God-Zill-A

Sooooooooo, I have been working with the Killer Ziller DVD for a few months now. I have found out a few things about myself, zills, and life in general.
1. I like the damn things. I really like them. I have heard either you love them or hate them, and I fall into the love category. They just feel RIGHT to me.
2. It is going to take a LONG time and a LOT of practice to get good at these things. Just when I think I am doing well, and getting the hang of them, I clunk off beat, or my feet get stupid while I try to concentrate.
3. I don't care what anyone says about tone and all, but I have to practice with my own version of zill mufflers, which is painters tape. ( less goop to wash off). I wouldn't dream of practicing with no mufflers. Maybe when I get really good and can care about tone and all that stuff I will take off the tape, but right now I am just trying to get the hang of them which is like driving, eating a sandwich, talking on the phone and doing algebraic formulas in your head all at once. I can feel the straining of the engines of my brain as I try to practice.
4. I got some good Saroyan Zills and it made a big difference.
5. Zills are really loud. Really loud. If I take the painters tape off to play, I use earplugs. Not doing this the first time I played them resulted in a MIGRAINE. Oh, the things we do for this dance. ( not exactly what I was thinking as I lay in the dark with an icepack on my head.....I was thinking something much more foul about the muther lovin-piece of-son -of -a -effing zills). Sorry, having flashbacks.
6. I have ZADHD....Zill Attention Deficit Disorder, or something like that. I am very comfortable with 3-3-7, triplets, and a doum doum tek ka tek rhythm that I learned a long time ago that I don't know how to describe. I pretty much do all three rhythms alternating, and every once and a while try a funky one. But the point is,no one wants to hear cha cha ching cha cha ching for five minutes straight and that is a good thing because I don't think I can do it.
7. I could probably choreograph a zill piece and pull it off, no problemo, but there is no way I could do an improv with zills. Since I do mostly improv and I take too many risks in dancing anyway, it will be a LONG time before I am comfortable enough to dance with the suckers in public. With zills there is no room for risks unless you REALLY know what the hell you are doing. One bad off-beat CLANG and there goes the entire performance.
8. I am proud of my purple finger tips when I take the zills off. It is usually a sign that it time to stop practicing, too. ( when my skin is a whitish/grey/purple I figure it has gone without oxygen/blood long enough).
9. Naima said that learning with zills is like learning to dance all over again, and she is right on about that. I now think of it as "dancing", and "dancing with zils". I am not sure that the two will ever merge. I am not sure that I will ever dance that same way with zills. It just feels different. I have also found that I crave both.I like the toned down version of my dancing that putting on zills forces me into, and I cannot live without the feeling of complete abandon that just regular dancing gives me.
10. I WISH I would have learned everything with zills, a la Suhalia. I feel like I am having to go back to the drawing board.
11. Air zills, baby. I have just enough room for air zills when I wrap my hands around the steering wheel.
12. I have named my right hand pair of zills " The Guys" and my left hand pair " The Girls". I heard naming your props helps you with familiarity, so there ya go.

The Bellydance Forum always has so many interesting threads. I am somewhat voyeuristic, always watching, never commenting.......yeah, I know it is creepy.

http://www.bellydanceforums.net/dance-styles/11261-dancing-zills-4.html

The "Why Should I Care?" Series-Naima

Naima's Blog was the first I stumbled across when I got the wild hair up my ass one day to google "bellydance blogs". ( and to subsequently start my own). To say she is an interesting person is putting it mildly, and I often think of her as "Blog Mother" ( bet you didn't know that)... I love that she is a part of the Why Should I Care? Series.
So, Why Should We Care? because she's * fireworks* angels with trumpets* hallelujah chorus* rainbows and ponies*......NAIMA! ( aaand she has a great blog, aaand she makes killer bedlah).....not to mention the fact that her answers are friggin funny.

Naima has been a part of the Springfield, MO Bellydance community for over 10 years. She has been described by her peers as, "Naughty, Alluring, Irrational, Monkey-like, and All-knowing." She hides her secret Bellydance Identity by working in the health care insurance industry and living with "The Husband Person" and their 2 beloved cats.





