Music exploration

This has been a disturbing trend that I've noticed (at least I find it disturbing) where some new dancers wait to be spoon fed music instead of doing their own research.

Finding out new (to you) music is a big part of belly dance. I think that it's crucial that you dig around for all kinds of music. Beats Antique is awesome and totally danceable and has good roots in Middle Eastern tones but it's not the end all be all of belly dance music.

Digging around for music is going to help you pinpoint a bit better what you personally like in terms of style and music tone. There are so many options out there, don't stop at just what you see the big names do.

Speaking of big names, I think that there's a little known fact that most of them know classical Middle Eastern music and modern music from the Middle East as well. I was lucky that my first instructor, who was teaching Raqs Sharqi back in Quebec, was a big fan of the likes of Hossam Ramzi and George Abdo so she was using those classics in all classes.

I've seen tribal fusion dancers dismiss the good old classics and even generally Middle Eastern music altogether because they do fusion. While, yes, when I do my fusion work, I do use modern Western music, I think that going back to using more downright Middle Eastern music every once in a while (at least in your practice) is a great idea that will help you deepen your understanding of belly dance. Why? Quite simply, the moves fit the music... and, well, vice versa. If you're doing some of your even most basic moves to Middle Eastern music, you'll find that it's a natural fit and you'll feel the moves differently.

So, how do you find new music? It's really everywhere.

Using iTunes

You can definitely use your iTunes to help you. You can follow threads of "people who bought this album you're seeing also bought XX." And keep following those threads. You'll discover interesting things that way. Also, you'll be able to find podcasts and users' playlists as well as "essential" lists. It's quite useful. If you like a song excerpt and want to hear more, head over to Youtube and do a search for that song title. You'll be surprised at how many songs/pieces are in full on youtube. Sometimes, though, you gotta use a little faith and take a plunge. If it's just a song, then it's a risk of 1$ only.

Using Youtube

As weird as it sounds, you can follow "threads" on youtube as well. So you do a search for a song/artist. On the right, you'll have a list of other videos probably by said artist or other artists who have done other versions of the same song... or just something entirely different. That's actually how I discovered Infected Mushroom, an Israeli electronica band and I fell madly in love with their piece Becoming Insane, which I danced at Tribal Revolution a few years ago. And I have other examples of finding amazing music that way.

Using Pandora

Pretty much everyone knows about Pandora but, in case you don't, it's a very interesting thing where they have categorized music based on characteristics instead of just styles. So if you like an artist, you can type in the name and it will create a radio station for you based on other music that has similar characteristics. I've discovered a lot of good music that way too. Their link is www.pandora.com

Using internet searches/Wikipedia

This should be obvious but people forget about it. You can simply do a search for an artist or a song or a genre and should find other artists/songs in the same style. Why? People will often list their inspiration or what they sound like so searches will pick up on that. Wikipedia has a lot of information on there and, especially if you look up a style, you'll find other artists in the same style. Don't know the style of the artist that you like? Search for said artist on Wikipedia and they'll tell you... and then you can click that link... and follow links after links after links.

Take the time

We all have busy lives and, in this electronic age, it seems like everything is going super fast... but you can actually use this era to your advantage: finding music is easier than ever! I remember the days pre-internet when you had to take a chance on a cassette (yes, cassettes back then) that was a compilation with Arabic writings and (most likely) a camel on the cover. And those were expensive... and so hard to find! Now, we can find music from the Middle East without even leaving your house! And you'll even find reviews, translation of lyrics, etc. That being said, it does take time to follow threads and search for music and listen to it and all. But that is an extension of your belly dance practice. That is part of what being a belly dancer is. You can dance without music (Onca proved it magnificently) but, you know, generally speaking, you'll need to dance to music... do your homework and figure out music on your own.

Note: You'll notice that I didn't mention very many music artists. The reason for it is that it would be the equivalent of spoon feeding you the music. ;)

Performance objectives

So, as an expansion of a point that I made in yesterday's post, I wanted to address some things from the first performance and subsequent ones too. In the blog, I mentioned "Will it be the best performance that anyone has ever seen? Of course not."

This is where there is a natural dichotomy that will happen:

On the one hand, you'll totally realize that it's your first performance so you'll keep your expectations reasonable.

On the other hand, you are aspiring to do something good and have seen many shiny dancers that you wish you could emulate.

