It's been a really expensive August.
It's been a really wonderful August...so far.
In my decision to expand my raqs sharqi education, I signed up for the Viva La Diva workshops hosted by Za-Beth. I had been looking forward to this weekend for a while. Since August has been so busy - and expensive! - I've been too broke to take a month's worth of Najmat's classes (and they're not even that expensive!). All I could do was rely on my Netflix queue. But I do so much better in a classroom. I've missed a lot of the interaction with classmates.
This past weekend, however, was exactly what I've been craving all month.
Za-Beth was hosting Dondi and Titanya Dahlin, two fabulous dancers who I've only recently discovered but fell in love with their stylings immediately.
I discovered Dondi through the Bellydance Superstars, which seems to be how many students have found her. She has this amazingly infectious smile and is a mesmerizing dancer. After watching her (and the other Supah Stahs) on the DVD, I Googled and YouTubed like crazy. I loved how relaxed she seems while she's dancing, like it just took no energy at all.
Through the powers of Google, I discovered Titanya. I wasn't sure what it was, but I felt a sort of simpatico with her style. Oh wait...it's because the first thing YouTube led me to was Titanya as a mermaid. I mean, really. Is there anything else I need to say kids? Alrighty then.
Dondi and Titanya's workshops focused on The Five Elements on Saturday and Zambra Mora on Sunday. It looked like the weekend was not only going to be a busy one, but an inspiring one.
Titanya, me, and Dondi - Smiles all around!
The Five Elements and Middle Eastern Dance
Being Asian/Pacific Islander, Chinese philosophy is something I've been exposed to as a child. I've always had a respect for it, but I've only really started learning more about it in the past couple of years (thanks to the boyfriend!). I've been able to learn a lot more about qi/ch'i and how it helps to explain so many things where Western medicine fails. It seemed like an appropriate way to learn more about Middle Eastern dance.
Dondi and Titanya introduced the Five Elements to us, stating that we each carry all 5 within us but will sometimes utilize one or two elements more so than others. In their explanations, they also broke down the way Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal play into personality types. I must say, I recognized many people in their explanations.
Concerning a 5-part Middle Eastern Dance Routine, Fire would represent the entrance, Water would represent the Veil and Taxim, Earth would represent the middle and grounding piece, Wood would represent the drum solo, and Metal would represent the ending piece. The Dahlin's mother, Donna Eden is an internationally respected author and practitioner of the Five Elements and Energy Medicine. So, with their understanding of the Elements ingrained in them since childhood, they've really come to understand how to use that energy towards their goals. I could go into more detail, but I why reinvent the Element Wheel?
Check out Titanya's article about movement and the Five Elements!
I thought it was really interesting, actually. After listening to their descriptions, I can say that I am mainly an Earth-Water person. Even my astrological signs point to that (I'm an Aries-Taurus Cusp and a Water Dog)! I am eternally a mother - and even considered that to be my answer to "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I definitely like to be closer to the ground, and prefer walking in my flip flops or barefoot if I can get away with it (as I type this, I've already walked around my office barefoot several times today!). Also, I feel like water has played a huge role in my life - from being born on an island to insisting on moving to Boston because it's by an ocean. When I first moved to Boston, I was so turned around! Generally, I'm pretty good at maps, but I kept confusing myself! For some reason, I could point to where the ocean was from any point of the city, but I couldn't tell you if I was North or South or East or West! It's like my body knew where the water was...but my brain was so used to it being to the West of me!
After their explanation of the Five Elements, they started breaking down some choreography for us that utilized all 5 elements. The workshop was attended by 20-25 people, and we mainly moved in a circle for the first part. As the room was longer than it was wider, there was a little bit of trouble in getting all the moves down. There were several times when I knocked into the woman in front of me! After the lunch break, we partnered up. I think putting the group into partners was a great way to get to know more of the women in the workshop and helped us learn the moves better.
The routine was beautiful and really fun! Definitely some challenges along the way, but I think I would be able to add some of the moves to my own repertoire. Titanya has a very energetic style (Fire, indeed!), and she reminded me a lot of my younger sister in the way she spoke. Her moves were definitely more "Here I am!" and flowy. She has absolutely GORGEOUS hand moves, which she credits to Polynesian Dance (another reason she reminds me of my sister..I'll probably be asking my sister to help me with hand movements the next time I see her!). Titanya was a lot more of a visual and physical teacher.