1. If you had to give away all of your dance stuff except one thing, what would you keep?

My Bellydance Party: Isis & The Wings Of Isis CD. I can dance without costumes or props. I can practice without my dance videos. But I have to have music and this CD has a little of everything including, “Happy Birthday,” in English and Arabic.



2. Move you do so well that the audience starts high fiving each other....

I can do a vibration on one hip at a time. I can vibrate the right hip, then the left, then the right, etc. This sounds cool but I actually came across it by accident when I first started trying to do vibrations. My left side just didn't seem to want to vibrate at the same speed and intensity as the right, so I put all my weight onto my right foot in frustration and behold, a one-legged/one-hip vibration was born. My left side is still a little slow but the awesomeness of vibrating one hip at a time pretty much cancels that out.



3. Move that makes you look like a blind roller skater......

Anything with a veil. I look more like a blind roller skater trying to hang laundry in a windstorm though...all flailing and cursing. I should practice veil more but I think blind roller skaters make good money with the circus.



4. What are you thinking right before you step onto the stage?

“I have to pee.”



Always, every time. I can use the bathroom right before putting on my costume, right after putting on my costume, 5 minutes before I perform, it doesn't matter. I don't get butterflies. I get the pee pee dance.



5. My dance closet contains more ............... than anything.

That's a tough one. I've spent my hard earned money pretty evenly on dance stuff over the years. I'd say it goes in cycles. One year, I bought a new CD every time I turned around. Another year I bought 2-3 costumes. Then DVDs and then more workshops. Then back to CDs. Once I splurge in one area I move to the next thing I don't have enough of. Right now I feel the need for more costumes and DVDs. Oh, and lots of beading supplies!



6. Write out your "Five year dance plan". ( like a business plan)

I initially read this question and thought, “Cool, I've written a business plan before. This should be fun!” I thought and thought and couldn't come up with anything. I finally realized my problem is that I saw the word “business” and immediately stonewalled. I love the dance. LOVE. And in the past, every time I've tried to approach it from a business standpoint as in teaching classes, running a studio, organizing a troupe, business cards, etc. it all suddenly became work. A job. No longer love. It became money and politics, networking, advertising, schmoozing. I'm a firm believer that all BD instructors are crazy because they are running a business and it slowly drains the sanity from them. Running a business is hard. I know from experience. I have chosen, for now, to just be a dancer. I can let my interests ebb and flow without loosing sight of why the dance makes me happy by not ruining that personal relationship by forcing it to create clients, money, or dance opportunities.

Currently, I am working on playing zills and increasing my playing speed. I was never taught how to play zills as a beginner. Now I'm backtracking and trying to add them into my dance repertoire. I am also working on veil again. I took beginner veil classes and then stopped in order to focus on dance technique. Adding a prop like veil takes a lot of work (see question 3.) Now I'm ready to devote more time to it. So, in five years, I expect to be happy and still dancing!



7. Bonus question. What does happy...cow...whatever mean? ( a phrase she used in our emails was Happy Lucky Cow Bang Soda Candy....I needed an explanation).

Legend around here has it somebody, (that no one can remember any more,) had/saw some imported Asian candy with the poorly translated name, “Happy Lucky Cow Band Soda Candy.” My friends and family figured it must be some pretty fantastic candy to have such an outstanding name. Pretty soon, everything and anything in my household that was particularly fantastic or superior became, “Happy Lucky Cow Bang Soda Candy.” So much so, that the gamer geeks at my house incorporated a “Happy Lucky Cow Bang Soda Candy Battle Bow” into one of their role playing games. I think it had god-like powers.


Thanks Naima, we think you are totally Happy Cow Bang Soda Candy-dancetastic!

The "Why Should I Care?" Series- Kis

Oh Why? Oh Why, Oh Why Should We Care? Cuz Kis is a pretty neat gal. Her blog, Kismetism's Emporium of the Old is fun, she is refreshingly real, and check out that kickin' orange costume! Not to mention that she dances, sews, AND writes. You get my vote, girl.