Obviously, in your first performance, you'll want to keep your expectations reasonable. What would those expectations be? Nearly all the dancers that I know or have seen do their first performance will say "One of my goals is not to fall on my ass." As weird as it sounds, it's a fear that happens a lot when we start. Believe me: you won't. So that's an easy objective to attain.

Beyond that, though, you should simply strive to do the best that you can. Sounds corny but, seriously, that's really key here. And that is actually an objective that will follow you through all your dance years. Whatever level you are at, you will strive for that.

For the first performance (and first few performances at that), that should suffice in terms of objective: not fall on your ass and do the best you can.

As you are progressing, though, you'll start to have more specific objectives. You'll want to pick 1 or 2 things that you want to focus on for that specific performance. For example: Don't look down/keep the gaze level. Make eye contact with one person. Make sure that the moves are completed before doing the next move. You know... things like that.

The key for any performance is being ready ahead of time. Whether you do improv or choreography, you'll want to have worked with the piece enough to be ready to perform it. For all that you may believe that top names just whip up something, hell no, they don't. They do spend the time in the studio working the piece. And, again, that's whether they do choreography or improv.

So prepare yourself for the performance as much as you can, set up some reasonable objectives, and set forth and conquer this skill, one performance at a time!

Work in progress

Just got back from 3rd Coast Tribal, which was awesome, as usual. I studied a lot with Donna Mejia and Deb Rubin this time. There were interesting revelations/discoveries that I won't go into except to say that, for the first time in a long time, I have specific things that I want to work on. That is always awesome when that happens but, I have to say, it's also humbling. Because it's an acute reminder that you are still a student in dance and, whatever you have accomplished thus far, there is more to learn. Again, which is awesome and one of the reasons why I love dance so much.

On Saturday, as my brain was absorbing all the info from the weekend and I was watching the show, a part of me was wondering why I perform when, really, I still have so much to learn. I quickly quieted that part (the stupid Censor/negative voice) but I figured that it was actually a great topic for a blog.

I have a bunch of students who are interested in performing and the #1 comment that they retort when I tell them to just start doing it is that they feel that they are not ready. But I know these ladies. They are ready to perform. Will it be the best performance that anyone has ever seen? Of course, not. It would be their first performance. But are they ready to take that first step? Absolutely.

The truth is that you will ALWAYS have something to learn. You could ALWAYS do something better.

Nothing you do will EVER be perfect. It can get close to perfection. But I believe that perfection is never fully achieved. I have seen countless big names in belly dance backstage and, while their performances can achieve something that we perceive as perfection, I can tell you that all of them always have a little something that they wish that they had done better/differently.

So, with that said, if you wait for being perfect before hopping on the stage, you will never hop on that stage.

Moreover, performing is a skill just like technique. And there is absolutely no substitute for actually doing it. So while you may get ready as much as you want in your living room or dance studio, it's not the same as performing in front of an audience. It takes multiple times of doing it to get the hang of it, to understand what works well, what doesn't, what you need to do (or not do) to get in that performance mode, etc. Again, you can read about it, you can think about it but it will never be the same as doing it. And, just like it takes time drilling moves so that they become ingrained in your body, it takes time performing to become a good performer.

So, I'm imploring you to quiet that part of you that is making you think that you are not ready to perform: you most likely are. And, importantly, you will always be a work in progress, whichever level you're at, so you may as well improve your performing skills as you're improving other aspects of your dance. Just go out there and do your thing!

Advice received

I actually meant to post this before the Holidays but, hey, right at the start of the new year is not a bad idea. ;) This post will contain some of the very valuable advice that I have received over the years. I have received many more pieces of advice but I'll just focus on a few pieces.

Fake it until you feel it! - Lala Hakim

This takes me back to my early days in belly dancing... all the way back to Quebec City. My first workshop was with Lala Hakim, an Egyptian dancer who lived in Montreal. Anyway. I know that this is an old saying but that was the first time that I heard it. And, well, it's so true! It will hide a world of issues/insecurities.

The only failed performance is one from which you haven't learned anything - Mira Betz

We all have times when you are afraid of performing. If you have stage fright as I used to, it's even more acute of a feeling. But we all go through times when we're afraid. Mira's point here is that, even if the performance failed (and that definition is up to you), as long as you can learn something from it, it was worth it. Learning what didn't go so well is about as important as learning what went well.

