Bellyroll

Bellydance Instructional: How to Bellyroll!

my mistake , not rachel, but I like this instructional clip. When taking a more old style egyptian class, we were required to do rolls and undulations with no moving forward in chest, or slight exaggeration of lumbar arch. I have a straight back, with very little low back arch, so my moves look nicer if I involve upper body a little, rachel brice does have great video dvd on bellywork and yoga to enhance. I have heard good reports on them, but this is great teacher featured here.I even practice separation of upper/lower abs and rolls when watching a movie. If you keep posture correct, it works. While waiting at Walmart is great time to do this, if you can detect your moves in clothes that cover more, just think how far you have trained those muscles, and muscles have a memory like an elephant! rock n ROLL time!

Bellydance Instructional: How to Bellyroll!

the queen of bellyrolls,rachel brice, i am definently buying her dvds, have fun, dance!

DALILA OF CAIRO, DANCING A PURE EGYPTIAN STYLE BALADI

this is really great baladi style, after purshasing ranya renees' dvd on improv baladi egyptian style, I found myself on youtube and have benefited by her dvd and watching good dancers, like dalila. it has helped me get my posture right and as a result, transitions in movement are simpler. enjoy the dance, love her costume, it shows just enough to see her athletic ability and looks like the way some might dress for this style.happy dancing to all.

Rachel Maddow as Fake President Obama Addresses the Nation on BP Oil Spill

this was on kathleen crowleys'blog and utube, wish rachel was real pres in this speech, we might get er done!

CANINE FRIENDS

I ran across this canine album I made on picaso. The neighborhood doggies, my dachy, soupy , the biker dude. they are 90% rescue dogs, none registered purchase. the world has those special humans, who have an unending space in their heart and enough love to adopt several homeless dogs, here is to u, and you know who you are, god bless.

Ranya of NYC & Maqamikaze company- "Alf Leyla w'Leyla"

This adorable choreography featuring ranya renee, with young students is great. The rock version of this song was on the previous post. Hard to believe how well it can be transformed, while keepimg essential for this dance rhythms unchanged for the dancer, all of the basic moves are in both versions, I really love this brilliant dance clip in its' entirety, enjoy.

Alf leyla wa Leyla - Arab Rock -

I am finding some neat stuff while checking out egyptian baladi, real old style egypt ,ranya renee dvd changed my life, see earleir posts.But I am sure most have heard of shakira, great voice and loves bellydance moves as well. This is a traditional song, but played by skilled rock style band with conventional instruments. This is what the typical Arab young person is doing with the old dance art, and I love it. Teens and music are definitely a part of life, no matter what race, creed or skin tone. I will be searching for more, but this is full length,enjoy.

Ava Fleming - Rakkasah 2010

ran across this versatile display by ava fleming, she does several styles, her teaching dvd a priority now enjoy

Shunyata Belly Dance 1

this is tribal, i am seriously thinkin of classes/dvds, after i study with my egyptian/gypsy/cabaret class longer.My instructor is one of few teachers, who taught in egypt, the old way. I am learning fundamentals from her. I am performing my first solo next month, and , to my surprise, will be performing with intermediate 1 class. I have worked hard and my illeopsis is getting so limber, I am lying down with the foot under knee back stretch. Never dreamed I would gain that much flexibility at my age,I am really loving zills in intermediate class.I found a great dvd set(2) Ranya Renee, baladi egyptian instruction. I have been wanting this dvd for some time. It is loaded with cultural info and moves with great ,easy to follow style.Amazon has a few copies left. And it won't break you. I, also found another shopping site. I still use miss bellydance.com, they r great, but this is off facebooks' gypseynet, anasayus' and sugar new fb page. Their sponsor, bellydance.com, find at gypsynets' emporium, have terrific stuff, see last blog for bratop it is more tribal. like style in this video, and have harem with skirt on order. I will post pic as soon as I get pics.Their headpieces are only 4.99, but I did purchase auburn bobby pins to secure, I have a small hat size. When you are dancing , it could shake loose, the tops are velcro at neck, so secure any velcro on a costume with extra hooks/eyes and carry safety pins, avoiding embarassment or incarceration, just in case. I find I am learning to check my costume I pick to wear to public dance, It is amazing how your hips can shrink, this is real workout doing middle eastern dance. If so, I have to move the hooks and eyes on my belt. I am preparing for a dress rehearsal, the camera doesn't lie, mirrors are great, but subjective.I learned that we see ourselves a bit differently and we have to concentrate on facial and arm/hand expression. I am just going to relax and have fun. Have a great journey this week and maybe even start a bellyquest,gypsy

The Kentuckiana Middle Eastern Dance Review: Laugh out loud

The Kentuckiana Middle Eastern Dance Review: Laugh out loud: "I can't stop watching this cute video made by Gia al Qamar. It has made it rounds on Oriental Dancer and facebook but if you missed it take ..."

