This is a duplicate
blog entry from Motion365, my personal dance adventure from 2010-2011.
Notable entries have been copied to this blog so students and fellow dancers
may enjoy the ponderings and combos created from the experience.
March 25, 2011
Song: Knight Rider Theme (1:19)
by Stu Phillips from The Stu Phillips Scores: Knight Rider (Original TV
Soundtrack)
(If only this track were longer! It’s filled with sweet intricacies, sharp
beats, and imaginative whimsies. It begs
to be danced with and explored!)
Tonight in bellydance class a student commented on
how she wished she moved as gracefully and fluid as I did. Several others chimed in. I expressed my appreciation for their
compliments and let them know the fluidity of coordinating body, breath, and
space happens with time. Like any other
new skill, it will take practice for things like hip movements to become second
nature and “habit.” Once they do, then
you’ll have mental space and energy to focus on the details like arm placement
and flow or which direction to face your head or tilt your body.
In a stroke of personal genius, an analogy quickly
popped into my mind. Becoming familiar
with bellydance moves and being able to maneuver many at a time is similar to
learning to drive a car. Remember when
you first learned?
I sure remember!
I was excited, nervous, and petrified all at the same time. I wanted to look cool and know what I was
doing, yet I didn’t really have a clue.
There were so many things to focus my attention on both in and outside
the car.
Inside the car I had to keep straight which was the
gas and which the break - quite disastrous if I would have mixed the two
up! Then there was checking mirrors and
blind spots plus using directional signals.
Of course I shant forget the all-important radio tuning. Outside the car there were pedestrians
milling about along with other vehicles, not to mention all the critters. Then the road signs and traffic signals plus
all the other “eye candy.” Yep, it’s a
lot to focus on.
I vaguely recall always setting my radio up before
even leaving the parking lot so I wouldn’t have to attempt to concentrate on it
while in transit. Fast forward to today
and I’m not only able to switch my radio station, I can swap out CDs, talk on
my phone, and eat a sandwich all in a carefully orchestrated dance of the
driver. (I feel it is important to note
I rarely do these three things at the same time and mostly never talk on the
phone when driving any more, but I add them to make a point…)
And so it is will bellydancing. In the beginning I could barely remember to
breathe (man, I remember going home with oxygen-deprived headaches!) let alone
move my hips and arms at the same time.
I thought for sure my body wasn’t designed for the art form and there
was no way I would ever be as graceful as the ladies in my class (and certainly
never at the skill level of my instructor).
Then, one day, I started to see the changes taking place. I could move my hips and breathe at the same
time or not have to consciously remind myself to take a breath. I realized my arms were able to move along
with my hips and finally one day I was aware my hips and arms could both be
moving in different directions and different speeds, a la patting the head
while rubbing the belly.
So what’s the point? Enjoy the learning experience. It’s great to have a dream and certainly to
work toward a goal, and while you’re doing so celebrate your decision to learn
along with any small (or big) successes.
Be grateful of your shimmying hips today and appreciate your snake arms
tomorrow cause in the not-to-distant future you’ll be able to not only execute
them both with grace, sensuality, and spunk, you’ll being doing so with other
layered goodness added on just cause you can!
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