Knowledge over trinkets - Asharah

Okay, that's not exactly how she had phrased it. I don't remember the exact words but that's me paraphrasing. Asharah had posted a blog many years ago about her not having the latest fashion in costuming or spending a ton of money on costuming but, instead, choosing to spend her money on workshops. I have spent money on both myself but, now that I have a dance studio, money is tighter... so I've cut back a lot on my costume spending... but I didn't cut much on my workshop spending. For all that I spent a lot of money on costuming items in the past, I spent way more on workshops. Knowledge sticks. Fashion comes and goes. While, yes, you do need to look polished enough in your costuming for a performance, if you don't have the skills and knowledge, you'll just be wearing a pretty costume. You need to keep honing your skills. Branch out and explore new styles, new things. You may decide that it's not for you. Or you may find something of interest. But you won't know until you do it.

Just Dance! - Ariellah

I am an habitual overthinker. So, after a lot of e-mails back and forth in which I was asking Ariellah a ton of philosophical questions, she told me to stop thinking and just dance! Sometimes we spend too much time in our heads, contemplating, pondering, imagining... but, at some point, you have to actually dance if you want to dance and be a dancer. Alternately, I had a student who read the blog post entry where I had written about that advice originally and, to her, that meant forgetting about other stuff that weren't dance-related... and just focusing on dance. There are many ways that this could be interpreted. Whatever works for you.

A performance isn't complete until it is performed. - Tempest

This was in a private session where I was lamenting about how I have great ideas for what to do on stage and practice and I even used to choreograph... but then sometimes it just wouldn't come out as planned. Tempest was encouraging to relinquish control when that happens and let whatever will flow out of my body happen. In taking that advice to heart, I ended up looking less hesitant on stage because what would happen is that something else would start flowing out of my body but my brain suddenly remembered what I was supposed to do and stop the motion... so the moment was gone and I ended up looking indeed like I had started the "wrong" thing. She also explained it that it's like telling a story: even if you tell the same story over and over again, every single time, there will be slightly different nuances, different words used, etc. It's near impossible to replicate the same story identically each time. No worries. It's still a good story. Her point also was that you can rehear in your living room (or dance studio) as much as you want but it's not a performance until it's performed.

Focus on yourself. - Belladonna

This was in answer to me complaining that I should be further in my dance and Bella told me "Really, the only thing that you can do is focus on yourself, hone your skills, work on your technique and your artistry. Forget about everyone else." It is SO easy to get caught up/wrapped up in comparing yourself with others. The tricky part with belly dance (and it may be true with other art as well but can't vouch for it firsthand) is that there really isn't anything that says that you have been dancing for XX time so you should be at XX level. No two people develop in the same fashion. So you may have been dancing for 10 years and see this youngling who has been dancing for 2 years and is quite successful... and maybe even more talented than you! Art and dance aren't fair. It doesn't work that way. I unfortunately spent some time myself comparing myself to others... that time that you spend doing that is totally pointless. And, worst of all, it brings you down. Instead, if you re-focus your attention on yourself, what you've accomplished, the progress you have made, where you want to go with your dance, etc., it's a much more sane way of spending your time and energy. And, well, obviously, THAT is what will bring you the results that you are striving for.

It will happen whether you're ready or not... so you may as well be ready.

This one's from me. This was my lesson of 2011. There have been a number of events in 2011 for which I've dug my heels. I didn't want to go. So many reasons and excuses for why not. Timing wasn't right. Money was tight. Performance piece wasn't as ready as I'd like it to be. I don't want to leave work. I don't want to leave the house. If only I had more time... If only... Well, you know what? The events happened. They were fun. It all worked out. I'm damn glad that I went to them all. The truth is that time will not stand still. It keeps moving. So the time that you spend worrying or, worse still, being in denial that an event is going to happen on XX day, time will move on and the event will still happen. So, instead, spend the time getting ready. You need a performance? Prepare it, work at it. Money is tight? Assess options to do the event on a budget. Work is crazy? Try to get as much done as you can and, well, you know what?, they CAN live without you. Of course, you can also choose not to go to an event. But, believe me, you'll regret it afterwards.

