Belly Basics from a Baby Belly

On Friday, October 15th, I was invited to do an Athena's Party at Girl Power Fitness in Hyde Park, MA.  The Hostess and owner of Girl Power Fitness is a friend of one of my close friends who teaches Zumba, and soon got word that I am also a belly dancer.  Since the night was also going to feature a strip tease lesson, she asked if I would be able to teach a short belly dance lesson.

Truth be told, I don't think I'm necessarily qualified for the job.  Though I've been studying for about 8 years, I've only taken my commitment further in the past 3 years.  I don't necessarily plan on becoming as professional as some of my friends who are dancing at restaurants, but I absolutely love this dance.

Luckily, I had seen a fellow dancer, Ma'isah, the night before and told her about my upcoming lesson.  At that point, I had no idea what my lesson plan was, and I was too nervous to really think about it.  I am extremely lucky that she had a clearer head than I did, and she helped me break it down and feel more prepared.

I knew I had to start with the basic history and background of belly dance, starting with the term raqs sharqi.  I explained to the room full of women that the dance was more about dancing for other women and less about dancing for a man.  I stressed the importance of why it should be more about enjoying the dance, rather than just performing.

I knew I had to go quickly through various moves, but that I wanted to touch on a lot of the basics.  After my brief history lesson, I talked about the importance of posture and demonstrated the "right" and "wrong" ways to stand.

In My Goddess and Belly Dance wear

I started with hip and rib circles, moving slowly then a bit quicker.  I made sure to give the room ample time to practice, while also being aware of the time.  I touched on horizontal figure 8's and vertical figure 8's.

Then I moved on to undulations, starting with the hip then the ribcage.  In the theme of undulations, I moved on to snake arms and noted how difficult it was for many in the room to grasp.  I tried various ways of explaining it, though I knew that the time allotted would not be enough for everyone to really hone it in.

Then we moved onto the faster movements, namely shoulder and hip accents and shimmies.  The shoulder accents gave way to shoulder shimmies, and the ladies really seemed to enjoy that.  I then moved to hip hits going up and hip hits going down, focusing on one side at a time.  I also introduced them to the Egyptian Hip Hit and the Drop Release movements.

I had index cards with notes, just like when I had my very first party as a Goddess :)

Finally, we moved on to the shimmies.  I started with the basic knee shimmy, then the hip shimmy, and finally the 3/4 shimmy.  After going through the basic moves, I put on Betwanes Beek and I led them through the various movements I taught them throughout the song.

Afterward, I thought of all the various things I didn't get to tell them.  I touched on layering, but I didn't really show them an example of it.  I talked a bit about placing your arms in a way that frames your body, but I forgot to end the final song with a pose.  I got so nervous, that I didn't even suggest that I could dance a bit for them while we were waiting for the next portion of the evening.  I didn't get to talk about level changes, smiling and facial expressions, or using the movements to move across the room.  I know it's silly, considering that I really only had enough time to go through the basics.  But I just like being thorough.

Nonetheless, the women seemed thoroughly excited and happy with my quickie lesson.  They said that they were surprised at how hard some of the movements were and how much they were sweating during the lesson.

I had created a list of teachers in the area to hand out to the girls, encouraging them to seek out lessons with some of the top performers and teachers in the area.  It felt encouraging to hear that some of them enjoyed my lesson and would have also enjoyed continuing lessons with me.

Again, while I don't think I'm necessarily qualified to teach beyond a beginner level, experiencing being a teacher was incredibly insightful.  If anything, it helps me to be a better student.

Point of Views on Middle Eastern Dance - "Civilization" Video Game

This lazy Saturday morning, my boyfriend is trying out some new games he's acquired.  I wake up to see him playing Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution.

Taking over the world...one culture at a time...

Having very limited knowledge of video games, though I will admit that I dabble once in a while, I was at first shocked to see the representations of different cultures.  But as I was still rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, my boyfriend told me that he was currently playing as Saladin, "a Kurdish Muslim warrior and self-proclaimed Sultan of Arabia."

If you take a look at the website, there's 16 different cultures you can represent, from Aztec Nation to Zulu Nation.  Each leader is accompanied by historical background, all factual.

So, from what I've gathered, you can use different tactics to win game - technology, culture, economic, and warfare.  But I'm assuming it would be beneficial to use all the tactics in one way or another.  But, as my boyfriend had already built up some culture points, there was a hall in the capital that featured acrobats, dancing bears, and belly dancers.

I managed to grab some video of the dancing, and thought it would be neat to share.

Not bad, really.  I see a couple of figure 8's, undulations, Egyptian hip hits.  I tried to find some information on the music, but I couldn't really find much of anything.  If anyone recognizes it, please let me know in the comments!

In general, it does seem like the game tries really hard to be true to history, so I didn't find myself too offended after watching more of the game play.  I did appreciate the presence of Middle Eastern dancers, and the fact that they weren't completely "Hollywood-ized."

Filipino Fusing with Middle Eastern?

