Tonight Brandye substitute-taught Fonda's Dance Loft class, even though she had messed up her back and couldn't, y'know, dance. Instead she observed and coached and corrected and encouraged, and taught us a quick combo when her back eased up a bit. We also worked on belly flutters, which is something I really need to dedicate some time to developing.
Somehow I got nominated to lead the warm-up, though, which is pretty funny because I am the world's laziest warmer-upper at home. But hey, it was all good fun and we were all warm when I was done.
Showing posts with label the dance loft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the dance loft. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Yay drills!
Day 341 of practice.
Did some drills tonight in Fonda's Dance Loft class, including some shoulder shimmies which was good because I haven't really worked on them lately. After our video watching party on Sunday everyone had all these moves they wanted to learn but Fonda told them they had to do drills first to be able to do them right. She's so much tougher in intermediate class, it's fun :D
We also practiced our sword and veil number, which we will be performing at a hafla on the 18th, the same show that I'll be doing my Lovely Creature solo at if I get it finished in time. It's going to be an awesome show!
Did some drills tonight in Fonda's Dance Loft class, including some shoulder shimmies which was good because I haven't really worked on them lately. After our video watching party on Sunday everyone had all these moves they wanted to learn but Fonda told them they had to do drills first to be able to do them right. She's so much tougher in intermediate class, it's fun :D
We also practiced our sword and veil number, which we will be performing at a hafla on the 18th, the same show that I'll be doing my Lovely Creature solo at if I get it finished in time. It's going to be an awesome show!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Why so tired?
Day 257 of practice.
Just got back from class at The Dance Loft. We practiced for our performance and I had a good time, but on the way home I was suddenly struck by drowsiness! Don't know why, but I'm having a hard time focusing now.
Just got back from class at The Dance Loft. We practiced for our performance and I had a good time, but on the way home I was suddenly struck by drowsiness! Don't know why, but I'm having a hard time focusing now.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Stupid mosquito
Day 250 of practice.
There was a mosquito at The Dance Loft and it bit me at least 5 times... including twice on the belly! Good thing I'm not performing this weekend, I'd feel all self-conscious about big red dots on my tummy. Otherwise class was fun, there were only four of us so we got to practice dancing in a tight little group, and doing duets. Plus we did a lot of zilling, so I don't have to practice that today.
I asked my husband to find me a new song to do some improv to while I was at class, and when I got home he'd made me a playlist of 18 songs! He's awesome that way. I put it on shuffle and the song that came up was another one by Rajna. It's called "Buried Philae" and it's amazingly awesome. I think it might be a femme fatale song. I wanted to drape myself in jewels, wear smoky eye shadow and stalk across the stage.
There was a mosquito at The Dance Loft and it bit me at least 5 times... including twice on the belly! Good thing I'm not performing this weekend, I'd feel all self-conscious about big red dots on my tummy. Otherwise class was fun, there were only four of us so we got to practice dancing in a tight little group, and doing duets. Plus we did a lot of zilling, so I don't have to practice that today.
I asked my husband to find me a new song to do some improv to while I was at class, and when I got home he'd made me a playlist of 18 songs! He's awesome that way. I put it on shuffle and the song that came up was another one by Rajna. It's called "Buried Philae" and it's amazingly awesome. I think it might be a femme fatale song. I wanted to drape myself in jewels, wear smoky eye shadow and stalk across the stage.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Roses and Rain
It is so hard to get a good picture of the back/side of one's own head! I love my chiffon roses by Mermaiden, and I keep meaning to do a post about them. Actually I have a whole series of posts that I want to do on the various beautiful things I wear in my hair.
Anyway, tonight I went to class at The Dance Loft like a good girl. The above photo is how I wore my hair. What a mistake! It was really hot in there and all the fans were on and my hair was blowing all over the place. A monsoon blew in while we were dancing and dumped a decent amount of rain on the neighborhood, so it was actually wonderfully cool outside when I left the studio.
Other than the heat and the noisy fans, class was fun! We reviewed moves and worked on our performance, which has been pushed back to October due to never-ending schedule conflicts.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Classy class
Day 194 of practice.
