rhythms.

Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you

Hi Annwyn, I just wanted to add that the music (especially the drum) can really guide you if you let it. If you can hear a steady beat in the music, it generally implies traveling steps. When you don't hear a steady beat, you might consider doing something in place.

For example, in your new oriental clip (green Bella)... from the start until :22 there is a steady beat (1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4... and then a few seconds without any drum, where it might be nice to accent the other instruments in place). Then from :24 to about :38 you hear the background rhythm only, without the top beat (which was being marked by a light tec or a synthesizer clap, maybe?). This is I think where the oud takes over and it's good place to do little shimmying, maybe with some light movement. At :38, the beat starts back in, a repeat of the intro phrase, and should signal that it's time to move again. If you go through and listen to your song, listen for the "clapping" sound, the music tells you when to travel (i.e. when the beat can clearly be heard) and when not to (when there no clapping sound or no strong rhythm). Does that make sense?

As for your step being "off" I would say practice in place first. Rather than swaying with the melody, try this: take a song, and mark the beat with your feet (and clapping, if you need to) the whole time. This way you're stepping to the music the whole time (or not stepping, of course, if there is nothing to step to). Then you have a foundation for the beat/rhythm and can go back and layer dance movements on top.