Before I started belly dance classes, I decided that I needed to learn a bit about my own cultural dance first.  Though I was involved with the Filipino Student Association at my undergrad, I never made it in time to join the dance troupes.  However, there was a one-semester class for Filipino Dance.

As the class fulfilled a graduation credit, two of my friends joined me in the class.  Though it was a small group, it was quite an enjoyable class.  I learned a lot about the regional differences in the dances, and how most of the traditional dances are choreographed for specific stories or purposes.

For example, as the music and dance reflects the culture, there are Christian, Muslim, and Indigenous dances.  The Christian-style dances reflect the Spanish colonization, featuring a lot of 3/4 beat music and socializing dances.  Muslim-style dances reflect the influences from Indonesia and other Southeast Asian cultures, and mainly tells stories.  The Indigenous dances are more drum and kulintang-based, and are more ritualistic.

My favorite part about the dances was the focus on the hand and arm movements.  While it was so many years ago, I remember the teacher talking about the importance of grace in the arm movements.  However, there wasn't necessarily much room for improvisation.

Nonetheless, I'm suddenly struck with the idea of fusing traditional Filipino dance movements with Middle Eastern dance. 

I feel that I have to brush up a bit on the movements in Filipino dance.  I know there is a Fhilippine Dance Company in Boston, but it doesn't seem very easy to get in touch with someone who could point me in the direction of classes.  I might try to go through Boston University's Filipino Student Association, perhaps use my powers as an alum - no matter how minuscule they might be.

In the meantime, here are some clips I found on YouTube:

Traditional Southern/Muslim Filipino Dance:



Tribal Filipino Fusion with Belly Dance Fusion:

"Afrita Hanem: The Genie Lady"

In my self-imposed bellydance education, I've been getting movies off Netflix, but mainly instructional movies.

Then, I realized that I could learn some more about the art, its movements and its history, through actual films.  One actress/dancer in particular that caught my attention was Samia Gamal.  It's a name I'm familiar with mainly through others in the bellydance community, but I'd be lying if I said I knew who she was.

Luckily, I found her on Netflix.  Specifically, I found "Afrita Hanem:  The Genie Lady."

Samia Gamal as Afrita Hanem

Here's how Netflix describes it:

The fortunes of down-on-his-luck crooner Asfour (Farid Al Atrache) change overnight when he discovers a mysterious lamp housing a charming genie (Samia Gamal) in this sweet comedy. She can make anything he wishes come true, so he asks for help in luring his distracted girlfriend from the charms of a rich competitor. But Asfour soon learns he should be careful what to wish for, as he soon realizes his heart may lie elsewhere.

Here's how Amazon describes it:

Meet Asfour (Farid Al Atrache), a poor singer/actor who stumbles upon a magic lamp and its wish-granting genie (Samia Gamal). When he uses his new-found power to woo his gold-digging girlfriend away from her rich suitor, Asfour discovers that his genie has a few wishes of her own. Sure to delight and entertain, this classic film stars two of Egypt's cinematic legends in an innovative and endearing blend of comedy, fantasy and musical genres. 

I could write a review about the movie.  But, reviews are out there already, as story descriptions are already out there.  So, I just wanted to talk about my impressions of the film and about some of the things that I learned.

I hope this doesn't come across in a wrong way...but films not made in the US are so similar!! One thing that struck me about the film was that the actors were also singers or dancers or musicians, which I've also seen in Filipino media.  Bollywood is one major example of the multiple talents that get exhibited on the big screen.  It just makes sense that all the mediums would melt together in one way or another.  Personally, I definitely enjoyed listening to Farid Al Atrache's "Asfour" croon about his unrequited love, as his character was also a singer.  I'll be honest here, I listened intently to the songs in the hopes of hearing something familiar.

Also, similar to many of the cheesy movies in the Philippines, there's one character who provides the comic relief.  Ismail Yaseen's character, "Bou'ou," was quite a clown, pulling some physical gags and hilarious facial expressions.

Then of course, there's the beautiful Samia Gamal.  Yes, she is a fabulous dancer - though I was almost surprised by how little she actually moved around.  But her face lit up the screen.  She was so graceful and elegant.  If you want to learn about having presence as a bellydancer, or even as a lady, she's a great role model.  In a way, she reminded me of Carmen Miranda...mainly because of their huge smiles.

See?  Smiley!

Another thing that reminded me of Carmen Miranda was how she represents an entire culture and art at the time.  It seems like "Afrita Hanem," which was released in 1949, was somewhat meant to attract audiences from around the world.  This seemed to be a time when all "sirens of the screen" fit a specific mold - sexy and talented.  Even though the costumes are different, their ornate clothes were quite similar in imagining the "exotic."

The fact that Samia Gamal played a Genie in this movie also seemed interesting to me, as it just brings out stereotypes of the Middle East.  Though she's been in dozens of movies, this was 1 out of 3 movies of her's on Netflix - and one of them is only a collection of clips from other movies.

