BD Vlog 12: First Impressions

Workshop and DVD purchases. My first impressions of Totally Turkish, Flawless Floorwork, Killer Ziller, and Belly by Sandra vol 3. (recorded 08/28/10) It's taken me all week to get this video uploaded. I think I've finally worked out all the issues from a recent computer virus on my laptop.

DVD at http://cheekygirlsproductions.com/catalog.html
RetroKali at http://naagadance.blogspot.com/

~N

Now listening: Kelis - Tasty
mood: Ethan Peck

RMH and Hips Noir Review

(me and Emy, Back to the Eighties @ GX, pic by Staar)

Now playing: Plan 9 from Outer Space
mood: pumpkin cookies

So I can't really give much of a review on the workshop. I spent day one up in the sound booth fighting with the sound quality and working on 3rd quarter taxes. I spent day two in a drowsy haze of walking in circles to stay awake. I only had two 4-5hr naps between Friday and Sunday. I actually dumped my coffee into instant oatmeal, microwaved it, and had it for breakfast.

The first day was split between two of RMH's members. One taught before lunch and one after. The next day was similar, 2 teaching floorwork, 1 taught sword, and an extra class after lunch with Zivah. I did take some notes from up on my perch and cringed a little every time the class did barrel turns with their swords. But all went well with no major incidents.

At the end of the day Sunday, I showed whoever was left in the class the 9/8 foot pattern I learned from Mishaal when she came to Tulsa.

(RT tap, step back and shift weight to RT, step LT, hop-shuffle-skip thing with RT. Repeat other side.) makes sense right?

Anyway, I have been spending my time between BD videos and A&E biographies on Youtube. I am also seriously thinking about putting together some comedy choreographies like I have been talking about for years.

I haven't really caught up on sleep from the workshop. This weekend I had a 22hr Friday followed by a wedding and another 4:30am after-party on Saturday. The bags under my eyes feel like they are hanging to my knees.

~N

Can of worms. What do I think about Sophie Mei?

mood: Pringles and fudge-striped cookies.

I received the following comment

"I was wondering if you could watch this girl belly dancing on Britain's Got Talent and tell me if she's any good.

I thought she looked a little sloppy but I thought I should ask your professional opinion."

Well...ur...well.

Before I say anything, I wanted to find out more about her. But after 200 Google links of "see Sophie Mei make Simon drool!" I gave up. All I know about her is that she dances at a restaurant and is 19 years old. I have no idea what kind of training she has had. With who and where she takes classes? If at all? Does she know anything about BD history and development? etc.

I don't like to critique other dancers for a few reasons. First, some performances are good, some suck regardless of talent, and this is a youtube video. Second, my critique would be no more than opinion. And an opinion is just that, an opinion. Third, I am a firm believer there is no such thing as an expert on bellydance. I will say that again.

THERE ARE NO EXPERTS ON BELLYDANCE!

Don't get me wrong, there are the good, bad, and ugly but if you want to hold BD up as an art form then there can't be a right or wrong. Only what is tasteful for the situation. I mean, you can bitch and moan about how some dancers discredit BD by throwing on a barely there costume and dry humping the air trying to pass it off as BD. And I would agree with you. Because I DO believe BD is an art. Which also means I must uphold the definition of art.

"Generally art is a (product of) human activity, made with the intention of stimulating the human senses as well as the human mind; by transmitting emotions and/or ideas. Beyond this description, there is no general agreed-upon definition of art. Art is also able to illustrate abstract thought and its expressions can elicit previously hidden emotions in its audience."

So critiquing BD would be like critiquing any art form. It would be based on personal opinion and taste. A "professional" critique can only really have any merit if you are looking at the art form in a specific cultural context. Even then it is only conjecture. And I am NOT a professional, LOL!

First, this is a get rich-and-famous-quick TV game show. That right there is enough to throw this discussion out the window. Listening to the judges "critique" they obviously don't know anything about BD, what it is or where it came from. All they know is she is hot and jiggles good. Which is unfortunate. If people are emphasizing, "You're so beautiful!" It could really stunt her as a dancer. The judges talk about her only in light of her looks, how hot and sexy she is. And yeah, she's hot. She'd make a great BD Superstar, but they tack on "talented" at the end as an afterthought. So really, the judges have no idea what they are looking at. Slap a hot 19yr old on stage in a hot costume, doing a mix of restaurant BD and club dancing and who knows what you will get...Brittney Spears maybe? And we all know how that works out.

However, if you want to look at it as her doing restaurant dancing contorted into a stage performance dancing for a few brief minutes in order to woo some judges who know NOTHING about BD as an art to win some recognition. Yeah, she did that hands down.

Ok, so what is my actual opinion?

Well, I've seen better.