In many ways, I live nearly as far away from the Middle East as you can get. I grew up not interested in dancing - I wanted to be on the other side of the stage, playing the music. I truly took after the musicians in my family. When a friend of mine wanted to learn belly dance, figuring that it'd be good for a laugh and to get some exercise, I went along with her. That was only a few years ago, but I've not looked back. I never realised that I was suppose to do this, but now I'd never want to give it up. I dance mainly Egyptian cab style, although there's a beat inside my heart for the bounce of the Turkish moves.





1. Tie me to a chair and play anything _badly_ and I will slowly go insane.


I love all music. I can appreciate Justin Beiber (don't know if I'd want to be stuck in a room with him though), sad old goth music (something to do with too many nights out in clubs) and screaming punk music (you can actually hear what they're singing about if you use earplugs!). But if your instruments are not tuned, or you can't play well with others, then it's all over. I think the better way to put it is - just because you can make the instrument make noise - doesn't mean you should!


2. What is your bellydance motto -

Have hips, can dance.


3. Dance move you do so well that people start slappin their mommas. -

If I ask my shiny-jingly-supportive-hubby he tells me that it's my shimmy. It's a bit hard to fight him on it when he (and a few of my friends) turn to puddles in front of me when I do it I suppose! Oh and it did break a poor guy's brain yesterday... so I guess that win's it some definite "great moves" points!



4. If you could have the attention of all bellydancers all over the world for a moment, what would you say to them?

Knowing me and how I go with public speech (as opposed to public dance) - I'd probably make some sound close to meep! and then fade straight away. Then 20 minutes later, I'd come up with something astounding and totally mind blowing that I'd not be able to share with anyone as they'd not get it.



5. Describe how you feel/think right before a performance.


Right before I go on, I don't feel nervous. I get jittery and full of energy, but I'm calm in my mind. I usually run through the start of the routine a few times, go over the few spots which I'm feeling "exposed" on or the formations which I need to hit spots for during the piece.



6. Dance move you look more like an inept goldfish than a bellydancer -


Maya's. Inverted maya's are all fine, but my hips just don't want to play ball right now at going the other way!


Thanks KIS!

The "Why Should I Care?" Series- Mahin

Its that time again! Time for more of the Why Should I Care? Series, and Mahin is on the chopping block. Scooch over to the right and check out her blog In the Ears...out the Hips", and then help me decide "Why Should We Care?" ........oh, this one's easy.
 1. She has chickens.
 2. Anyone that can come up with " In the ears, out the hips" is o.k. in my book.
 3. And all the regular stuff of being gorgeous, funny, and all that jazz.
   Mahin, we do care.....lots.

Mahin lives in Phoenix, AZ , teaching and performing there and wherever she’s invited. She directs Zahr Jamil Middle Eastern Dance Co., the Baraem Jamila Student Troupe and serves as the 2010 President of the AZ MECDA chapter. Mahin is the author of the “Daily Bellydance Quickies" and when not wearing a hip scarf can be found in the kitchen cooking or playing with her 13 adorable chickens.

Photo: my dance partner, Carmen, and I hamming it up backstage at the New Mexico World Percussion Celebration.



1. Bellydance trend that is soooooo Totally O-U-T...

Do I have to pick one? I have two that I want to vote off the island. 1) Bizarre yet overpriced costumes like “The Faces” that buzzed on Twitter for months. 2) Singing along with your dance music. This just makes me cringe every time I see it. I know, I’ve seen video with the “big names” in Egypt having a sing-along while they dance but I don’t have to like it. Really, do I have to memorize the words? Isn’t the choreography enough?


2. What is your bellydance motto?

“In the ears… out the hips.” This came out of me in class trying to describe the dancer’s connection to the music in live music improvisation. They have become my words to live and dance by.



