Saturday 31 December 2011

Happy New Year!

I'm pinching this idea from fellow Edinburgh Bellydance Blogger Habiba Dance - can I summarise 2011 in 12 sentences, one for each month?

In January I decided I wanted to go to Cairo this year... but as I was counting up my pennies for the flight, the uprisings began and I decided to postpone my plans.
February brought my teacher and mentor Lorna Gow back to Edinburgh to teach, perform and - yay! - hang out.
In March I did my first half marathon on the year (and my first for a few years) - by October I'd done seven of the blighters, woop woop.
In April I got a horrible hip flexor spasm, leaving me unable to dance or even walk, but I still went to my first ever bellydance festival, Jewel of Yorkshire (JoY) and it was a fantastic experience from start to finish.
May all your Christmases be white!
In June I hosted a hafla as part of the Leith Festival and it was busy, great atmosphere, lovely dancing - result!!
July was the Musselburgh Hafla, and the first time I know a hafla's been delayed by pigeons.
August brought a fun teaching opportunity at a Fitness Convention, giving me the chance to combine my love for bellydance with my passion for sweaty workouts - I still use the playlist when I need an energy boost!
In September classes resumed in Fisherrow and among the new students was the lovely Nick Gardiner - yes, a man! - which is brilliant and adds something new to the class.
In October I danced as a Helwa Hurdie doing our khaleegy dance, complete with wig - I loved the wig but not as much as I loved being a Hurdie!
November took me to Orkney where I did a bit of teaching and experienced new extremes of weather.
December brought the joy of dancing with a great group of ladies in my first exciting experiences of the Dancebase Christmas show.

And 2012? Sadly there will be no more classes at the Thomas Morton Halls, as Dancebase have scaled back their activities there, but Fisherrow and Grassmarket will continue. And I have two teaching-related resolutions:

1. To be more conscientious about rotating the lines in class (responding to student feedback, thanks ladies!)
2. To wear more hip belts, jingly and otherwise, in class. Because I remember when I got my first coin belt after a few months of classes and I felt like a proper bellydancer and it was just a brilliant feeling which I'd like to encourage more dancers to have!

Have a great new year everyone.

Sunday 4 December 2011

Season's Greetings

I've had a great end to the term.

My weekend in Orkney was lovely. I met some great ladies and we had a lovely workshop. Laura, Ruth and I also had a great weekend, despite some truly terrible weather and a rather noisy night.

Ruth and I at Kirkwall Airport
Laura and Ruth outside St Magnus's Cathedral. Sorry it's sideways.
The final week of classes were focussed on fun! We did some bellydance style ceilidh dancing and had a festive playlist, with customary trips to the pub after each of the Dancebase classes. At Fisherrow there was the usual party night with drinks and nibbles. Some of the Helwa Hurdies shared the choreographies they'd been working on this term, which were very good and lovely to watch - well done and thank you Cheryl, Carol and Margaret!

The final gig of the term was the Dancebase Christmas Show on Sunday 4th December at The Queen's Hall. A big professional venue with a ticket-buying audience of non-bellydancers, and a big, slick, show featuring Dancebase's classes. The Bellydance Improvers were performing, and a group of 7 of us took to the stage for veils, sticks and a drum solo. It was a great afternoon and marvellous to get to dance with these ladies - my first time performing with them.
 
So that's the end of the dancing term. I'm looking forward to getting my Christmas cards written and having five - yes, five, wow! - weeks off! before the spring term. During which, I will, of course, be working on my playlist for the new term, seeking out new students and working on improving my dancing!! I'm also coming up to a bit of a crossroads in my life - my youngest child is starting school in 2012, so I am weighing up my working/retraining/"proper job" options. So this holiday will be time for a bit of research and heaving duty thinking.