Tonight I fought off the remnants of the drowsiness of doom and went to class at The Dance Loft. It was a fun night, we did some drills and then we worked on our student performance. I had some trouble with the balancing props section because my hair was so slippery! But otherwise I had a good time, even though I was still a little out of it.
Fonda even wrote up some homework for us, two sets of things we can practice. I think these will be great to take with me on my upcoming vacation. If I want to get out of a boring conversation, or escape for some quiet me-time, I can wave my print-out and say "Sorry, I have to do my homework!"
Tonight I fought off the remnants of the drowsiness of doom and went to class at The Dance Loft. It was a fun night, we did some drills and then we worked on our student performance. I had some trouble with the balancing props section because my hair was so slippery! But otherwise I had a good time, even though I was still a little out of it.
Fonda even wrote up some homework for us, two sets of things we can practice. I think these will be great to take with me on my upcoming vacation. If I want to get out of a boring conversation, or escape for some quiet me-time, I can wave my print-out and say "Sorry, I have to do my homework!"
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Veil + Fan
Day 187 of practice.
Nope, not fan veils. My veil, and the fans at The Dance Loft. It's really tricky doing veil with really lightweight silk when fans are blowing on you. Otherwise, class was fun. Just hot and loud with all of the fans going! Fonda is planning a student performance sometime in September and we're practicing hard for it. Also I bought myself a sweet hip scarf/belt, almost everyone in class has them and we're going to wear them for the performance.
Nope, not fan veils. My veil, and the fans at The Dance Loft. It's really tricky doing veil with really lightweight silk when fans are blowing on you. Otherwise, class was fun. Just hot and loud with all of the fans going! Fonda is planning a student performance sometime in September and we're practicing hard for it. Also I bought myself a sweet hip scarf/belt, almost everyone in class has them and we're going to wear them for the performance.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Hot times at The Dance Loft
Day 173 of practice.
Apparently it was 112 degrees today. As such, it was still pretty hot when everyone got to The Dance Loft for class tonight. Fonda ended up changing a lot of her plans because I guess she didn't want to give us heat stroke. She's just nice that way! We did some fast, but mostly we did slow and talked about formations and plans for the future and how to do better snake arms and seaweed. It's funny how snake arms are one of the first things a newbie dancer learns, and they take the longest to master.
I'll probably do some solo practice later, but I figured I'd update the blog now while I had a few spare minutes.
Apparently it was 112 degrees today. As such, it was still pretty hot when everyone got to The Dance Loft for class tonight. Fonda ended up changing a lot of her plans because I guess she didn't want to give us heat stroke. She's just nice that way! We did some fast, but mostly we did slow and talked about formations and plans for the future and how to do better snake arms and seaweed. It's funny how snake arms are one of the first things a newbie dancer learns, and they take the longest to master.
I'll probably do some solo practice later, but I figured I'd update the blog now while I had a few spare minutes.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Props and veils
Day 166 of practice.
Just got back from Fonda's Dance Loft class. We did a fun exercise where part of the group was in crescent, using veils, and three people were in the center with balancing props. Unfortunately, since I had a balancing prop and was comfortable using that, I had to balance instead of playing with my veil. Oh well. Plenty of time to play with veil at home!
Just got back from Fonda's Dance Loft class. We did a fun exercise where part of the group was in crescent, using veils, and three people were in the center with balancing props. Unfortunately, since I had a balancing prop and was comfortable using that, I had to balance instead of playing with my veil. Oh well. Plenty of time to play with veil at home!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Good Wednesday
Day 159 of practice.
Today was a pretty good day. During the afternoon I ran a quick dress rehearsal for my solo, to make sure I could do floorwork in what I wanted to wear. I also discovered that I should wear my hair up, because if I wear it down it gets tangled in my crazy hair clip.
Speaking of hairclips, I got some in the mail which I will review next week!
Tonight I went to Fonda's class, where we did some fun drills and went back over a couple moves and then practiced dancing in formations. It was a good time.
