Paula's Up Up Down Down's and Other Stories

In the past couple of years I have heard the idea of a ,"dance vocabulary" being tossed around. Nadira Jamal in her WONDERFUL Improvisational Toolkit Volume 1 movement recall goes into great detail about making a dance vocabulary. It has taken me a while but I finally made one.
      I guess I thought it would be easy. I started about six months ago with the idea that I would start with the basics, snake arms, ribcage circles, etc. Then I realized that I wanted to write things down that didn't have names, for instance this cool over the head arm shuffle thingy that my former teacher, Donna, does, or this toe pointed traveling hip circle that my first teacher Sheva taught me, or my most recent teacher Gypsy/Paula's high energy little hip up up down down's in a tiny counterclockwise little circle. ( or personal circle as one teacher used to call them). The Dance Vocabulary has gone from an idea to a stockpile of personal memories, as the only way I know how to describe some of these moves is with throwing in the teacher/professional dancers name. Usually just doing them or reading them takes me back to the time/place/hafla/workshop that I first learned them. It is really cool, and I highly recommend it.
    I have been using my dance vocabulary as a practice tool. I put on some steady classroom type music and go slowly through my vocabulary of movements. It helps reinforce the stuff I don't want to forget.

SOOOOOOOOO here are some tips Siroun Naaga style if you wanna do one of these..........

      Tips On Making a Dance Vocabulary List ( because I couldn't think of a more creative title)

1. Don't put in there freaking everything you know. Put in there stuff that means something to you,or that you want to be a part of your regular dance. A Saidi Hop is nice, but is it something that you do to 80% of the music you dance to? Probly not.

2. Be patient. At first you will think," this is it? I expected it to be longer", but soon the floodgates will open and memories will come pouring in. Keep a pen and paper handy so if you remember something while you are sitting on the sofa with hubby watching True Blood you can jot it down.

3. If you are going to use this as a practice/drill -the -moves -I -want- to -keep- in -my -body -memory kind of thing like I do, then make sure that the order you put the moves on the paper has a leetle flow to it. Yes, this takes a little time, but it is jarring to go from a pony step right into a Zar head thing.

4. Describe them in a way that makes sense to you. Some of my explanations sound wierd but the second I look at the paper I know exactly what I mean.

5. Is kind of like four....if you have heard them called hip bumps/hip lifts/hip ups....use whatever you call them in your head. It will stick better. We all know that there is no standard for names of moves.


So below is a sample of my lists copied and pasted right from the 'ole documents. Please don't laugh, I liberally use the word "thingy."






Siroun Naaga Dance vocabulary:

Basic moves:






Step touch


Mayas


Rollup/rolldown


ribcage circles parallel


ribcage circles vertical


M & M’s


M&N’s


M&N&O’s


M&N&O&Q’s


Shimmy:


¾ shimmy walk


Shimmy w/ maya


Shimmy in round


Shimmy with undulations


Shimmy with alternating shoulder shimmies ( ansuya)


Shimmy with roll up


One leg shimmy


Earthy shimmy


Choo choo shimmy


Single shoulder articulations


Head slides


Pelvic locks/pops as an accent


Omis


Basic Egyptian


Snake arms


Genie arms


Large hip circles


Large hip circles with bent waist


Crossed arm hip circle


Hip drop/kicks with raised arm


Hip slides


ribcage slides


Snake hips down


Snake hips up


Figure eight hips


Hip bumps


Stomach pops


Belly rolls


Deep undulations ( camels)


Shimmy side to side


Stomach flutters


All arm variations


Jewel


Half moons


Hagala


Level change all the way down w variations


Choo choo square


Popeyes


Fifi hip downs


4 point locks


Hip twists


Cha cha cha


Pony


B Egyptian with Twist


B Egyptian to side ( with twist)


Crazy 8’s D-style


Tush Push


Box step


arabesque


Turns:


One foot quick turn


Hip bump kick turns


Kick turn thingy ( Samra)


Donna knee turn


3 point turn


Katia arm turn


Aziza slow turn


paula hip twist turn


Pinwheel turn


Paddle turn


Pivot turn ( 2 way)


M’s diagonal tribal turn thingy








Traveling steps:


Chase’ with floaty arms


Undulation walk


Susan shimmy arm travelling step (to side)


Grapevine


Hayati inta walk ( step leg out to one side) arms overhead


Half moon walk


Ooh walk


Aah walk


Snake hip travel


Sheva pointed toe hip circle( travel)








Short combos/ layer combos I like:


Kuwaiti head roll w/ shoulder/hip accents


Sadie hip bumps with side to side hips in circle


Back bends w J's arms


Chest circles with simultaneous hip circles


Donna arm over head shuffle


Paulina hip lock with arm over waist


Paula hip up up/ down down in counter clockwise circle


Hetet Bet Turn ( four way, arms go inward, layer shimmy)


Neon forward hips/arms out


Hip circle with hip accent to one side and head thingy


Sadiyya reverse pelvic undulation with shimmy walking backwards


Magidah backwards shuffle with arms