I am sad to say that Dancebase's bellydance class at the Thomas Morton Halls in my home turf of Leith will not be running next term. Dancebase are scaling back their classes in Leith to just two evenings plus Saturday mornings. I'm really sad that this is happening - not least because I've really enjoyed teaching there, and have had a lovely group of ladies dancing in that great venue. But also because it would be great to see Leith dancing more. I would have loved to have seen all the Leith schools and community groups getting the chance to dance in the Thomas Morton Halls, or classes from the Halls getting involved in the local community. Sadly it's not to be, which is very disappointing.

Have a lovely festive season!

Tuesday 15 November 2011

Teaching in Orkney

I am really excited to be organising a class in Orkney!
Bellydance for Beginners with Elspeth SwishandHips
Saturday 26th November, 1230-1430 at the Pickaquoy Centre, Kirkwall, Orkney. £8
Everyone welcome!
If you know anyone in Orkney please let them know about this class and help me spread the word.
This class will be suitable for everybody, no previous experience is necessary, just be willing to have fun. Whatever your age (although under-16s should be accompanied by an adult please), shape,or  fitness level, bellydance is for you. 
And - as always - you don't have to get your belly out (unless you want to!)

Monday 14 November 2011

Grooving in Glasgow

This weekend was GFAD - Glasgow Festival of Arabic Dance, organised by Glasgow bellydancers Ann McLaughlin and Sarah Pullman. It's a twice-a-year event featuring workshops with local and visiting teachers, and a hafla.

I really enjoyed the workshop I did, with the legendary UK teacher Candi Bell. It was my first Candi experience, although I've been a fan of her website for a long time. She was humourous, clear and helpful in class, and taught entrances and exits, a class that helped us with making an impact in a range of styles of Egyptian music.

The hafla was really enjoyable and was a real showcase of west of Scotland talent - lots of classes performed, as well as local teachers and other soloists. I was there with some of the Helwa Hurdies, and we performed our khaleegi number, which got a good reaction! I did a solo meleya lef number, which I really enjoyed - my first hafla appearance with the meleya lef! If you're on Facebook you'll find my performance on my page.


GFAD is a great event, I hope it goes from strength to strength!

Next stop is the Edinburgh Egyptian Dancers Hafla at Revolution Nightclub, Chambers Street in Edinburgh on Sunday 20th November.

Monday 24 October 2011

Forthcoming events

It's half way through term and the nights are fair drawing in! Thank you to everybody who's still making it along to class, I hope you agree it's a far better thing to dance and feel happy than to sit at home and let the Scottish climate get you down!

Here's a winter warmer - On 12 November is the Glasgow Festival of Arabic Dance, with workshops and a hafla - I recommend them both for a great day's learning and a splendid night's entertainment (which will feature the Helwa Hurdies and me, performing!)

I have something in mind for round about St Andrew's Night too, watch this space!

December 15th will be the Peebles Christmas Hafla, let's hope the snow stays away this year so that those of us from further away will be able to make it!

Saturday 8 October 2011

Race for the Prize

I know this is all about my bellydance life but today I feel like showing you some of the ... depth of me! This year feels like a rollercoaster of haflas and races - if it's not one it's the other, and I like it that way!

So far in 2011 I've completed 6 half marathons, a 10K, and, today, a 10-mile hill race. I'm not affiliated to a running club (I fear they would scorn my ipod!) but I run three times a week, and this year decided that racing quite a bit would be, well, fun. On the whole, it has been!

Today I nearly got lost on the way to the Hallhill Healthy Living Centre in Dunbar - which, incidentally, looks to me like a place screaming out for bellydance classes (sorry if you're already teaching there, but I didn't spot any posters or listings!). Found it, relaxed, had a cup of tea, decided not to hang out with all the club runners as it would terrify me - I can run the run but I don't talk the talk.

I had a bad start - my watch wouldn't work, and by the time I started to run instead of jog, there were only 3 people behind me! AND I'd forgotten to tie my shoelaces properly. AND, one mile in, I realised I hadn't brought any energy sachets with me, which I've grown to love this year.

