Day 97 of practice.
You would expect that since today is Thursday, I would be posting about a lovely night of Plaza de Anaya dance classes. But no. Instead I feel like I'm coming down with something, so I stayed home and dosed up on vitamins, drank a million glasses of water, and sulked because I missed out on cupcakes in rhythm class. CUPCAKES!!! It's really important to me that I not get sick, because I have Mira Betz workshops this weekend! Not only have I been looking forward to them for months and months, but I already paid for the workshops and a ticket to the accompanying show, and it's all non-refundable, so I will be both sad and out of some money if I can't go. But mostly sad!
Anyway, my plan was to have a full-length but gentle practice session at home, work on my solo, do some Anaya Tribal moves, and play around with a song that I love and will probably dance to the next time The Dance Loft has a hafla (that being the only place that lets a solo girl like me dance to a song over 5 minutes).
So I warmed up, and that went well; and I worked on my solo, and while I missed a couple musical cues, I also found some good moves for a couple of spots I was unsure on; then my song came on and I was just ON. I went from gentle, fun moves to just relax, to really throwing myself into the music, complete with hair tosses and floorwork. Floorwork! Without knee pads! On tile! In shorts! I even tried that classic Cleopatra pose with an undulation, which probably looked ridiculous because I've never done it before, but what the hell. I was in my living room and the dogs were the only ones watching, and they clearly think all dance is ridiculous. The point is, in the moment I felt awesome.
Of course, then the song ended and I said "Wait a second, I'm supposed to be taking it easy, what was that all about?" and I felt a little overheated and beat up, so I decided to turn off my music, cool down, and I'll round out my practice with the hand drills that we did in Fonda's class last night, because you can never work too hard on beautiful hands.
Showing posts with label obstacles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obstacles. Show all posts
Friday, April 8, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The perils of practicing in my living room
Day 11 of practice (I probably identified yesterday as day 11, because it was after midnight).
I envy people with a dedicated space to practice their dance in. I really do. When my husband and I went shopping for a house, I had dreams of having a room to bead in, and someplace wide open for dancing. Somehow I didn't get either of those. Oh, someday I'll have them, if we ever finish renovations, but for now I have to content myself with dancing in the living room.
The main problem with my living room is that it was designed for a short person. Despite the fact that it has regular ceilings, the ceiling fan is drop-mounted. Tall friends have to duck to walk under it. I routinely hit it with my hands when I'm dancing (during the summer, I of course turn it off before I dance!). For some inexplicable reason, my two dogs cannot stand the sound of the pull-chains clanging against the glass fixture. So tonight's practice went like this.
Warm Up.
Start dancing.
Accidentally hit pull chains, summoning the dogs from the bedroom. Try to keep dancing while telling the dogs to be quiet.
Dogs return to bedroom.
I hit the chains again. I'm now dancing faster, so the excited, barking corgis decide this means I must want to wrestle. I tell them to be quiet, to no avail. Maggie decides to bite my pants to try to get me to join their herd dog games.
Give up and lock dogs in their crates (it's cold, so I don't want to put them outside to play).
Decide to play more with my veil. Discover that veil layers nicely over Maya Hip Bump and Maya Box.
Run out of veil moves. Toss veil onto the couch. Watch in dismay as cat decides that my veil is his new bed.
Chase cat off of veil, put veil in dance bag, and struggle to hold onto my sense of inner happiness as I wrap up my practice.
I love my pets. I really do. But they are not very compatible with my dance life! Don't even get me started about the orange corgi hairs on my black dance pants...
I envy people with a dedicated space to practice their dance in. I really do. When my husband and I went shopping for a house, I had dreams of having a room to bead in, and someplace wide open for dancing. Somehow I didn't get either of those. Oh, someday I'll have them, if we ever finish renovations, but for now I have to content myself with dancing in the living room.
The main problem with my living room is that it was designed for a short person. Despite the fact that it has regular ceilings, the ceiling fan is drop-mounted. Tall friends have to duck to walk under it. I routinely hit it with my hands when I'm dancing (during the summer, I of course turn it off before I dance!). For some inexplicable reason, my two dogs cannot stand the sound of the pull-chains clanging against the glass fixture. So tonight's practice went like this.
Warm Up.
Start dancing.
Accidentally hit pull chains, summoning the dogs from the bedroom. Try to keep dancing while telling the dogs to be quiet.
Dogs return to bedroom.
I hit the chains again. I'm now dancing faster, so the excited, barking corgis decide this means I must want to wrestle. I tell them to be quiet, to no avail. Maggie decides to bite my pants to try to get me to join their herd dog games.
Give up and lock dogs in their crates (it's cold, so I don't want to put them outside to play).
Decide to play more with my veil. Discover that veil layers nicely over Maya Hip Bump and Maya Box.