Be a good belly dance citizen

As I’ve travelled extensively over the last few years, I’ve seen all kinds of behaviors from dancers. I’ve even seen or heard of dancers behaving so badly that they ended up being banned from participating in certain events. I was trying to think of what makes the difference between a pleasant dancer that you love having at your event vs. the not so pleasant one that you hope won’t ask to be part of your event ever again. What it boils down to is ethics and common courtesies! Here are a few things that help (in random order):

Be there on time! Oftentimes, an arrival time or check in time will be requested out of performers. Please try to respect that as much as possible. This helps considerably lower the blood pressure of whoever is hosting. Plus, that ensures that you’ll indeed be there for your performance. I’ve seen countless dancers arrive late and then the line up needs to be re-shuffled. Most hosts/hostesses are nice enough that they will accommodate you but try not to abuse their good grace. There was one event that I went to years ago when the MC was going down the list: “Next up we have XX.”… crickets and no dancer… “Is XX here? Not yet? Okay… is YY here?”… crickets… “Okay… Is ZZ here?” Seriously, I think that it took like 5 times of the MC saying that before she got to “Is Celeste here?” and I got to reply with a sultry “I am.” that got me a cheap pop of applause if only for actually being there.

It’s okay to say no. Women often have a hard time saying no but, believe me, you’re better off saying no than cancelling at the last minute. It is okay to look at your schedule and reply to an offer with a polite decline. Seriously, the person on the receiving end will appreciate this reply much more than you cancelling at the last minute because of whatever reason. It’s a tricky thing, though, of course. First off, when you get the offers, it seems like it’s all doable. So it does take a few times of overdoing it to realize what is your maximum amount of dancing that you can do (in a day, a week, a month…) and accept that that’s what it is. Secondly, it inevitably feels like you’re prioritizing someone’s event over someone else’s… and it feels wrong on so many levels. But, at some point, you have to do just that. Thing is: you can’t do it all! And giving a subpar performance or having to cancel on someone will look much much worse than having said no at the start.

Honor your commitments. If you’ve agreed to an event, please do show up! I’ve seen many flaky people who just don’t show up. Even in the situation above, if you can muster it, even while being exhausted, try to show up to the event. It will say volumes about you. Not showing up on a regular basis will definitely give you the reputation for being flaky… and then you either will be banned or a last-minute addition to a show (which sounds cool on paper but is far from cool) or just plainly people won’t believe that you’ll be there. It’s really hurting your reputation.

Don’t take too much space. When you’re getting ready, try to minimize the space that you are using backstage. If you look around, you’ll notice that, frequently, the level and fame of the dancer is inversely proportionate to the amount of space that a dancer is using backstage. It’s almost like some dancers believe that there’s status or something in having their stuff all over the backstage area. I’ve had to fight for my tiny spot countless times. Thanks to working in a restaurant where I have a tiny office room to get changed in, I’m now very much used to only needing a small amount of space to get ready in. Essentially, you want to try to use about the size of your bag and not too much more. And try not to monopolize the mirror(s)! Seriously, there are steps that you can do without being in front of the mirror, you know… ;)

Try not to (unknowingly) sabotage another dancer. This is tricky because it can happen without you realizing what you are doing and different people will react differently to things being said around them. However, I’ve seen countless shows where dancers get so frantic backstage that they will say things that are really baffling… off hand remarks that really originate from nerves but, given that the other person is nervous too, it may ruffle their feathers. And I’ve been to shows where the backstage area feels like a slaughterhouse. I know that I’m goth and all but, lemme tell you, it ain’t a fun feeling… and it ain’t the “good” spooky kind. If you do feel like the atmosphere backstage is very bad/poisonous, you may need to remove yourself from it… but then again sometimes you need to get ready in that darn room. Sometimes even putting on the iPod is not enough so you gotta learn to make do. Now, what you can do to help is try to keep a positive state of mind. It’s sometimes easier said than done but, seriously, try to be as positive as you can and it should help.

Assume that others have good intentions. Until proven wrong, I try to assume that others have good intentions or rather don’t have bad intentions. Even in the event of someone who is casting off bad vibes backstage that feel like sabotage, I will typically assume that it’s just her nerves getting the better of her. I think that a lot of drama and hurt could be avoided by this mindset. I won’t add too much about this as Tempest had two great blogs about it that you should go read (http://darklydramatic.blogspot.com/2011/04/like-dislikes-like.html and http://darklydramatic.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-to-make-it-in-bellydanceor-not.html )

Sometimes, you should just shut up. As we get nervous, we sometimes will say the darndest things (see above). So sometimes, you should just refrain from saying what you want to say. And just in general, try to keep your filter VERY tight. You never know who is listening.