I overtook a few people, retied both my laces, kept an eye open for tasty brambles, and felt more confident. Then, on the first hill, the crowd (such as it was - I think there were only about 80 competitors and most of them were well in front!) slowed down quite a lot and I overtook half a dozen other runners. On the second hill, one runner said "good luck, you're a climber!" - and I thought, oh yes, so I am! I felt very cheered by this. I did keep climbing up the ranks as the race went on - nowhere near the front or anything, but nobody overtook me and I overtook people, so indeed, I do seem to be a climber.

This was a well hilly race. I did it last year so I wasn't daunted by the up hills, even the "across the field, look out for the dung" up-hill! The down was a bit odd, and I felt like my legs were outwith my control by the time I came off Doon Hill - but I kept it up, managing not to land in the mud anywhere (it was cool, dreich and squidgy!)

In the last mile some finishers were on their way to cheer on the stragglers - coming back along the race route - and their supportive words to me almost had me in the mud as I lifted my head to smile, skidded to the side and nearly landed at their feet. Sooo glad I retained my balance, fingers crossed it's a dancer thing.

I finished in 1 hour 20 minutes. It was a time which was at least 5 minutes off a prize (I think the runner up in my catagory was 1h16m), but it was 4 full minutes less than my time last year, so I'm totally over the moon. Yay me. (If you don't run, to give you a guide, the winner got home in 57 minutes. But I hear his shimmies are shit.)

Running Club races excel at post-race catering and I made a pig of myself on white carbs! Two scones, two bits of cake, a yummy chewy roll, cup of soup and a sugary tea. There were showers too, which is rare but totally brilliant. The atmosphere was friendly and happy and I really, properly enjoyed the race. (That doesn't always happen - the Haddington Half Marathon was probably the most miserable two hours of the year for me!)

So, next week there's a hafla so I won't be heading for the Aviemore half marathon (I think I might be glad, judging by the weather) - but at the end of the month we're on a family trip to Jedburgh for the half marathon there. Hubby has already picked out the gastropub he wants to visit!

Monday 19 September 2011

Back in the swing of things.

Well, teaching term is back in full swing and I'm really pleased about it! Dancebase have found another group of beginners for me to teach, the majority of whom have not bellydanced before - my favourite! - so it's my mission to make as many of them as I can fall in love with the dance! And it helps when there are so many good events to tell them about - this was a busy weekend!

Saturday night was a hafla organised by my friend Moyra Banks. Moyra is one of my favourite Edinburgh dancers, with musical interpretation I adore and a real passion for Egyptian-ness. Her hafla was wonderfully well organised - a real cut above many haflas with care and attention to details. She was hosting Washington D.C.-based teacher Artemis, who taught workshops over the weekend and performed at the hafla.

Moyra asked me to compere the hafla - a job which I enjoy [and people tell me that I do it well - blush - in a past life I did a lot of public speaking to audiences who were much less friendly than bellydancers!] It was great to get to introduce such a great line-up, not only the star guest Artemis, but 11 other performances, including Zafirah, who had come from London to close the show; the ever-gorgeous Sarasvati Tribal from Glasgow; Caroline Rose performing a spangly-gorgeous Randa Kamel choreography; and Moyra herself doing an amazingly beautiful baladi piece. It was a smashing night with a lovely, warm, friendly atmosphere, and Moyra deserves much credit for putting such a good event together.

Sunday was East Lothian Council's MultiCultural Day at Prestongrange Museum, and my Fisherrow dancers, the Helwa Hurdies, were peforming. It is an annual event, and this was the third time we have danced there. Last year the atmosphere was, well, somewhat lacking, and I had a bit of trepidation about it. The class had spent all of last term preparing a dance for the wedding of one of the Hurdies, and we'd put together a not-terribly-Middle Eastern piece for that occasion! I didn't want to dance to Akon at a Multi-Cultural event! So in the first three weeks of this term we worked on a khaleegy routine, to Ahla Nazra” by The Miami Band.