Run out of veil moves. Toss veil onto the couch. Watch in dismay as cat decides that my veil is his new bed.
Chase cat off of veil, put veil in dance bag, and struggle to hold onto my sense of inner happiness as I wrap up my practice.
I love my pets. I really do. But they are not very compatible with my dance life! Don't even get me started about the orange corgi hairs on my black dance pants...
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Just dancing
Another night of way-past-midnight practice. This was an odd day. There was a shooting in my city, an attempted assassination, which put me in a rather off mood. I was determined to dance away the negativity, but we also had house guests coming, so the first part of the day was spent cleaning house. I settled for little dance moves here and there, and lots of loudly singing along with songs, but the real dancing didn't happen until after the guests left.
I put on some music and just danced, mainly focusing on the joy of the movement. I did practice some of my Anaya Tribal moves, but they were sprinkled in with lots of straight-up improv. My favorite part was dancing to "Iyansa" by Faun, a song that starts out slow, kicks into a medium tempo, and then gets faster and faster and faster, until I can barely keep up, and then gets slow again. It's a fun one for practicing fast turns, spins and shimmies.
Next week, I think I'll add links to some of my favorite bands to the sidebar, so that when I talk about one, you have the option of easily visiting their page and hopefully checking out some clips or sample downloads and deciding if you like them, too. I'm lucky to be married to a guy who loves music and really enjoys finding new and unusual things for me to dance to!
I put on some music and just danced, mainly focusing on the joy of the movement. I did practice some of my Anaya Tribal moves, but they were sprinkled in with lots of straight-up improv. My favorite part was dancing to "Iyansa" by Faun, a song that starts out slow, kicks into a medium tempo, and then gets faster and faster and faster, until I can barely keep up, and then gets slow again. It's a fun one for practicing fast turns, spins and shimmies.
Next week, I think I'll add links to some of my favorite bands to the sidebar, so that when I talk about one, you have the option of easily visiting their page and hopefully checking out some clips or sample downloads and deciding if you like them, too. I'm lucky to be married to a guy who loves music and really enjoys finding new and unusual things for me to dance to!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Obstacles already
Day 1 of practice.
This year of practice is not off to a good start -- I woke up today to find that not only was my furnace acting up, but I had no hot water pressure in my bathroom. I'm cold and cranky, I had to go to Home Depot for parts that didn't fix any of the problems, and then we had our holiday gift exchange with my family. There was barely time to dance, let alone inclination. But I danced! I barely squeaked in for the day, finishing my practice at 11:58pm.
Because the furnace isn't working well, I'm holed up in the office with a space heater. I had a tiny patch of floor about 2x3' to dance in, with a low-hanging ceiling fan directly overhead, which means that I mostly just drilled shimmies and snake arms and levels. But then I got bored, so I put on a few songs and figured out what I could do in my tiny space.
Today's practice songs:
"Kodama" and "Bushido" by Faith and the Muse. Yes, I do in fact like to practice belly dance to Japanese-inspired Gothic music. I've got an entire three-part Japanese steampunk performance tumbling around in my noggin.
"Sweet Demure" by Beats Antique.
No real major breakthroughs in this practice, though it did warm me up nicely and did wonders for my mood. But I still hate dancing in a tiny space. I have long limbs and I like to use them!
While I was in a bad mood earlier, I popped onto Etsy and made a treasury of dance items, some of which I might use as rewards for my dance progress. I call it Tribal Wishes.
This year of practice is not off to a good start -- I woke up today to find that not only was my furnace acting up, but I had no hot water pressure in my bathroom. I'm cold and cranky, I had to go to Home Depot for parts that didn't fix any of the problems, and then we had our holiday gift exchange with my family. There was barely time to dance, let alone inclination. But I danced! I barely squeaked in for the day, finishing my practice at 11:58pm.
Because the furnace isn't working well, I'm holed up in the office with a space heater. I had a tiny patch of floor about 2x3' to dance in, with a low-hanging ceiling fan directly overhead, which means that I mostly just drilled shimmies and snake arms and levels. But then I got bored, so I put on a few songs and figured out what I could do in my tiny space.
Today's practice songs:
"Kodama" and "Bushido" by Faith and the Muse. Yes, I do in fact like to practice belly dance to Japanese-inspired Gothic music. I've got an entire three-part Japanese steampunk performance tumbling around in my noggin.
"Sweet Demure" by Beats Antique.
No real major breakthroughs in this practice, though it did warm me up nicely and did wonders for my mood. But I still hate dancing in a tiny space. I have long limbs and I like to use them!
While I was in a bad mood earlier, I popped onto Etsy and made a treasury of dance items, some of which I might use as rewards for my dance progress. I call it Tribal Wishes.
Friday, December 24, 2010
30 minutes a day, 365 days a year...
