Said the Universe

I was approached by Naia of Malaika Dancers about teaching between semesters at her studio, to which I hemmed and hawed without giving her a definite answer. A month or so later Miss Bee of Phenomenon Studios asked me to teach weekly at her studio. I figured they must both be completely desperate or the Universe is trying to tell me something. 

So I took the "should I teach?" question to the Husband Person knowing he is aware that I have become a Bellydance hermit, beading costumes that never seem to get finished, frowning at the calendar whenever a dance opportunity shows up and letting it pass by. He said, "YES," I should teach before I even got the whole question out much less listing my pros and cons. To which I was slightly surprised. I thought for sure he would encourage me to stay home with him and use all my free time to finish Far Cry 3 and XCOM. Instead he told me I need to get involved again or my interest in dance would become jaded and shrivel even more. Well, it was a little more eloquent than that but pretty close. And with encouragement from the third (but most important) person, I took the Universe's hint to begin teaching again.

Funny thing is, I immediately begin appling myself to dance again. I have been doing all kinds of practice, exercises, zills and even veil. I've been organizing my notes, making combos, weekly lesson plans, (I'm even blogging about it.) In general, just being excited about dance. I can see now how dancers cut off from the dance community by distance, time, or money can become apathetic and lean toward dropping it altogether.

I am teaching my first weekly Bellydance class in years at Phenomenon Studios, Studio B, Wednesdays at 7:30pm. I hope to add classes at Malaika in sometime in the spring or early summer.

~N

PS As soon as I post this I am playing Far Cry 3...so close to beating it.

Top: Studio B at Phenomenon. Bottom: Naia at Malaika Dancers Studio.

Kindness and Compensation

Standing in cockle burs in front of the "Warehouse"

In 2011, Everyone in my local dance community really made a bigger effort to support each other regardless of studio or troupe affiliation. Studios began hosting teachers from other studios within the community and there were more classes/events offered in which all types of dancers participated in together. While not perfect, I believe this past year has been one of the most productive for our local dance community. There have been more opportunities to learn and share than there has been here in the past decade. I am very proud to see the progress that has been made and to see that our local dance culture is actually moving toward living up to the idea of artistic integrity, openness, and diversity. I know there have been some bumps along the way, disagreements and hurt feelings, but I feel a much greater sense of pride in my fellow dancers with their efforts to bring the community together and keep it moving forward than I have before.

My participation in every dance event this year (except maybe 1,) was made possible by the dance community willing to trade services with me. I traded my sewing skills, substituted some classes, taught some privates, and traded a hoop for some hair clips. I even got to take 6 weeks of East Coast Swing classes by trading services. I have enjoyed this year of dance the most out of any in the past because each class I took and each event I was able to attend had more meaning and value to me then any other I have ever thrown money at.

In the past, the dance has always been about my own personal dance journey, my own growth as a dancer, my growth as a person, my own expression and experiences. I have often referred to my dance experiences as being in Switzerland, a neutral autonomous experience. Now I see that I have been treating dance like a piece of meat thrown into the middle of a pack of dogs. I growl and bite to grab my piece and then hide away in the corner with my back turned so no one can steal it away. There doesn’t have to be lines drawn in the sand with, “I don’t dance that style so I’m not going,” or “I don’t have the money for that.” The dance is so much more rewarding when you can share it, trade it, participate in it, enjoy it. I have thought a lot about the kindness I have received and witnessed from my fellow dancers and for 2012 I intend on doing community service. Bellydance Community Service. I hope to take my skills and my time and give them to the Bellydance community as a whole, not just focus on one studio, class, or style of dance.

To begin I plan on tackling a personal pet peeve of mine. Costume cover-ups. I get irritated when I see a dancer without a cover up or only a veil wrapped toga style around themselves before/after a performance. I know some dancers don't have cover-ups for various reasons, mostly money. So instead of just being peeved I intend to offer my time and my serger to any dancer who wants a cover up. I will go to any studio and make simple kaftan/muu muu style cover ups for any dancer while they are in class. Dancers can bring 3yd of fabric and some sort of trade item for "payment." I will accept anything they would like to give in trade. (extra sewing supplies, a few bucks for a cone of thread, chocolate, coffee, loose beads or sequins, a book to read, old music, etc.)*

I have been dreaming about collecting loose beads and sequins from as many dancers as possible and make a "junk drawer" costume inspired by a costume Sa'dia gave me to alter for her. I think it would be fantastic to be able to create and wear a costume that represents other dancers in some way. A costume that represents the dancers in the dance journey with me. Just before Christmas, Jemina gave me 2 big trays full of beads, sequins, coins, and fabric, some of which belonged to her grandmother, the late Gita, (the first bellydancer I ever saw in person.) I took that as a sign to make my idea a reality.