BELLYDANCE CHALLENGES

this is bra I bought at gypsynets' emporium on facebook and headpiece.

When I began taking formal classes in bellydamce a few months back, I had no idea how much fun I would have; I ,also never realized how dance class differs from home studies. I had never stepped foot in a real dance class, and with the dvd/online method, there is all positive feedback,with no constructive criticism. You heat things like, great, that's great,etc. But in live classes, you may not even be aware of how you are positioned,even with the aid of a mirror, unless you have studio type settings in your home, you may only see certain angles of your moves. Then you must be aware of what the arms, face, and hands are doing. I found that I would need to learn a totally different posture than I used in other workouts. I had to learm ,that I need to have my chest over my foot area. That doesn't sound so tough, after all. I have great posture. I found out that your body would be asked to make moves that it would not be asked to do under regular motion. I also discovered how many muscles there are in between my ribcage(intercostal muscles.) Wow, a new meaning to the no pain, no gain phrase. Then there is the differences in each individuals basic anatomy. I have a straight back. Iy has very little arch in the lumbar region. This is great for equine sports, but doing an undulation is a challenge to do , at least in the style that my teacher is teaching at this time. If I don;t use more of a forward chest motion, it is not as obvious how my spine moves, and it can be discouraging when you really are a perfectionist type personality/ I have found that it requires communication between your teacher and you. This can be a challenge if the teacher doesn't hear your questions about a move or how or where you are starting a choreography. Middle eastern dance is hard work and requires a commitment to learn it. I do find that it is a very effective workout aerobically, and will have your body changing very rapidly,downright dangerous curves will develop and you will get that flat tummy, above and below the belt. I am not really a fan of a lot of meat in my diet, but I am craving the protein needed to support building muscles. I suggest taking supplements as required for your age group, as well as a protein supplement to enhance muscle response to the intensity of this workout. I am eating like I did at 14yo;like a large mammal, but making good choices , not just any food. After all, I want my newfound abs to show and have nice definition. I have found this class business very exhilirating, addictive, and often enough humiliating, there goes rhat perfectionism again, and I thought I had that all worked out. I have made some great pals at live classes. I have a very good teacher. I had forgotten how to relate to people, I was shut in for a period of time with my late hubby. But ,it is helping me learn how to interact with others as a non nurse. That was my identity for a long time. Being a nurse makes it easier to relate to folks at the time, but now I am relating on different turf. The people don't know me as the nurse, but just a harley riding newbie with so much to learn. But I know that I am getting better with each class. I have very small place to work out and no full mirrors for large moves, but I use the video for feedback, and the camera shows it like it is. I , also, find it comforting that my muscles have memory and that once I know how a move should feel in order to make that move in the proper manner. I have found that a simple costume is motivating and helps with the theatrical skills one must learn, it makes me feel like a dancer and a goddess. This has proven very helpful for me. I also wear fingerless gloves for dance, to help me be aware of what my arms and hands are doing. Now if I can improve on memory of choreography, I can concentrate more on all of the other stuff. I have decided to write down the steps and what count the step is initiated on. Writing things down is a leftover learning/memory tactic I used while doing my nursing duties.I am started on zills. It is an intermediate class, but it will assist me to coordinate moving, while playing a percussion instrument. I am doing a solo dance at the greek night next month. I have a great respect for the challenges of choreographing a dance. Our teachers out there work hard to make the moves suited to our skill level. The illeopsis muscles are getting limber,( see the previous link on this muscle group that dancers use. So now it is practice and then practice some more. My feet are getting more callous in the areas needed to dance with bare feet and to dance on the balls of my feet. I have ordered a couple of dvds on dance, will let you know how they are soon. I got them for a great price at amazon. I also got a great bratop from gypseynets' emporium. This is a site worth visiting on facebook. Gotta get to work on my solo and get those hips moving. Happy dancing from gypsy on her bellyquest. I am inserting a funny video, it has been around, but for those who missed it, it is very cute.