Today was a pretty good day. During the afternoon I ran a quick dress rehearsal for my solo, to make sure I could do floorwork in what I wanted to wear. I also discovered that I should wear my hair up, because if I wear it down it gets tangled in my crazy hair clip.
Speaking of hairclips, I got some in the mail which I will review next week!
Tonight I went to Fonda's class, where we did some fun drills and went back over a couple moves and then practiced dancing in formations. It was a good time.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
New class format!
Day 152 of practice.
I'm really excited because Fonda changed the format of her Wednesday night class at The Dance Loft. It used to be totally drop-in friendly and we'd learn the same moves over and over again. But because there was a good core of returning students, she decided to start adding more advanced material, have us spend more time practicing dancing as if we were performing, and throw in some drills, too! The funny thing is that after she made this decision, only I and one other regular student showed up, plus one student who has been there 3-4 times, and then a bunch of newbies! But the new students kept up pretty well and I think everyone had a good time. I sure did.
I'm really excited because Fonda changed the format of her Wednesday night class at The Dance Loft. It used to be totally drop-in friendly and we'd learn the same moves over and over again. But because there was a good core of returning students, she decided to start adding more advanced material, have us spend more time practicing dancing as if we were performing, and throw in some drills, too! The funny thing is that after she made this decision, only I and one other regular student showed up, plus one student who has been there 3-4 times, and then a bunch of newbies! But the new students kept up pretty well and I think everyone had a good time. I sure did.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Frustrated
Day 145 of practice.
I'm dealing with a lot of frustration, impatience, and uncertainty about dance right now, so this post is going to be short and sweet. Practice tonight was going to class at The Dance Loft. We practiced slow and fast basic tribal moves and learned an old school Domba move that's really cute.
I'm dealing with a lot of frustration, impatience, and uncertainty about dance right now, so this post is going to be short and sweet. Practice tonight was going to class at The Dance Loft. We practiced slow and fast basic tribal moves and learned an old school Domba move that's really cute.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
New moves
Day 138 of practice.
Today was really cool and gray and really not at all what you'd expect from May in AZ. They even got rain up in Phoenix, but not down here in Tucson. Because of this, I really wanted to just stay home and finish the good book that I've been reading, but instead I got my stuff together and went to class at The Dance Loft like a good little dancer.
It's a good thing I did, because not only were there some cool new students, but we went over some new-to-me moves. A couple were variations on what I already knew, but one was completely unlike anything from Anaya Tribal classes, which is cool. It's fun and challenging keeping two distinct tribal languages straight in my head.
Today was really cool and gray and really not at all what you'd expect from May in AZ. They even got rain up in Phoenix, but not down here in Tucson. Because of this, I really wanted to just stay home and finish the good book that I've been reading, but instead I got my stuff together and went to class at The Dance Loft like a good little dancer.
It's a good thing I did, because not only were there some cool new students, but we went over some new-to-me moves. A couple were variations on what I already knew, but one was completely unlike anything from Anaya Tribal classes, which is cool. It's fun and challenging keeping two distinct tribal languages straight in my head.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
I got an "A"!
Day 117 of practice.
Taking classes from Fonda at the Dance Loft is a lot of fun, because she always says the silliest things, like "No one died!" and "Ok, you pass the class." Today I kept getting "A"s for doing things right, along with a couple of other students. I smile and laugh a lot in her class. We worked on slow moves and balancing props and leadership transitions and such. All good.
Today I also cut up an old too-tight t-shirt and turned it into a top to wear for classes. American Apparel has this silly idea that women shouldn't have muscles, so all of my "girl cut" t-shirts that used to fit before I started working out are now really uncomfortable. But I really like the designs on them, so I modify them into cute tops to liven up my practice clothes.
Taking classes from Fonda at the Dance Loft is a lot of fun, because she always says the silliest things, like "No one died!" and "Ok, you pass the class." Today I kept getting "A"s for doing things right, along with a couple of other students. I smile and laugh a lot in her class. We worked on slow moves and balancing props and leadership transitions and such. All good.