I hope that by supporting my Bellydance community, the Bellydance community will continue to support me and that support will extend to other dancers out there. I sincerely hope everyone has had a wonderful year and I look forward to what the new year will bring.

~N

*I intend on making an event page for this starting in January.

State of the Union in Naimaland

Dance
Right, so I haven't done much of it. Creatively speaking that is. I have been going through the motions every few days but I have so much else on my radar right now it has not been a priority.

Miss B. gave me another pair of zills to practice with and I did try hooping and zilling at the same time. That was crazy. I am working on a duet with Miss B. for the next Inappropriate Hafla, I substituted 4 beginner classes for Springfield Bellydance Academy, I am still doing privates every Thursday,  and, I got my 3rd Jim Boz workshop under my belt. I also took a private with Jim and it is still sinking in. Despite all of that, I have been putting all of my creativity into other things.

Exercise
Some folks know that I have changed my exercise routine from when I feel guilty to 15min. a day/5 days a week. I have been doing this since January 2nd, only missing a few in the past 5 months. I have lost at least 10lbs and 2 1/2 inches off my Bellydance waist (the place I wear my Bellydance belts). I actually completed my 100th workout today.

I've stayed on target for 3 reasons. First I work out during my lunch break. I never actually eat during my lunch break. I eat more of a brunch and at mid-afternoon. I also work from home which means I don't have drive to the gym, change clothes, or be otherwise inconvenienced. That means 5 days of scheduled workouts.

Second, the Husband Person set up our old Xbox in the bedroom with the Yourself!Fitness game for me. I basically have a personal trainer and the exercises evolve as I get more in shape. Fifteen minutes flies right by.

The third reason is also related to my job. January was my 10 year anniversary with my company. I received a Thank You letter and a gift card. It made me really depressed to think that all I had accomplished in 10 years was literally sitting on my ass. So I got off it. Now I am feeling and looking better. Go me.

This leads me to Hooping.

Hooping = More time outdoors in a month than the past 10 years.
I have been hooping for well over a month now. It is seriously one hell of a workout. And since I dig it so much I burn an extra 400 or so calories every hour I hoop. I spend more time outdoors because of it too. My mom is even interested. I am making her a hoop so she can start hooping.

Tour de Halo
My free time not spent dancing or hooping is with the Husband Person. We usually catch up on movies/TV or playing video games together. This past week we replayed all of the Halo games in chronological order starting with Reach, Halo 1, Halo 2, and Halo 3. We have not played Halo Wars or ODST yet. We also watch reruns of Entourage, How I Met Your Mother, and The New Adventures of Old Christine.

Reading
The Way Ladies finished up Walking in this World by Julia Cameron last month. I am almost finished with Sandworms of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. I am a  s l o w  reader and refuse to read more than one book at a time. Not much else to say here.

Beading Tutorials
Ah yes, the thing all my readers wait with bated breath for. I have gotten really good feedback about them. Everyone seems to like them so far. I don't know how many more I will do before I've used up the extent of my knowledge base and patience to write it all out. I am currently working on a complete project tutorial where you learn to actually make something from start to finish. It should be fun.

Blogging and Pen Pals
I want to say thank you to all of my readers. There are a lot of blogs I follow as well. Many more than are listed in the sidebar links of my own blog. I have them on Google reader because I am too lazy to go out and check each one every day. I really want to get in the habit of commenting on other blogs more. Even if it is just a, "Thanks for posting," to show my appreciation for all of the knowledge other bloggers share every day. You know, like being the friendly face in the audience while your troupe mate dances.

Finally, I want to address my serious neglect for not mentioning my Bellydance Pen Pal Kis in Australia. We exchanged addresses after Christmas and send each other random little pick-me ups. I get close to giddy when a letter from her arrives in the mail. Getting unexpected notes of friendship and good vibes is awesome! Not to mention, I still feel child-like awe imagining something from the other side of the world is in my hands.

The first card Kis sent me.

~N

Bellydance By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet

Warning: Out of character long babbling post ahead.

As a self proclaimed Bellydance Philosopher I have had a few ideas about the dance stirring around in my head for some time. I am also a self proclaimed Lazy Pants so I have never taken the time to write them out. Last September I read Foxy's post Turkish vs Egyptian Belly Dance: Where do you stand? and scoffed at the quote, “Turkish belly dancers strut while Egyptian belly dancers glide.” Whoever originally said that obviously hasn't seen the Egyptian dancers I have seen. Not only can they strut but they do, usually over the course of a really long entrance piece.

I rolled Foxy's post around in my head for a week or so reflecting on how I feel about all of the different BD styles completely intent on writing a response. Then a few weeks went by. Then a few months. Lazy Pants, or should I say Philosopher Lazy Pants, never took the time to respond. I know there are forums aplenty out there about BD styles, which styles sprang from others, which have more credibility than others, etc. (I recently learned that there is Improv Tribal Style now.) Honestly, I could give a crap about petty bickering over which style has a deeper connection to the music. I stay far away from opinion polls and forum rants and just about any discussion on the matter. I think the arguments are dumb.