In line with the title here, if you are in someone’s workshop or class, don’t make it all about you. You can (and should) ask questions about moves and all. But it shouldn’t detract from the progression of the workshop or class. Unless you have a private or semi-private class with someone, don’t behave like you’re having a private moment with the teacher. We’ve all been in workshops where it seems like this one dancer is having a private lesson with the instructor because she wants to converse as if that was the case… but there’s really 50 other dancers who are trying to move forward with what the workshop is teaching. So, again, do ask questions but be careful not to monopolize the teacher’s attention.

Remember who you are representing. This is taking it a step further but, really, when you behave badly or weirdly, you gotta remember who you are representing…

• You are representing your teacher, from whom you’ve taken regular classes. Chances are that you will divulge who said teacher is so what you do will potentially reflect on her as well.
• You are representing your town/area where you are from. Taken to the extreme, some could say “oh, the girl from XX town is like (insert negative remark).” Next time they see someone from your same town/area, they may think that she is like you… until she proves them wrong maybe but you’ve set the stage for a rough start for someone else.
• You are representing YOU! Above all else, though, you are representing yourself. So if you behave like a bitch, chances are you’ll be seen as a bitch… and bad reputation travels FAST! You don’t want people saying “Oh, you don’t want XX at your event because she’s a total bitch (or insert other negative comment).”

Be as gracious and as flexible as you can be. Performances and events are seldom easy and smooth sailing. There will be shifts in timing, schedule, the stage may not be what you were expecting, the crowd may not be what you were expecting, all kinds of things can go wrong. I’ve seen dancers throw near temper tantrums over shifts whereas the big name of an event is just rolling with the punches. The more you do this, the easier it gets to do, of course. But you can still be gracious about it. Now, I don’t mean to be a “welcome mat” and let people abuse you. Of course not!

Do cite your source. I’ve seen it too many times when a dancer is inspired by someone or blatantly stole something from someone else (be it a costuming element, dance move, whatever) and try to pass it as their own (i.e., as if they have created it themselves). There is no shame in saying “I was inspired by XX for this” or “I learned XX from YY.” It actually makes you appear savvy! And it gives back to whoever you drew inspiration from or who you learned something from. And it’s just plain good karma! :p

Treat others as you would like to be treated. This is an old adage that we all know, right? It totally applies in all things in life, including belly dance, of course. It requires somewhat of a taking a step back and assessing whether the behavior we are about to do or did would be something that would be okay if we are on the receiving end. Also, if you’ve seen behavior that annoys the hell out of you, try not to repeat it.

It's all cheesecake!

This weekend, in the Museum Quality Intensive with Tempest (great time... will write a review on it soon), we were talking a few times about "it's cheesecake." Here's where that originates from.

This actually came from a conversation between Jeff (my hubby) and I about how, when you're seeing a lot of good performances in a show (and it's true just in general), what you end up preferring is like which cheesecake you prefer. Most people love cheesecake but there are a few who don't. If you fall in the latter category, you could replace cheesecake with another dessert but cheesecake works specifically well because there are a ton of different kinds of cheesecake.

Note also that your cheesecake preference can vary from day to day. So some days, you feel like having just regular New York style cheesecake with nothing on top; another day, you may want to add fruit toppings; next week, maybe you want something with chocolate; and then maybe something that sounds far out like "key lime pie cheesecake". That goes for you as the audience member as well as you as the dancer. ;)

Now, a good, solid, show will have like bite size (hopefully bite size) samplers of a bunch of cheesecakes. And, well, you'll probably go "Oh my god! This was awesome! Oh my god! This one's awesome too!" You may get points where you go "you know, this wasn't working for me" and that's fine. At the end of the evening, thinking back upon the samplers you tried, you may find a few that really hit a spot for you, some that didn't, and some that were really good still.

Bottom line: it's okay to have an opinion about what you are sampling (i.e., have an opinion about a performance... whoever the artist is). If you are the dancer, realize that there will be people who will like your cheesecake better than others but it doesn't mean that it wasn't a good cheesecake: it's a matter of preference.

Keeping with the analogy: it's important as a dancer to create the best cheesecake that you can with the ingredients that you have... and put your personal touch on it!

Museum Quality Intensive with Tempest

Just a reminder that we are hosting Tempest (http://www.meddevi.com/ ) for an intensive in Indianapolis IN on July 29-31 titled Museum Quality: Art School for Bellydancers. Note that the early bird price will go up tomorrow! You don't want to miss this event! http://celestebellydance.com/museumquality.html