One, she is a restaurant dancer (part time I think). Anyone who has ever danced between tables of people eating know there isn't so much art in it as there is looking cute. It's mostly walk, walk, jiggle, boobs and hair, jiggle, walk, jiggle, walk, boobs, walk, hair... It's a lot different then a stage number. Not to mention, WTF is up with the shirtless boy toys in the background?

Second, I thought her moves where WAY TOO BIG. Alright, I know she was nervous. And when you get nervous the first thing you do is go too fast and get sloppy with the moves. Which she did both of. The technique was pretty basic with just a few big accents here and there, (like you do in a restaurant), and a sloppy shimmy or two. Her legs were too far apart for her frame. It seemed she had little stability there. I didn't care for the English cover of the Tarkin "Kiss Kiss" song. If she was going to dance to a pop song, she could have used the original, you know, for cultural reference. She kept turning to the side and I felt like she was performing some crappy BD workout video choreography that bored housewives do when they want to reclaim their youth by pretending to be a sexy spunky bellydancer. Then again it was only like a 1min. choreography. Go figure.

Third, the Isis wings where kind of dumb. I know Isis wings take practice and look cool but they are just there to distract the audience. Same thing with swords, trays of fire, veils, and other stupid human BD tricks. People look at the Isis wings and forget all about watching the dancer. It was sort of a cop out. Bamboozle the audience with shiny things! But the audience fell for it, boy toys and all.

Sophie did EXACTLY what her audience and judges wanted to see. PLUS! They really didn't want to see a thicker older women making faces to 8 minute Arabic taxim. (I do, but I'm not a judge).
She did keep her crotch away from the audience when she did her back bends. PLUS!
She smiled and made eye contact. PLUS!
Her arms looked pretty good. PLUS!
She wore a simple modern costume that flattered her figure. PLUS!
She also is bringing BD to a broader audience (not the perfect audience but broader none-the-less). PLUS!

Then I went and found this video.



Better than the other performance but still not great.
She talked very briefly about posture and keeping her shoulders back. PLUS!
She danced to music that was still pop but not in English. Yea, some culture! PLUS!
She made the face, which shows she feels the music. PLUS!
Like before she turned to the side and used her legs a lot, not her torso muscles. Not So Much
Like before her moves where still really big. Not So Much
Like before her feet where wide and her whole body waved and bounced around instead of the focus on her hips. Not So Much.

I DO think Sophie has talent. I just don't think it is perfected. She could have taken classes with a Turkish style dancer. Turkish moves are bigger and showier than others. I still think she needs more muscle control. More muscle control would make her big moves look cleaner. It would keep her from swaying and bouncing so much. You know, not so floppy. Her dance vocabulary seems limited to some basic moves and accents. But she was dancing to pop music not intricate Middle Eastern style 3, 5, 7, or 9/8 rhythms, so I have to take that for what it is worth. I think she could be a better dancer and still be hot. Jillina needs to get a hold of her and clean up her form a bit.

I can't really look at a few seconds of Sophie Mei on a game show and determine her abilities as a dancer or artist. Watching BD on video probably does her a disservice. I am sure she is much more fabulous and entertaining in person. Every awesome dance I've ever seen is always 1000 times better in person than watching it again on video. The camera looses all the energy of the room, the audience, the dancer. I think it is sad that the focus of the show is on her being barely legal and sexy when she could really do better. She is only 19 and despite sounding jaded, she is too young to put any real feeling in her dance yet. I heard another dancer say that 5 or 6 years ago and thought, "She is just old and jaded." Well, she was right. BD gets better with age and experience. Unfortunately by then, you wish you still looked like a 19 year old, LOL!

And you know, I don't see any other bellydancer out there representin'

~N

Jim Boz Workshop Review

Jim Boz Workshop hosted by Judy Cunningham, July 21st, 2007 Sedalia, MO.
by Naima of Springfield, MO. (as submitted to Shimmycast)

I must start off by saying that this was my second Jim Boz workshop and that I love him! Also, my very first workshop was hosted by Judy Cunningham in Sedalia, MO. and I have been going to her workshops for over seven years now. So, I admit that I am a bit biased. However, I will do my best to give the facts and a basic overview of a workshop with Jim Boz.

Price – The workshop cost $50 before July 13th and $55 at the door. A very reasonable price for 4 ½ hours of instruction from Jim Boz including a sandwich and salad buffet provided by the Best Western restaurant. Teachers who registered five or more students by the pre-registration date got in free. The hafla cost $5 for anyone not dancing in the show, with proceeds going to the Humane Society. Video of the show cost $25 for VHS or DVD for $30.