“But Philosopher Lazy Pants, isn't it hypocritical of you to post your opinions here, expecting they be read, while not bothering to read the opinions of others?!”

Yes. Yes it is.

Actually, I do read good, well educated opinion posts, like Foxy's, and other BD articles but I intentionally weed out the whining, ranting, “my dance is better than yours,” posts.

Right, so back to my point. A few weeks back I was trolling around YIPpodcast.com trying to catch up on some podcasts and one of the ladies (Mary I think,) was talking about my blog posts. She mentioned how my posts are short funny snippets about my BD life that do not delve much into the deeper topics that others write about. And I thought to myself, “Exactly, right! She knows a Philosopher Lazy Pants when she sees one!” A day or two went by.

“Heeeyy! I have ideas...deep ones. No really!" *Whiny voice*

“Stop having conversions with yourself, get off your Lazy Pants, and write something already!” *Reprimanding voice*

CHALLENGE!

Not really. But Foxy's post with a push from YIP has inspired me to give my real opinion on BD styles. Brought to you in the form of an analogy.

The Bellydance Alphabet Analogy

It is difficult for most dancers to describe the different styles of BD to a lay person. BD practitioners often speak of all styles of BD having a common set of movements wherein it is the execution and presentation of these moves that produce the different styles, blah, blah. This is also usually underscored with x-style being the original or correct style. I agree with this in a scratching-the-surface kind of way.

I think of BD movements like the letters of the alphabet. These letters (muscles,) are put together to make words (circles, figure 8's,) words into sentences (combinations,) and sentences into paragraphs (choreography.) With this dancers tell stories. They can tell old stories, (what is handed down to them by their teachers,) or make new ones of their own. Sometimes, lines change in the retelling and the story begins to have a different slant to it. Maybe even a completely different ending.

What gives these stories a particular style is the way they are written. Some stories are written in cursive. Some in big bold letters. Large fonts. Small fonts. Some dancers dot their i's with a smiley face while others may scribble and leave it to the audience to figure out. I'm pretty sure I've even seen some “Wingdings” out there. All dancers use the alphabet, make words, tell stories, but each one is written in his or her own hand.

Just like with real words, not everyone relates to or even interprets another person's style in the same way. If you really wanna run with it you can go as far as thinking how different cultures can change the meaning of words and how that would relate to the Bellydance Alphabet Analogy. If you ask for a fag in the UK you get a cigarette. If you ask for a fag in the US you get sued for harassment. In either situation it is spelled the same way. Does that make it a bad word? No, of course not. Just as one style is no less credible than another. All styles are credible in the appropriate setting. Just because it may be something you do not want to hear does not make it less valuable or viable if presented with respect and with an artist's heart.

I believe the meaning in the movement is much more important than the font you write it with.

~N

Now feeling: a little existential
Mood: I think I used my word quota all on one post. I won't be able to write again for months...jk.

Welcome to Switzerland

Now playing: 30 seconds to mars
mood: A dee dee

I found this pic after Sa'dia sent me some motivational posters in an email. Something about this picture with these particular words crack me up. I'm not sure if it is the dude in the background, or the dog's crooked eyes, or the fact that the picture as a whole is pretty ridiculous.

So there has been a private running joke that I have become a politically neutral bellydance entity of my own called "Switzerland." And in my country of Switzerland there are no studios, or classes, or troupes, just the dance and the freedom to do as I choose. I can dance or not. I can enjoy the styles and classes of others if and when I choose. There is no pressure. There is no commitment. Just the joy of bellydance.

Sounds very Utopian, I know.

But really, I know what my dance goals are and they do not involve all that comes with the political, social, and business end of BD. I am a free floating neutral entity that supports all groups and styles. And I like it here.

The other night at GDC's 1yr Ann. a dance friend, who recently left a group to pursue her own dance goals looked at me and said, "Why do we have to be here?" She said this tongue-in-cheek because she is still fielding questions from other dance acquaintances who don't know she is no longer performing with that group.

I said, "Because sometimes we occasionally have to go to United Nations meeting and continue to declare our independence."

We both laughed.

It is hard to be independent without the support of others, which is kind of contradictory to the word independent. And I don't by any means want to be the leader(<- tie into flying dog picture) of Switzerland but I do want others to know that you can have a perfectly happy functioning BD life outside of all of the crap that can, has, and will happen along the way. You don't have to be a part of a group if you don't want to be. You can have different goals if you want. You can actually dance for the joy of it because everyone is welcome in "Switzerland." We don't have a census here.

Anyway, I think I will have t-shirts made.

"Welcome to Switzerland"

~N