3. Describe your best teacher, and what made her/him great?

My most influential teacher was Jazmine Ryan (Phoenix). She was absolutely encouraging at every step of the way from the first class to my first time social dancing at a student show to my first student solo then my first paid gig. She expected us to develop our own style and not be a copy of her or anyone else. Her drum solo skills left a permanent impression on me with their precision and playfulness. I still love performing with her!




4. When I am stepping onto the stage I feel..........

the excitement of taking on a challenge. Even if it’s a more routine performance, I always set a personal challenge for myself before I go out there. It could be incorporating a new move or combo I picked up in a workshop, a new balance trick with a prop or something more esoteric like focusing on projecting more emotion.



5. If you tied me up and played ..................... for 24 hours I would slowly go insane.

The “Enta Omri” DJ remix! Actually, it could be any DJ remix of a classic that I love – “Enta Omri” just happens to be my all time favorite. Sure, we all need flat boring pop stuff sometimes – but that’s what Hakim and Nancy Ajram are for – step away from the classics, DJ….. pleeeeease!




6. What are your dance ambitions?

I’ve been teaching Egyptian cabaret and folkloric styles for 7 years now and recently got my Bachelor’s in Exercise Science. Now I am focusing on integrating the two, applying exercise and human movement to bellydance so dancers can train more safely and effectively. I will be hitting the road to teach workshops much more in 2011 and doing more writing on related topics.



Thanks Mahin!

The Why Should I Care? series - Roxy

Foxy......Roxy, foxy...ROXY! Roxanne at Shimmies, Sequins & Slippers is our next sucker, um I mean contestant for the Why Should I Care? Series.
Why should we care? Do we really have to ask this question? She is smart,gorgeous and has a great blog. Need we say more?

1. Dancewise, where do you want to be in five years?
Famous and touring with the Bellydance Superstars :) Failing that, I would be happy to have my own dance studio, be competent at zills, and own at least one Eman Zaki.


2. Describe your dream costume.

Words do not do it justice- so I will show you: Eman Zaki Gallery

I will take one of those in peacock green please.



3. President Obama is going to give a worldwide talk on bellydancing to educate the public, if you wrote his speech, what would you have him say?

I would have him explain that as gorgeous as Sadie and Kaya were on America ’s Got Talent, that they are not the be-all and end-all of belly dance. I would also have him try convey that it is an art, a culture, and that belly dancers are not just scantily clad women who wear too much eye-make-up and wiggle their hips.



4. If you had to go back and redo a dance moment which one would it be?

Teaching before I was ready. I was requested to teach by a lazy studio owner who had no interest in her dance studio anymore and was happy to have an amateur take over her classes. Flattered, I accepted- but that was a big mistake. I had only been dancing for a year and even though could dance fairly well- I was far from well-equipped to teach.


5. What is the best compliment you have ever recieved about your dancing?


Some guy once told me that I channel an ancient deity when I dance. Although I am suspicious of his motives for such a lovely compliment- I will take it ;)

Seriously though, probably the best one was from my boyfriend- he told me he loves me when I dance as I look so joyful and alive (although one does question how I must look the rest of the time- dead?! ;)



6. If I weren't bellydancing, I'd probably be........

in an 8-5 public relations /marketing desk job. Oh wait…


( me putting my two cents in) ......."channel an Ancient diety"....damn. Now THATS a compliment.
If you are a dancer, and would like to be interviewed, leave a comment with your email in it. ( I will not publish the comment).
Thanks Roxy!