... that's the goal! Starting on January 1st, 2011, I aim to practice belly dance for at least 30 minutes a day, every day, no matter what. I had already wanted to step up my practice regimen, and a blog post from my friend SaraBeth (and the first follower of this blog! yay!) inspired me to join her in striving for a minimum of half an hour a day. SaraBeth was in turn inspired by belly dancer Lisa Zahiya, who has started the blog A year of practice... to track her progress and encourage other dancers, athletes and goal-seekers. I'm grateful to them both for giving me something to latch onto, a movement that I can share with my fellow dancers, which will hopefully keep me from slacking off. There are just a few points I need to ponder before I start, which is what this blog is for.
Specific Goals
What do I want to accomplish in this year? So far I have a couple of definites.
1: Get better at group dancing.
2: Hone my solo technique.
3. Improve my zill playing.
4. Revisit props I learned this year but never practiced at home.
5. Backbends!
What counts as practice?
In order to make sure that I actually get my 30 minutes a day, I need to decide what I will consider to be practice. I'm going to count warm-up and cool-down time, as they're good for the body and make me a better dancer by preventing injury.
Dancing obviously counts as practice, but it has to be in the form of a class, a workshop, or dedicated practice. Maybe a performance. But as much as I would like to say that bopping around at a party counts, the truth is that there is no focus on posture or technique at parties, I'm just having fun.
I've also decided that drilling isolations and practicing zills while seated can count as practice, for days when I'm sick or injured.
What obstacles do I foresee?
As mentioned above, it's hard to get into dance practice when I'm sick or I've hurt myself at the gym, and I get sick a lot. I'll need to work out some easy-on-the-body things I can practice when I'm not well enough to actually dance.
Gem show in February is also going to be hard, as I spend at least 8 hours a day working and then usually have a party or dinner to go to every night for 5 days. I'll probably have to do a combination of dancing a bit while I get ready in the morning (drills in the shower? Shimmies while my oatmeal cooks?), and doing belly rolls while I sit behind the counter packaging crystals.
Vacations are usually pretty chaotic and oftentimes my days are filled with activities. How am I going to find 30 minutes a day to practice? I'll have to work that out when I come to it. Maybe more belly rolls, this time in the car on the way to attractions. Wrist circles, too. Throw some mufflers on my zills and play them as we walk down nature trails. I'll find a way.
How should I reward myself?
Dance should be its own reward, but I may need extra motivation. Many people embarking on a new diet or fitness plan find it helpful to reward themselves for every milestone reached. I'm trying to decide if I want to do the same. A new pair of dance pants for every 30 days of practice sounds pretty good! Maybe if I make it for the entire 365 days I can reward myself with a pair of custom-made fluffy lacy pants like these.
Specific Goals
What do I want to accomplish in this year? So far I have a couple of definites.
1: Get better at group dancing.
2: Hone my solo technique.
3. Improve my zill playing.
4. Revisit props I learned this year but never practiced at home.
5. Backbends!
What counts as practice?
In order to make sure that I actually get my 30 minutes a day, I need to decide what I will consider to be practice. I'm going to count warm-up and cool-down time, as they're good for the body and make me a better dancer by preventing injury.
Dancing obviously counts as practice, but it has to be in the form of a class, a workshop, or dedicated practice. Maybe a performance. But as much as I would like to say that bopping around at a party counts, the truth is that there is no focus on posture or technique at parties, I'm just having fun.
I've also decided that drilling isolations and practicing zills while seated can count as practice, for days when I'm sick or injured.
What obstacles do I foresee?
As mentioned above, it's hard to get into dance practice when I'm sick or I've hurt myself at the gym, and I get sick a lot. I'll need to work out some easy-on-the-body things I can practice when I'm not well enough to actually dance.
Gem show in February is also going to be hard, as I spend at least 8 hours a day working and then usually have a party or dinner to go to every night for 5 days. I'll probably have to do a combination of dancing a bit while I get ready in the morning (drills in the shower? Shimmies while my oatmeal cooks?), and doing belly rolls while I sit behind the counter packaging crystals.
Vacations are usually pretty chaotic and oftentimes my days are filled with activities. How am I going to find 30 minutes a day to practice? I'll have to work that out when I come to it. Maybe more belly rolls, this time in the car on the way to attractions. Wrist circles, too. Throw some mufflers on my zills and play them as we walk down nature trails. I'll find a way.
How should I reward myself?
Dance should be its own reward, but I may need extra motivation. Many people embarking on a new diet or fitness plan find it helpful to reward themselves for every milestone reached. I'm trying to decide if I want to do the same. A new pair of dance pants for every 30 days of practice sounds pretty good! Maybe if I make it for the entire 365 days I can reward myself with a pair of custom-made fluffy lacy pants like these.
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