Facility – The workshop was held at an older Best Western Hotel in Sedalia, MO. Price on rooms ranges from $64 and up depending on size of room and whether they face into the courtyard or out to the parking lot. The rooms are clean but slightly small particularly when packed full of bellydancers trying to get ready for the evening hafla. This Best Western includes a country style restaurant and very small bar located on the premises. The workshop space was a large rectangular carpeted conference room on the upper level with both stair and elevator access and a bathroom nearby. There was a small stair-stepped stage on one end with a dance floor space in front of it. A massage table and massage therapist were set up on the stage during the workshop hours for workshop patrons to get cheap massages during the day. In the middle of the room against the wall was a small set of risers set up for Jim to teach from. Along the opposite end from the stage, Judy’s Creative Costuming tables were set up along the walls for vending including a water dispenser and cups for workshop attendants. And as usual, there was also a table supplied for the workshop attendants to lay out their own flyers and other promotional information. Jim had a table set up with a variety of T-shirts, buttons and CDs for sale. His CD, Belly Dance with Jim Boz, contains 11 tracks by various artists of which he uses during his workshop tour. Jim Boz T-shirts and CDs cost $20 each.

It has been a long running joke amongst my fellow dancers and me that the carpet in the conference room is in horrible shape. The adjective I most recently used to describe it is “moist”. And unfortunately, that is exactly what it is. Sticky and moist from years of use and mistreatment. I always wear shoes at these workshops. Dancers who do not wear shoes always come away with pitch black dirty feet. A fellow dancer, unaware of the dance space, experienced the infamous carpet for the first time at this workshop. She chose to wear her flip flops throughout the day in order to protect her feet.
I have heard many complaints over the years at the quality of the facility, floor, sound, swimming pool and hot tub, food, etc. to varying degrees, but despite some things being a bit sub-par, I have experienced workshops in hotels with very poor facilities that cost much more money.

Vending – With the exception of Jim Boz’s personal vending table, vending was limited to products being sold by Judy’s Creative Costuming, the workshop sponsor. Judy’s Creative Costuming supplies all of the bellydance basics including beaded bedlah, full costumes, coin belts, jewelry, hip scarves, CD’s, VHS and DVD’s, veils, and so on. Prices on some items are high considering the online market value. However, buyers get the added bonus of trying on the costume items before purchasing. While selection was wide there was also little variety within each item category and no other competing vendor to help lower over all price. The vending space is also in the same room where the class is held. This can sometimes lead to distractions during class time while others are still shopping. However, I stood near the risers Jim taught from and was not distracted by the vender tables on the other side of the room.

Jim Boz – Jim Boz is a Middle Eastern Dancer and choreographer from San Diego, CA. He has been studying Middle Eastern Dance since 1994.

Jim began the morning with a basic warm – up, stretches and some basic drills, such as chest locks and hip drops. He reviewed some of his signature technique by describing movements by muscle isolation, analogies, and even a few funny names. After reviewing each individual move he combined them into short combinations. He did not teach with much emphasis on the timing or count of the music but instead taught the move of each combination by saying, “one of these, two of those,” etc, He would then dance them along with the group to the music.
He used one track of music that he had recorded at 3 different speeds in order for the group to try the movements slowly and then work up to the full speed of the song. This was a helpful since it allowed the dancers to become familiar with the way each combination fit into the music without being overwhelmed by hearing a new song for the first time. Jim also spent time on the floor walking through the room helping individual dancers understand the form and posture for each combination. This included everything from foot placement, hip and muscle articulation, to hand and arm posture.

After lunch, everyone sat around the risers as Jim discussed music and instrument textures common to oriental taqseem. Taqseem usually refers to a section of music in which the musician plays free form, similar to a jazz solo. Jim played taqseem samples from a variety of instruments including oud, kanoon, flute, and accordion. He asked the group what kind of movements, emotions, and feelings they thought of for each type of instrument and how they varied from one another. He then had the dancers dance to these samples using only two movements and one body part. This was to help the dancers focus directly on the movements and feelings they had discussed earlier. He then encouraged the dancers to mix and match those movements as the music became more complex. Finally, he suggested a sequence of movements and played a section of taqseem allowing the dancers to use this sequence at their own speed and repetition according to each dancer's interpretation of the music.

Impressions – I personally enjoyed the Jim Boz workshop. Although this workshop was less intense than his previous one in Sedalia, and focused more on dance interpretation instead of choreography, I appreciate Jim's open and encouraging teaching style. Jim uses both analogies and specific instructions for body movement and muscle isolation. This works very well in a setting with dancers from various backgrounds, skill levels, and even genders. He is approachable and it is easy to ask him questions. He also never discourages a dancer but instead gives him or her options and advice according to his or her own personal dance style and goals. Jim is passionate about bellydance and does a wonderful job in relating his love for bellydance to his students in the classroom and when he performs. I give him an A+ !

For more information about Jim Boz, his tour, events, and pictures check out his web site at www.jimboz.com.