Sordid Veil Confessions

1. I am too rough to use a silk veil. It is like giving a rare china doll to a two year old on a bicycle.
2. I have received the comment" you have a strong veil". Which roughly translates to "stop slinging the thing around".
3. I feel depressed because after reading Delilah's post on veils......I think that I might just be one of those people who doesn't want to be "over exposed". Something to think about. ( it is a fabulous post, read it)
4. After doing the "around the world" move several hundred times, and doing a few framing moves, I pretty much want to drop the thing and do something else.
5.Anything but black veils give me a headache.
( once in a class ( remember Joyce/Kris?)...we noticed that one whole half of the classroom had black veils. So we decided that we'd be " Sheer Darkness". It was just funny enough to keep us cracking up and get us in trouble for talking too much.
6. In all honesty, veils seem very sensual to me, and I have trouble showing that side to others. I think it is the fabric, I'd rather run my hands all over it than dance with it....( Whew! Gettin' hot in here.).
7. Trying to do the butterfly flip thing makes me sweat, and look like Jane Fonda doing aerobics or something.There is nothing graceful about it.
8. Forget the pinwheel. Forget it. With a veil? I can muster it, but it ain't pretty. Waaaay too much going on there.
9. I have NO DEPTH PERCEPTION. For real. You know those people who are always stepping on your heels because they can't gauge how far away they are standing from you? That's me. So tossing the veil in the air and trying to catch it is O-U-T out.
10. I don't like to "piss around" with anything, so sometimes when my mood leans to the bitchy side veils seem too fussy to me. Like the princess in the pink silk dress that sometimes I want to be but mostly want to beat up. ( once again, Delilah's post is messing with my head)
11. The veil -as- an -entrance thing needs to be a little more than someone carrying a piece of fabric onstage, then dropping it a minute later. If you are going to carry one then use it at least.
12. I think that there are "veil people" just like there are "dog people", "cat people" and Aquarius-es. That's all I'm sayin'.
13. While I was trying to find a picture of a veil for this blog,I found something else I want.. So I haven't given up on you yet, veils, I haven't given up yet.
14. Any and all of the above can change drastically according to my mood. Ain't it great being a woman!

Santa'd Better Be Rolling in The Dough

My bellydance wish list is ridiculous. No, really I prefer not to think of it as greed.....more like ambition.Yeah, that's it. Just for your viewing pleasure here are some of the things I want. If you already have them, and they suck, please let me know, so I can knock them off of the list and make room for more stuff. This is the SHORT list. I'm not even touching the L Rose list or the Dalhal list or just the random stuff I see here and there.

1. I freaked out when I saw this.  It is a meditation/subliminal message CD just for bellydancers. There was an article about it in Zaghareet! and it is supposed to help with stage fright, remembering choreographies, confidence, all of the stuff bellydancers struggle with. The guy who did it is a hypnotist who plays tabla for bellydancers as a hobby. He noticed some of the issues bellydancers struggle with and made this specifically for BELLYDANCERS! I meditate via CD regularly anyway so when I saw this I went to my husband with puppy dog eyes and told him how much I wanted it. NOW. How much I wanted it RIGHT NOW. Hear that,honey?

2. This item has been freakin unavailable from Amazon for a while, which sucks because I want to cry every time I see Naima's beautiful handmade bedlah. I gotta learn how to make my own stuff, I don't trust anyone else with my boobs.

3. Whaaaaaaaaa! I might just throw a three year old tantrum on this one.I have had my eyeball on this ever since it came out. And I want it.....whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! ( stomping, throws self on floor).

4. I have to write the full title of this since you can't see it in the picture. ( man,I am lazy)....o.k. it is, Bellydance Beyond Moves: Combo's, and choreography, 82 Lesson Plans, Games and Exercises to Make your Classes Fun, Productive, and Profitable. Since I am starting to teach in January I  figured this would be helpful. Plus I have met Taaj, and seen her dance and she is lovely.

5. Bahaia is my GIRRRLLL! Love her. And ( you should never start a sentence with "and" but I do it all of the time) Ya Bahaia:Vol 2 Bellydance Training Companion  is just practice loops. I need this.

6. My veil skills eat. I have a wonderful Shoshanna Veil DVD, but Shoshanna is like the Grace Kelly of veil stuff. She is just better than all of us and we need to accept it. I need a working class girls veil DVD. So Sarah, you seem on my level. Sorry.

7. All of the Najwa Karam CD's I can get my hands on. See, I have a little racket going. Instead of buying it on ITunes like most normal people, I get the CD's for as little as possible, load them on my Ipod, make myself a hard copy, then re-sell the original. Mwhahahahaaaa. The power.
  

