Got some dancing in this weekend! Zill practice on Saturday because I couldn't remember the last time I'd played them. My lack of practice really showed, ouch. The pets definitely did not appreciate the cacophony.
Today was the first official meeting of the newly-resurrected Tucson Tribal Belly Dance Collective. WOO! I have a troupe in Tucson! We had some visitors from Bisbee, which was fun. We danced for them and they danced for us and then we danced together, and then Fonda taught them some of our moves based on what we wanted to be refreshed on. Plus we discussed Collective business. I am excited to finally see things picking up here in my own town, since I am getting a little worn out on having to travel to Phoenix to get a dance fix.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
2011 Year in Review
1. What did you do in 2011 that you’ve never done before?
Well, that's an easy one. I danced every day!
2. Did you keep your belly dance new year’s resolutions, and will you have any this year?
See above about dancing every day! I don't really "do" New Year's resolutions, but we had to set some for Anaya Tribe. Mine is to stretch every day, especially my problem areas, and to be raised to Level 3 in Anaya Tribe.
3. Did you introduce a newbie to belly dance?
I don't think so, not in 2011.
4. What travels did you take, and did you involve belly dance in them?
As usual I went to NY and NJ to visit my in-laws. I kept up my daily dance practice but otherwise there was not really any dancing involved.
5. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
Perfect health!
6. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 1st and December 31st, as they mark the beginning and end of my year of practice. I'm not really good with dates otherwise.
7. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Besides the year of practice, getting into Anaya Tribe was big for me!
8. What was your biggest failure?
Not working on back bends at all.
9. Did you suffer illness or injury?
SO MANY COLDS! And that mystery rash in July. But I shouldn't complain, since I didn't have any major health issues.
10. What was the best thing you bought?
Wow. That's a tough one. I buy a lot of stuff, and I'm fond of saying "This is the best $X I ever spent!" I guess for non-physical purchases, definitely the Deb Rubin workshops. As far as actual STUFF goes, I don't think I could choose just one thing.
11. What did you get really excited about?
Veils! I love them so much and I love dancing with them and people love to watch me dance with them.
12. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Stretching. I feel like I am too young to be so tight. Also I wish I'd spent more time learning from my DVD collection.
13. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Being lazy, procrastinating, and making excuses.
14. What seemed to get in the way of your belly dancing?
Colds and laziness.
15. What was your favorite music from this year?
The new Azam Ali album was pretty good, otherwise I'm not sure I listened to a lot of NEW music. Discovered lots of good older stuff I'd never heard, though. The cover of "Ring of Fire" that I did my veil solo to was definitely my favorite.
16. What did you do on your birthday?
My husband took me out for the nicest steak dinner of my life!
17. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Going to Tribal Fest with all the cool kids!
18. How would you describe your belly dance style in 2011?
Still growing and taking shape.
19. What were the major influences on your belly dance journey in 2011?
Taking the Mira Mania workshops really gave me a kick-start when I was starting to doubt myself. Fonda's classes helped me branch out into more props and get more involved in my local community. Jolie's classes started rounding me out as a dancer.
Dilara left her list at 19 because she likes prime numbers, but I like round numbers so I need to add another one...
20. Best thing about being a dancer in 2011?
Getting the chance to watch so many other dancers, from amateurs to the top-name pros, perform. I saw so many amazing performances this year that totally inspired me!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Fire fans!
So, I forgot to mention that my little brother gave me the coolest holiday gift -- spring-loaded fire fans! I've wanted them pretty much since I received my normal fire fans as a gift from my husband years ago. So anyway, now I have normal fire fans, spring-loaded folding fire fans, and glow fans. It's about time that I learn how to use them so I can perform with them, right?
I think tomorrow I'll put my DVD in and get down to the real learning, but for today I did 10 minutes of snake arms, wrist circles, and general playing around to get an idea of what I could do with them right off the bat. Just 10 minutes was enough to make my arms protest! Silly arms.
It's interesting... After a year of practicing every day, I now plan what I'm going to practice without even thinking about it. It's become a thing I do, just like washing dishes and brushing my teeth and checking my e-mail. I even did shimmies while I washed dishes, because that's also something of a habit now. I wonder what else I should keep doing until it becomes a habit?