Today I also cut up an old too-tight t-shirt and turned it into a top to wear for classes. American Apparel has this silly idea that women shouldn't have muscles, so all of my "girl cut" t-shirts that used to fit before I started working out are now really uncomfortable. But I really like the designs on them, so I modify them into cute tops to liven up my practice clothes.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Fun class
Day 110 of practice.
Tonight was a good night of class at The Dance Loft with Fonda. We worked on slow tribal moves and danced with our props. Because there were only 9 people in class, we were able to break into trios for practice and get some good individual feedback. Afterward, I stayed talking with Fonda and a couple of my classmates, just a nice hour of chat about dance and crazy stories.
If you haven't already, please check out the post I wrote earlier about dance names!
Tonight was a good night of class at The Dance Loft with Fonda. We worked on slow tribal moves and danced with our props. Because there were only 9 people in class, we were able to break into trios for practice and get some good individual feedback. Afterward, I stayed talking with Fonda and a couple of my classmates, just a nice hour of chat about dance and crazy stories.
If you haven't already, please check out the post I wrote earlier about dance names!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Class and little changes
Day 103 of practice.
I just made a couple of small changes to this blog... added some links and bands, and I changed both of those lists to be sorted alphabetically, because it's easier than keeping them sorted by some imaginary level of importance.
Anyway, I spent tonight at The Dance Loft for tribal and balancing props. My new tray worked out really well, it didn't even come close to falling off of my head, unlike my obnoxious sword. I got to spend a lot of time leading my fellow students through slow moves, with and without props, which was really good practice for me.
I just made a couple of small changes to this blog... added some links and bands, and I changed both of those lists to be sorted alphabetically, because it's easier than keeping them sorted by some imaginary level of importance.
Anyway, I spent tonight at The Dance Loft for tribal and balancing props. My new tray worked out really well, it didn't even come close to falling off of my head, unlike my obnoxious sword. I got to spend a lot of time leading my fellow students through slow moves, with and without props, which was really good practice for me.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
On my head.
Day 96 of practice.
Today I went to call at The Dance Loft, and we started working with balance props. I had intended to go out shopping for a basket or tray or something last week, but I forgot, so I had to take my sword with me. Other than Fonda (the teacher!) I was the only one with a sword. I really do need to get a different prop as we had a lot of people in class tonight, so a smaller prop would be better. Preferably something that actually fits in my dance bag, so I can leave it there. I almost forgot my sword!
Class was fun, in addition to balancing props, we did some drills and some 3/4 shimmy work and some practice with zills. Definitely what I needed to fight the funk.
Today I went to call at The Dance Loft, and we started working with balance props. I had intended to go out shopping for a basket or tray or something last week, but I forgot, so I had to take my sword with me. Other than Fonda (the teacher!) I was the only one with a sword. I really do need to get a different prop as we had a lot of people in class tonight, so a smaller prop would be better. Preferably something that actually fits in my dance bag, so I can leave it there. I almost forgot my sword!
Class was fun, in addition to balancing props, we did some drills and some 3/4 shimmy work and some practice with zills. Definitely what I needed to fight the funk.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
An assault on the ears
Day 89 of practice.
So, tonight was the last session of zills at The Dance Loft (although we'll be doing zills from now on when we do fast moves), and once again I did well in class and Fonda told me how I have zills down. Then I came home and did my 5 minutes of Anaya-and-zills practice, and I sucked. Wow, was I bad! I kept messing up, and one of my zills was a little loose and kept trying to come off of my thumb, and it was just awful. I mean, I was on beat as long as I wasn't doing a complicated combo, but get me switching feet and spinning and I sounded like a bag of zills falling down the stairs.
I realized that the song I practiced to last night was only 3 1/2 minutes long, so I chose a 6 minute song tonight and I'll practice with that for the next 5 days, too, which will more than make up for shorting myself yesterday.
Oh, and to make myself feel less bad about my zillage, I should also mention that Fonda gave me props for my vibration shimmy tonight. I'm telling you, dear readers, practice really pays off!
Next week we're going to do balance props, so I need to decide if I want to work with my sword, which I don't like much, or if I want to go out shopping for a basket or tray or something. I may go that route, because it would be easier to practice with at home, and The Dance Loft can get a little crowded sometimes, so it may be good to have a more compact prop to fall back on, even if I do want to work with my sword sometimes.