8. Must......keep.....going.....getting....tired................must..........finish..........list.
  This book looked interesting. Because I can't just dance. Noooooooooooooo, I have to think about it, write about, pick it apart.

9. Can't know too much sword stuff.

10.

Because MJ is constantly puttin' 'em out, and I  am constantly buying 'em. 5 Layers DVD

Well, that is it for now. I said for now.

The "Why Should I Care?" Series - Alea

Our very first candidate in the Why Should I Care? Series happens to be a good friend of mine. I took the above pic of her after a particularly sassy fan dance she did. Why do I get to have my friend go first? Cuz its my blog, that's why.

Her name is Alea, and here is her interview.....Why Should We Care? I say cuz she is smart and funny, and her answers make sense whether you know her or not. Which is the whole point.


Alea grew up taking dance classes (ballet/ pointe, tap and jazz) and was thrilled to rediscover dance in 2007 when she signed up for bellydance classes with Gypsy. She considers herself an intermediate level dancer and is a member of Gypsy’s Aladdin's Genie's Troupe. Alea enjoys attending a variety of workshops and has also studied tribal fusion bellydance with Sashame at Twisted Dance studios (Yip!), where she learned to love the dance even more. Bellydance has rewarded her with more than just sparkly costumes and a fun way to exercise; it has brought many fun and friendly people into her life and for that, she is truly grateful.





You have two hours in a room with any bellydance instructor. Who would it be, and what would you do?

 Hmmmm… I actually have to choose? I think Rachel Brice is awesome, but I think I would be too intimidated by her to learn anything. ; ) I would only be able to stare at her and hope a little of her awesomeness would sink in just through proximity.
Someone I could maybe talk to without being a hot mess… Mira Betz. I took a workshop with Mira and found her incredibly inspiring. I think she has a unique style and perspective. I would like to chat with her about her favorite moves, performance tips, educating the public about bellydance and the lessons she’s learned the hard way relating to bellydance. I’d pretty much be interested in whatever she was inspired by at the moment.



2. What is the best compliment you have ever received on your dancing?

It was from you actually, you said, “it looked like you were having fun and were into it”. See question 3 below for better understanding.



3. Describe what you feel/think right before a performance.


Generally I am thinking, “why the hell did I agree to do this?!?!” and worrying that I will completely forget the dance as soon as the song starts. I am not a natural born performer, I don’t know how to “turn it on”, I just have to breathe and try not to run away. You didn’t ask, but I will tell you anyway… after a dance I am always a little proud of myself for surviving.





4. You can spend a limitless amount at any dance retailer, who would it be, and what would your first buy be?

If it was a limitless amount it would probably be from a retailer that I don’t even know exists because I don’t have the money to currently shop there so I don’t even look.



5. If you had to kill someone with a dance prop which would you choose?

 I can't tell you that because then it wouldn't look spontaneous if it really happened.






Alea :)

Noises

I happen to like hissing. I am too chicken to do it,but when I hear an audience member hiss at a dancer ( usually another bellydancer) I think it is cool. I also really like that rolling sound kind of like " vlllllllllllllll". Reminds me of a car engine.
I can zaghareet my ass off, and I will occasionally Yip. But I actually do have a signature sound, for real. It kind of sounds like a really high pitched "you". I think it sounds cool, and wonder if I overuse it, or if it sounds more like a redneck ye hawing at a Nascar race or something. These are the things that keep me up at night.( no,not really, I do have a soul).
I used to know a dancer that said the coolest things while she was watching a performance. She wouldn't make sounds, but made loud comments. It sounds obnoxious,but she was always saying what everyone else was thinking. If someone did a back bend or crazy drop, she would say something like "You're kidding", or "No Way". To know her personality was to understand that not only was she an amazing teacher, and a really fun person, but a complement coming from her was the real deal.

Noises. Just another thing I love about bellydance.

What sounds do you make?