(By the way, if you're wondering why I wasn't at Anaya Tribal class tonight, it's because the class session doesn't start until NEXT week! Long holiday break this year)
I think tomorrow I'll put my DVD in and get down to the real learning, but for today I did 10 minutes of snake arms, wrist circles, and general playing around to get an idea of what I could do with them right off the bat. Just 10 minutes was enough to make my arms protest! Silly arms.
It's interesting... After a year of practicing every day, I now plan what I'm going to practice without even thinking about it. It's become a thing I do, just like washing dishes and brushing my teeth and checking my e-mail. I even did shimmies while I washed dishes, because that's also something of a habit now. I wonder what else I should keep doing until it becomes a habit?
(By the way, if you're wondering why I wasn't at Anaya Tribal class tonight, it's because the class session doesn't start until NEXT week! Long holiday break this year)
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Go Mom!
Just got back from Fonda's intermediate tribal class, and I had a pleasant surprise when I got there -- my Mom had taken the beginner class! Go Mom!
Class was fun, we did some drills and learned a couple new moves and practiced dancing and even had a few minutes of free-style solo dancing to get people used to the idea of solos. Of course, some of us were already more than comfortable with that ;)
Class was fun, we did some drills and learned a couple new moves and practiced dancing and even had a few minutes of free-style solo dancing to get people used to the idea of solos. Of course, some of us were already more than comfortable with that ;)
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Oh geez
I am hurting today! Rough dance classes and too much time bent over beads. I think I pulled or strained a muscle in my butt yesterday. What a dumb place to hurt myself! And my shoulders hurt from all the beading. And my abs hurt from all the coughing. I am a list of stupid complaints. However, I had a good time dancing tonight, and I even did crunches and push-ups and stuff. Gotta get back into shape, you know! It was also nice to see more people in the classes.
Now for chai and baklava!
Now for chai and baklava!
Monday, January 2, 2012
My lungs!
I'm going to do away with the "Day X" of practice now, since I've completed my year of practice.
Today was my first dance class since getting sick on the 22nd. I'm still a little sick, still coughing mostly. So doing an intense choreo was maybe not the best way to get back into class! But I'm happy I went to class, because it was nice to kick the year off with Jolie and Brooke and challenge myself.
I'm still trying to decide what my goals are for 2012, and I'm reconsidering a lot of what I'm doing as a dancer, and trying to decide what my overarching goal for my dance career is, and what I'm doing with myself. You know, all that existential angst stuff. But enough of that. I'm going to go buy myself a shiny thing!
Today was my first dance class since getting sick on the 22nd. I'm still a little sick, still coughing mostly. So doing an intense choreo was maybe not the best way to get back into class! But I'm happy I went to class, because it was nice to kick the year off with Jolie and Brooke and challenge myself.
I'm still trying to decide what my goals are for 2012, and I'm reconsidering a lot of what I'm doing as a dancer, and trying to decide what my overarching goal for my dance career is, and what I'm doing with myself. You know, all that existential angst stuff. But enough of that. I'm going to go buy myself a shiny thing!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
How did I do?
So, how well did I do with my goal of a year of practice? I did miss some days -- maybe a week total. It's one thing to say that I'll practice even when I'm sick, and quite another to actually do it. I am a bit disappointed that I didn't truly practice for half an hour every day, but I realize now that in some ways that was an unrealistic goal for me.
That said, there were days when I was perfectly healthy and I still slacked off a lot. I practiced, but it wasn't honest, dedicated practice that would really improve me as a dancer. In 2012 I think I need to focus on quality more than quantity, especially if I want to move past some of my current obstacles.
Before I started 2011, I posted 5 things I wanted to work on in my year of practice. Let's see how I did with them!
1: Get better at group dancing.
I must have succeeded with this one, since I'm now in a troupe! Spending time in Fonda's class, which is smaller and more prone to having newbie dancers, forced me to spend more time leading and get more comfortable with it. I've also been working on my peripheral vision so I don't have to stare at the leader!
2: Hone my solo technique.
Thank goodness for Jolie's classes! I'm definitely a much more well-rounded soloist.