So, tonight was the last session of zills at The Dance Loft (although we'll be doing zills from now on when we do fast moves), and once again I did well in class and Fonda told me how I have zills down. Then I came home and did my 5 minutes of Anaya-and-zills practice, and I sucked. Wow, was I bad! I kept messing up, and one of my zills was a little loose and kept trying to come off of my thumb, and it was just awful. I mean, I was on beat as long as I wasn't doing a complicated combo, but get me switching feet and spinning and I sounded like a bag of zills falling down the stairs.
I realized that the song I practiced to last night was only 3 1/2 minutes long, so I chose a 6 minute song tonight and I'll practice with that for the next 5 days, too, which will more than make up for shorting myself yesterday.
Oh, and to make myself feel less bad about my zillage, I should also mention that Fonda gave me props for my vibration shimmy tonight. I'm telling you, dear readers, practice really pays off!
Next week we're going to do balance props, so I need to decide if I want to work with my sword, which I don't like much, or if I want to go out shopping for a basket or tray or something. I may go that route, because it would be easier to practice with at home, and The Dance Loft can get a little crowded sometimes, so it may be good to have a more compact prop to fall back on, even if I do want to work with my sword sometimes.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Go away, funk!
Day 75 of practice -- yeah! 75!
Still in a funk, so much so that I almost didn't go to class at The Dance Loft. But really, I just bought a membership and a class card last week, I need to make the effort to be consistent.
It was good to get out of the house, see Fonda and my classmates, and get some practice. We did basic tribal moves and zills. Once again Fonda praised my zills, which made me wish that I played as well at home alone as I do in a room full of people!
Still in a funk, so much so that I almost didn't go to class at The Dance Loft. But really, I just bought a membership and a class card last week, I need to make the effort to be consistent.
It was good to get out of the house, see Fonda and my classmates, and get some practice. We did basic tribal moves and zills. Once again Fonda praised my zills, which made me wish that I played as well at home alone as I do in a room full of people!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Oh yeah! Blogging!
Day 68 of practice.
I got back from dance class 2 1/2 hours ago, but I forgot to update my blog because I was busy eating dinner and such. Today I was weirdly nauseated again (before anyone asks, no, I am definitely not pregnant. I think my husband gave me a poisoned chocolate bar), so I didn't feel up to eating before class and I barely felt up to going to class at all, but I did anyway because I wanted to dance and have fun instead of vegging out in front of the computer all night.
Class was crowded! Probably the most people I've seen at the Dance Loft so far. It was the usual mix of beginning and returning students. Even though I've only been going off and on since the start of the year, I always get lumped with the advanced students due to my Anaya experience, so I got to stand at the front of the class and clock in and out of leader position. Too bad for the students following me that I keep cuing things the Anaya way! Sorry newbies, I'll try to be more consistent next time!
I'm happy, because Fonda said my zilling sounded just right tonight... I'm used to being totally off, but the song had an easy drum pattern and we were doing basic moves, so it was easy to stay relaxed and not rush my triplet pattern.
I got back from dance class 2 1/2 hours ago, but I forgot to update my blog because I was busy eating dinner and such. Today I was weirdly nauseated again (before anyone asks, no, I am definitely not pregnant. I think my husband gave me a poisoned chocolate bar), so I didn't feel up to eating before class and I barely felt up to going to class at all, but I did anyway because I wanted to dance and have fun instead of vegging out in front of the computer all night.
Class was crowded! Probably the most people I've seen at the Dance Loft so far. It was the usual mix of beginning and returning students. Even though I've only been going off and on since the start of the year, I always get lumped with the advanced students due to my Anaya experience, so I got to stand at the front of the class and clock in and out of leader position. Too bad for the students following me that I keep cuing things the Anaya way! Sorry newbies, I'll try to be more consistent next time!
I'm happy, because Fonda said my zilling sounded just right tonight... I'm used to being totally off, but the song had an easy drum pattern and we were doing basic moves, so it was easy to stay relaxed and not rush my triplet pattern.
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