Penny For Your Shimmy

International Dancer Feature!!

2012-02-08T08:11:00.000-08:00

KHALIDA!!!!
Many times as dancers we get so caught up in the super famous dancers like Aziza, Jillina, Rachel Brice, Zoe Jakes and the like, that we miss being exposed to some of the worlds best dancers simply because they don’t have the same notoriety! So I want to start a segment of “Featured Dancers from Around the World!!”
My first featured dancer is Khalida from Germany!!!! I had the amazing opportunity to spend a week with Khalida at Aziza’s Dream Camp last summer . What an amazing dancer!!! She taught a specialty class on dancing like the stars of the Golden Age of Belly dance such as Samia Gamal, Taheya Carioca and Nadia Gamal. It was such an awesomely unique class that she reignited my love for the dancers from the movies!!! Khalida has amazing grace and style and she is a BLAST to learn from . I have found Khalida to be not only a highly skilled teacher and stunning performer, but she is one of the nicest and most supportive people I have ever met, which really counts in my book. I really hope to bring her out to AZ someday, even if it is on my own dollarr
Please check out her website www.khalida.biz and pay special attention to her store! She has some AMAZING DVD’s out!!

ENJOY!!!

Cabaret!

2012-02-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

This is an excerpt from an article written by Shira. To see the full article (which I reccomend you DO) click here

The term Oriental comes from the Arabic term raqs sharqi which means "dance of the East" or "dance of the Orient", the Arabic name for what Americans call belly dance. For purposes of this article, I'll use the term Egyptian Oriental to refer specifically to Egyptian style dance, as I compare and contrast it to the New World forms of American Restaurant and U.S. Tribal. However, in all fairness it's important to note that to an Arab it would be just as correct to use the term Oriental to refer to the flavor of this dance as done in Lebanon, Morocco, or anywhere else.
American dancers who perform Egyptian Oriental style are attempting to emulate the style of dancing seen in the nightclubs in Cairo. These dancers have worked hard to familiarize themselves with Egyptian music and study how Egyptian dancers interpret it.
Like American Restaurant, this is very much a show business style, with the dancer covered in beads, sequins, and paillettes. Because the American dancer doing Egyptian Oriental is attempting to dance in the same style as a very specific group of people, she uses her personal creativity to explore the types of music, costuming, and dance style employed by that group of people.
In the mid-20th century, Hollywood was producing movie musicals featuring dance production numbers by such stars as Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Esther Williams, and others. In parallel, a vibrant film industry arose in Egypt producing musicals based on music and dance styles native to Egypt. Just as Hollywood movies influenced culture throughout the English-speaking world, so the Egyptian movies influenced culture throughout the Arabic-speaking world. Egyptian dance stars such as Samia Gamal, Tahia Carioca, and Naima Akef set a new standard for Oriental dance as a performing art.
At the same time, the Egyptian music industry was undergoing a 20th-century transformation of its own, and a form of music known as Egyptian classical music was born. Featuring composers such as Baligh Hamdi, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Abdel Halim Hafez, and others, this orchestral music took on a level of complexity similar to the symphonic music of Europe, but still distinctly Egyptian in flavor.
It was only natural that the music of Egypt's popular composers would be used by its leading dancers in their performances, so Egyptian dance rapidly evolved from its folkloric roots into a complex, subtle form that matched the intricacy of the classical music.
From about 1950 through 1980, Egyptian and American dance styles moved in divergent directions, each drawing on different influences as it evolved. Although there were some U.S. leaders in the field who traveled to Egypt regularly through this period and taught their students what they had learned, many other American dancers continued experimenting with their own ideas, without pursuing continuing education from the dance's homeland.
Beginning in the later 1970's, however, the Egyptian style of dance began to gain increasing visibility in the U.S. There were several reasons for this.
• One major influence was the growth in international travel. Airplane flights abroad became more plentiful and affordable, making travel to Egypt more accessible to the American dance community.
• Arab communities began to demand dancers who understood their cultural art form, and jobs went to the dancers with the skills to deliver.
• Tour organizers such as Morocco and Turquoise International began leading tours for dancers to Egypt which included not only the usual tourist attractions but also dance-centered activities such as costume shopping and show attendance. These dancer-oriented tours made it easy for "dance tourists" to see Egyptian dance in its native environment.
• In the 1980's, high-quality dance flourished in Cairo. Famous dancers such as Nagwa Fouad, Soheir Zaki, and others headlined at the five-star nightclubs. It was easy to plan a Cairo vacation around several opportunities to see an assortment of top dancers.
• The VCR was invented in 1971, and the camcorder was invented in 1982. Dancers took their Super 8 film cameras and their bulky new camcorders with them on their travels, and soon a cottage industry arose around selling videos of the shows people had filmed there. The proliferation of home video made it easier for all U.S. dancers, even those who couldn't afford to travel, to see what the dance style of the Egyptian stars of the 1980's looked like. People were able to study these video performances and apply what they learned to their own personal dance styles.
• Later in the 1980's and early 1990's, dancers such as Shareen el Safy and Sahra Kent who had done extensive stays as performers in Egypt returned to the U.S. and taught seminars focused on the Egyptian style.
The more aware American dancers became of the Egyptian dance stars, and the more Arab restaurants and families demanded Arab-style interpretations in the dancers they hired, the more popular the Egyptian interpretation of Oriental dance became with the American dance community. Even today, as Oriental dance wanes in its native Egypt, its popularity has continued to grow in the U.S. throughout the 1990's and early 21st century.

