Fantasy Bellydance DVD

Growing as a Dancer

What exactly makes a dancer or a choreography advanced? By "advanced" we usually mean a difficult choreography or a dancer's ability to execute fast, physically demanding movements... but this is not necessarily true.

Let's imagine a dancer. She is performing two pieces. The first one is packed with complicated movements, fast transitions and challenging isolations. Our jaw drops and we feel happy to witness what the human body is able to do. It is obvious that dancing at this level takes years of work. In the second piece she appears to be floating on a cloud and having a good time. As she dances, we forget where we are and what we came here for. For a moment we feel what she is feeling. Our imagination soars... our heart opens. "Wow! –we think– that was so simple but so beautiful".

These are two very different examples. They both can be called "advanced dancing", but the second example often appears deceptively easy. If the dancer's intention for the second piece is to portray the simplicity and joy of being able to bellydance on a cloud, it would be inappropiate to choose her fastest moves and most elaborate isolations. Like in the first case, her body and mind are performing at a level that only years of training and development can achieve, and much of this hard work was put for the purpose of making it look easy, effortless.

I think that what makes a performance advanced is the dancer's ability to take what needs to be taken from her toolbox of skills and knowledge and weave all the elements seamlessly together for the purpose of communicating her message effectively enough to move the audience, rather than looking like a mere athletic feat. By these "elements" I mean muscle control, musicality, facial expression, the use of props, costuming, choice of music, etc. By "message" I mean anything from interpreting the music, to portraying a character, to telling a story, to expressing one or more feelings, to communicating something abstract so effectively that the audience intuitively understands it and is moved by it.

And how do you do know what elements to take? How do you even decide what to communicate? To do that, you need to grow as a dancer, as an artist and as a person. You need to fill your heart and mind with images, music, knowledge. You need to see many performances, of bellydance and other arts. You need to read and enrich your imagination. You need to know yourself and find out what moves and what inspires you.

To me, another thing that makes a dance advanced is the effective use of all those little details that turn a dance into magic. It could be a subtle tilt of your head, a hand gesture, a nuance in your timing, a deliberate pause or a glance... these little things can create something very special and meaningful and the way you are able to do this is by being truly present in the moment.

And how can you be present? First and most importantly, you need to work on your craft, you need to take your classes, do your drills and rehearse your choreography. You need to master the technique until it's ingrained in your muscle memory. Once you have it in your body, your brain no longer needs to think about the steps and can go on "automatic". Then you can begin to engage the emotion and play with all the different little nuances that are possible. You will begin to do things your own way... and that's what you want: to grow and be your own dancer – not somebody else's copy.

~ Blanca