3. Improve my zill playing.
Anaya gave me no choice on this when they decided that we had to play rhythms other than a gallop! If you've been following my blog for a while you know that at one point I was zilling every day to try to get a handle on what Anaya was throwing at me. I'm still not good enough to comfortably zill solo, but I do better in groups than I used to.
4. Revisit props I learned this year but never practiced at home.
I revisited sword, which I've used twice in performances with Fonda's class, and I learned veil, skirt, and skirt & fan. I did not, however, revisit my palm flames. Not bad!
5. Backbends!
Somehow I never got around to this! I guess I just got too busy with classes and life and things.
I also went above and beyond my goals in some ways. I pretty much expected that I would spend 2011 continuing to take whatever classes were offered on Thursdays at Plaza de Anaya. I had no idea that I would end up taking Fonda's class, and that Jolie would come to Tucson and rock my world two nights a week. Unfortunately this level of classes is not sustainable given how much it costs, and when Jolie moves away I probably won't be able to replace her classes with something else, but it's been fun while it lasted.
And then there's the workshops. I said I was going to take less of them in 2011, to save some money and maybe get to go to a festival instead, but Kim wouldn't stop bringing amazing people to Plaza! My goodness! I had workshops with Mira Betz, Deb Rubin, Rachel Brice, Silvia Salamanca, and Elizabeth Strong. That's just the visiting teachers at Plaza. I also took a couple of workshops from local teachers. I studied sword with Miriam Amaya at the Desert Shakedown. I had workshops with Anaya and Jolie down here in Tucson.
I was also able to perform a lot. I performed as a soloist, I did a duet with Jen/Sata, I danced in student recitals and I joined Anaya Tribe and danced at numerous events across the Phoenix metroplex.
All in all, 2011 was an amazing year. I'm going to have to work hard to top it in 2012!
That said, there were days when I was perfectly healthy and I still slacked off a lot. I practiced, but it wasn't honest, dedicated practice that would really improve me as a dancer. In 2012 I think I need to focus on quality more than quantity, especially if I want to move past some of my current obstacles.
Before I started 2011, I posted 5 things I wanted to work on in my year of practice. Let's see how I did with them!
1: Get better at group dancing.
I must have succeeded with this one, since I'm now in a troupe! Spending time in Fonda's class, which is smaller and more prone to having newbie dancers, forced me to spend more time leading and get more comfortable with it. I've also been working on my peripheral vision so I don't have to stare at the leader!
2: Hone my solo technique.
Thank goodness for Jolie's classes! I'm definitely a much more well-rounded soloist.
3. Improve my zill playing.
Anaya gave me no choice on this when they decided that we had to play rhythms other than a gallop! If you've been following my blog for a while you know that at one point I was zilling every day to try to get a handle on what Anaya was throwing at me. I'm still not good enough to comfortably zill solo, but I do better in groups than I used to.
4. Revisit props I learned this year but never practiced at home.
I revisited sword, which I've used twice in performances with Fonda's class, and I learned veil, skirt, and skirt & fan. I did not, however, revisit my palm flames. Not bad!
5. Backbends!
Somehow I never got around to this! I guess I just got too busy with classes and life and things.
I also went above and beyond my goals in some ways. I pretty much expected that I would spend 2011 continuing to take whatever classes were offered on Thursdays at Plaza de Anaya. I had no idea that I would end up taking Fonda's class, and that Jolie would come to Tucson and rock my world two nights a week. Unfortunately this level of classes is not sustainable given how much it costs, and when Jolie moves away I probably won't be able to replace her classes with something else, but it's been fun while it lasted.
And then there's the workshops. I said I was going to take less of them in 2011, to save some money and maybe get to go to a festival instead, but Kim wouldn't stop bringing amazing people to Plaza! My goodness! I had workshops with Mira Betz, Deb Rubin, Rachel Brice, Silvia Salamanca, and Elizabeth Strong. That's just the visiting teachers at Plaza. I also took a couple of workshops from local teachers. I studied sword with Miriam Amaya at the Desert Shakedown. I had workshops with Anaya and Jolie down here in Tucson.
I was also able to perform a lot. I performed as a soloist, I did a duet with Jen/Sata, I danced in student recitals and I joined Anaya Tribe and danced at numerous events across the Phoenix metroplex.
All in all, 2011 was an amazing year. I'm going to have to work hard to top it in 2012!
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