But when we thought the challenge would be over, Dondi handed us a drum solo! Though it was a quick piece, it definitely got a lot of us energized. Dondi's style definitely leans a lot more towards putting things into a concise explanation (soooo Wood!). But she also urged us to keep moving forward in the choreography. For myself, I don't think I felt like I was behind in any way, but I do wonder about those that take more time to learn. Dondi is much more of a "practice makes perfect" type teacher.
We danced to "Fe Yom Welaila" from the album "Tabel Ya Issam" for the first piece, and one of the drum solos from "The Dancing Drum by Issam" for the Drum Solo.
I enjoyed Dondi and Titanya teaching together! After their explanation of the Five Elements, you could really see where their strengths and challenges were. They seem to balance each other very well. Dondi would help to better explain movements, while Titanya was conscious of making sure everyone could see the movements.
To be continued...
Part 2 - Show and Competition
Being Asian/Pacific Islander, Chinese philosophy is something I've been exposed to as a child. I've always had a respect for it, but I've only really started learning more about it in the past couple of years (thanks to the boyfriend!). I've been able to learn a lot more about qi/ch'i and how it helps to explain so many things where Western medicine fails. It seemed like an appropriate way to learn more about Middle Eastern dance.
Dondi and Titanya introduced the Five Elements to us, stating that we each carry all 5 within us but will sometimes utilize one or two elements more so than others. In their explanations, they also broke down the way Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal play into personality types. I must say, I recognized many people in their explanations.
Concerning a 5-part Middle Eastern Dance Routine, Fire would represent the entrance, Water would represent the Veil and Taxim, Earth would represent the middle and grounding piece, Wood would represent the drum solo, and Metal would represent the ending piece. The Dahlin's mother, Donna Eden is an internationally respected author and practitioner of the Five Elements and Energy Medicine. So, with their understanding of the Elements ingrained in them since childhood, they've really come to understand how to use that energy towards their goals. I could go into more detail, but I why reinvent the Element Wheel?
Check out Titanya's article about movement and the Five Elements!
I thought it was really interesting, actually. After listening to their descriptions, I can say that I am mainly an Earth-Water person. Even my astrological signs point to that (I'm an Aries-Taurus Cusp and a Water Dog)! I am eternally a mother - and even considered that to be my answer to "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I definitely like to be closer to the ground, and prefer walking in my flip flops or barefoot if I can get away with it (as I type this, I've already walked around my office barefoot several times today!). Also, I feel like water has played a huge role in my life - from being born on an island to insisting on moving to Boston because it's by an ocean. When I first moved to Boston, I was so turned around! Generally, I'm pretty good at maps, but I kept confusing myself! For some reason, I could point to where the ocean was from any point of the city, but I couldn't tell you if I was North or South or East or West! It's like my body knew where the water was...but my brain was so used to it being to the West of me!
After their explanation of the Five Elements, they started breaking down some choreography for us that utilized all 5 elements. The workshop was attended by 20-25 people, and we mainly moved in a circle for the first part. As the room was longer than it was wider, there was a little bit of trouble in getting all the moves down. There were several times when I knocked into the woman in front of me! After the lunch break, we partnered up. I think putting the group into partners was a great way to get to know more of the women in the workshop and helped us learn the moves better.
The routine was beautiful and really fun! Definitely some challenges along the way, but I think I would be able to add some of the moves to my own repertoire. Titanya has a very energetic style (Fire, indeed!), and she reminded me a lot of my younger sister in the way she spoke. Her moves were definitely more "Here I am!" and flowy. She has absolutely GORGEOUS hand moves, which she credits to Polynesian Dance (another reason she reminds me of my sister..I'll probably be asking my sister to help me with hand movements the next time I see her!). Titanya was a lot more of a visual and physical teacher.
But when we thought the challenge would be over, Dondi handed us a drum solo! Though it was a quick piece, it definitely got a lot of us energized. Dondi's style definitely leans a lot more towards putting things into a concise explanation (soooo Wood!). But she also urged us to keep moving forward in the choreography. For myself, I don't think I felt like I was behind in any way, but I do wonder about those that take more time to learn. Dondi is much more of a "practice makes perfect" type teacher.
We danced to "Fe Yom Welaila" from the album "Tabel Ya Issam" for the first piece, and one of the drum solos from "The Dancing Drum by Issam" for the Drum Solo.
I enjoyed Dondi and Titanya teaching together! After their explanation of the Five Elements, you could really see where their strengths and challenges were. They seem to balance each other very well. Dondi would help to better explain movements, while Titanya was conscious of making sure everyone could see the movements.
To be continued...
Part 2 - Show and Competition
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