Finally, and most importantly, I thoroughly enjoyed that Samia Gamal's characters, Kahramana the Genie and Semsema the Dancer, were both very independent and outspoken women.  Though Kahramana was more focused on getting the guy and Semsema was more interested in the job at first, I liked that they would say and do whatever they wanted.  Kahramana's mischievous actions were hilarious - causing little bits of trouble for the main character, also the only person who could see her.  Meanwhile, Semsema continuously yelled out something that translated to "No way, Jose!" in the subtitles.  Hilarious!

I'm sure I could go into a whole Women's Studies tangent about how Samia Gamal was still very much under the control of the male main character, as he was her master as the Genie and her boss as the Dancer.  But they were gifts meant to enhance his life if he were willing to open his eyes and heart to the possibility.  They loved him for love, and not because of his assets.

Not a bad lesson for a movie in the 50's.

Viva La Diva Weekend Part 3 - Zambra Mora and Conclusion

Zambra Mora
Sunday's workshop had a smaller group in it, but I think that was for the best! With all the skirt-whooshing, we probably would have hurt ourselves and each other if the workshop was packed.

Though I've included a link about Zambra Mora, I was hesitant about posting more about it. The link I provided, however, repeats what we learned this past weekend about the style. Dondi and Titanya stressed that there's nothing conclusive about what they or anyone else has learned about the style. They know that it preceded Flamenco, and that it most likely was not an actual dance. But even in their travels to Andalusia and Southern Spain, they found minimal information. I found it fascinating that Zambra Mora was once outlawed and is such an underground style, almost to the point of denying all the cross-over and intermingling that is generally important in the birth of creativity.

Zambra Mora, which translates to "Moorish party," seems to be both fiery and earthy, often danced barefoot and proclaiming emotions. There's a focus on duende, or feeling a passion in the body and soul, and those emotions are expressed in the powerful movements and the noises that is often made during the movement. One interesting tidbit we learned was that "Olé" is derived from the Arabic "wa'Allah" ("by Allah" or "by God"). It might seem silly, but that information blew my mind!!! Though the more I think about it, the less I'm surprised, especially coming from a culture that has 300 years of Spanish rule behind it. I think it's just one of those things you don't really think about until someone points it out.

Viva La Diva Weekend Part 1- Dondi & Titanya's Five Elements and Middle Eastern Dance

It's been a really busy August.

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.

"Once you go Asian...."

I'd love to see how everyone would end the title phrase. Post in the blog comments!

I'm about to take this us on a more serious note here. So be forewarned.

As an Asian/Pacific Islander female, I'm quite conscious of - or at least I'm always trying to figure out - where I stand in the whole scheme of the dating world. I feel like there are still those who are not too culturally competent walking around and calling me "Oriental" (Do I look like a rug, yo?), and assuming that because of my ethnicity I will be docile (ha!) and submissive (..depends on the position, doesn't it?).

When I delved into the world of online dating (geez...3 years ago!), I made it quite clear: NO ASIAN FETISHES!

I'll admit because of the stereotypes placed on an entire continent, I get suspicious of those who actively seek out a specific ethnicity to date.

Now, obviously, "Are they contacting me because I'm Asian?" isn't the first thing that comes to mind. Really, it's "Is he cute? What's this guy like, what's he into?" But when you start learning that they've dated other Asian women and they have an interest in Asian culture, I don't think it's unfair to question their motives. I'm not saying, "Kick this guy to the curb!" I'm saying, "You better get to know this guy a little more before you decide to let him in."

Am I seeming unfair? Too bad. A girl can't be too safe these days.

"But what if a guy's just generally attracted to a specific type of person?" Then you've taken the time to find that out, now didn't you?

I'm not saying that all guys who are attracted to Asian/Pacific Islanders have a fetish (generally meaning that one thing is fixated upon and is the only thing to sexually excite a person). I'm just saying that there's a lot of history there, and you don't have to be paranoid about it...but be educated about the power dynamics that might pop up.

Historically, the Asian/Oriental/Eastern continent was seen as such a stretch from the European/Western/Christian point of view, that it and its people were labeled "exotic" and something to conquer. Richard Evans Lee from Amorous Propensities posted a review from Wall Street Journal about this bit in history. I definitely plan on picking up this book - both for the historical perspective and the apparently "titillating" stories.

Link: Wall Street Journal's review of Richard Bernstein's "The East, The West, and Sex: A History of Erotic Encounters."

*****
Now, for the other side. I'll be the first to admit that I generally am not attracted to men in my ethnic categorical box. It's the unfortunate problem that many Asian men have, but it's pretty awesome when you see Asian men dating outside of their race/ethnicity (generally not as common as other combinations).

So, while power dynamics have played a role in the history of interracial dating, it seems that we have moved forward in one way or another - choices can be made. Interestingly, this Slate article notes that the reason the European/Caucasian Male + Asian Female combination is so widely seen is mainly due to the neutrality of the Asian Female to the European/Caucasian Male - not really because of any of the male's preferences.
Slate Article: An economist solves the mysteries of dating.

Okay...so let's not be serious anymore. Enjoy this awesome and quite popular youtube video about dating in the Asian world.