Here are some great Oriental Dancing!!
Samia Gamal

Tahia Carioca

Fifi Abdou

Soheir Zaki

Helena Vlahos

Daria

And now our LOCAL LADIES!!

Melissa McClure

Amanda Rose

Mahin

Makara

Helena!!!!

2012-02-01T15:21:00.001-08:00

I wanted to have a dancer feature and here she is…….HELENA VLAHOS!!!!
I studied with Helena for a few years before she moved back to L.A. She is a legend in our community and will be teaching at the MECDA Desert Shake Down later this year!

Costumes

2012-02-01T15:11:00.001-08:00

There is a limitless number of costume configurations for bellydancers as well as countless numbers of suppliers for costumes. There are ALOT of different styles of bellydance and in each of those there are alot of subtleties, but since this is a foundations class I am going to keep things simple and GENERALIZE. For beginning education and simplicity sake there are two main styles of bellydance with two main styles of costuming: Tribal and Cabaret (next weeks post will be an explanation of the main similarities and differences in styles between the two!!)

Tribal Costuming

Some of the general characteristics of Tribal costumes are:

- Very large full skirts

-Use of earth tones and darker muted colors
-The use of Harem Pants
-Adorned with tassels, coins, brocade trim, and Kuchi Jewlry
-Hair is usually partially up adorned with turbans, tassels, flowers and shells
-Use of ethnic jewlry such as Kuchi Jewelry

Here is an example of a tribal costume.

Melissa McClure- Phoenix, AZ

Here are some video's of local Tribal Dancers. There represent a few styles and "looks" of Tribal style.

Tiffany and Carrie of Anaya Tribal (http://www.anayatribal.com/)

Student Recital of the ATS Class at Plaza De Anaya. American Tribal Style is taught at Plaza De Anaya by Lenay of Kamalah Tribal. For more information go to http://www.plazadeanaya.com/

Mia Donna of *BoomBahNique* (http://www.miadonna.net/)

Cabaret Costuming
Some of the main characteristics of Cabaret Costumes are:

-Heavily adorned with beads, sequins, and gemstones.
-Usually made from shiny, stretchy fabrics or lightweight fabrics
-Brightly colored
-Your hair is usually down with very little adornments

Below is an example of a cabaret costume.

Melissa McClure- Phoenix, AZ

Here are some videos of local Cabaret Dancers. They represent a few styles and "looks" of Cabaret.

Ava Flemming (http://www.avafleming.com/)

Amanda Rose (http://www.amandarosedance.com/)

Shahrazad Dance Company (http://www.shahrazaddanceco.com/)

If you would like to see more examples of costumes google images is a quick resource, but beware; not everything that comes up will be accurate. Good key phrase searches for cabaret costumes would be "oriental dance costume" "raqs sharki costume" and "cabaret belly dance costume". Good key phrase searches for tribal costumes are "ATS Belly Dance Costume" and "Tribal Belly Dance Costume" Also don't forget to check out more reliable resources for detailed information about each style at Shira.net and bhuz.com!! They are listed in the sidebars and can be a WEALTH of information!!!

Welcome!

2011-09-14T09:40:00.000-07:00

Welcome!!!

I am so glad you have decided to take this step and experience the world of belly dancing. You are all here for your own various reasons, but I hope when you leave my class you have a better understanding of this BEAUTIFUL dance form and how it shapes many women’s lives today!! Each week my fundamentals class will be broken up into several sections. We will start class off with a quick warm up and then review what we have learned in class up to that point. Next we will cover some new moves and drill them with emphasis on maintaining proper posture. At the end of class we will have a follow-the-leader session, where we put on some fun music and I will guide you in some improve dancing. Although this may sound rigorous, we always keep a light hearted attitude and all plans are subject to change!!! Throughout class I will talk about a various topics such as history, props, costumes, etc and will update this blog with more explanations and examples for that weeks topics. And no….there are NO tests in my class. I try to impart a lot of information to my fundamentals class so that you leave my class with a well rounded view of the World of Bellydance!!!

Tonight in class we briefly covered the history of belly dance and where it comes from. Though most of the information we have are hypotheses, it is popularly believed that belly dance started as a social dance among women to prepare the young women of the community for love making and child birth. We will never know the true story behind where it comes from, but I am so thankful it is here today!

Below is a link to a youtube video to Phoenix's LOVELY Melissa McClure. She is performing an improv "Birth" dance at one of Plaza De Anaya's many shows. She is 8 months pregnant in this video.