In bellydance terms the word “khaleegy (khaliji, khallejy etc) refers to a style of dance and music from the Persian Gulf or Arabian Gulf region, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Real women dance this style in pairs or groups of for their own entertainment at celebrations like weddings.The dancers wear bright, oversized overdresses called the thobe or thobe nasha’ar, worn without a hip belt. The dress is used as a prop, as is a headful of long, glossy hair! 

While not all of us are blessed with long glossy hair, we know that when we need dresses, the woman to see is Celia Buchan, bellydance costumier to the finely attired East of Scotland bellydance community! Celia helped us with our costumes for the wedding, and was on hand to run up some thobes for the Hurdies too. Lovely!

Well, the atmosphere was much, much better this year. The tent filled up as we began our slot (and the rain helped us make sure people stayed till the end!) and we got a lovely reception. I danced the Hurdies duet to Aayshalak with Laura

and then filled some more of our 15-minute slot with an improvised baladi piece, using music from my favourite baladi album, Baladi W'Bas! by Yasmina of Cairo. I recommend the album for anyone looking to get their baladi groove on, it's great.

I haven't danced in this old beady dress for a long time. Back when I started bellydance, in 1997, the beady dress was a staple of the dancer's wardrobe. It weighs a tonne and stretches to fit just about anybody.  But I was looking for something appropriate for a multi-cultural event - less showy, more folky. And I feel great dancing baladi in this dress - it makes me feel modest, grounded and slinky!

We saved the best for last though - nine of us took to the stage for our khaleegy fabulousness. It went really well, even if the stage was a bit too wee for us all. Nobody lost any hair, nobody was injured by anyone else's hair, and nobody fell over their thobe. For three weeks practice, that's a result! I'm looking forward to seeing some footage.


It was a great event, with a nice audience and lot of other great performances. The group of Maasai tribesmen who took the stage shortly after us were amazing! How great to share a bill with them!

I'm looking forward to dancing with the Hurdies again soon.

Wednesday 24 August 2011

Try before you buy at Dancebase!

If you've never taken a class at the amazing Dancebase before, there's a special offer this term. You can try your first class for free before you pay for the whole term.


Why is Dancebase, Scotland's National Centre for Dance, so amazing? Well, their studios on Edinburgh's Grassmarket are lovely, as is their studio in Leith at the Thomas Morton Halls; the people are friendly; they have a huge range of dance things going on; and they have lots of great teachers working there ;)

There are lots of brilliant dance classes available at Dancebase (including mine, natch ;) ) so take advantage of this offer. You have to register before 31 August though, so hurry up! Classes start at Dancebase on the week beginning 12 September.

Tuesday 16 August 2011

New Term: September 2011

If you fancy trying bellydance, my classes are fun and friendly, and I do my best to cate for all fitness levels and all abilities.

All you need is a desire to dance! Beginners classes will teach you the technique safely, give you some understanding of a range of Middle Eastern dance styles, and get you into the groove of Middle Eastern music. Hopefully along the way you'll use new muscles, make some friends and have a laugh.

We dance in our bare feet. Bring a drink of water with you, and maybe a notebook and pen to help your memory. If you want to wear a scarf around your hips, feel free to bring one.

  • The Fisherrow Centre, Musselburgh: Thursday 7.30pm from 1 September.
  • Dancebase, Thomas Morton Halls, Leith: Friday 6pm from 16 September.
  • Dancebase, Grassmarket: Wednesday 6.30pm from 14 September.

If you've danced before, my Improvers classes might be up your street. At Dancebase, I cover dance styles in more depth (saidi, baladi, oriental), use a wider range of music, and look at polishing your dance especially if you're thinking of performing. The class assumes you know basic bellydance moves and are comfortable with them.

At Fisherrow, the Improvers class focuses much more on performance. It's the home of the Helwa Hurdies, a dance group who perform at festivals, weddings, parties and suchlike. You don't have to perform if you don't want to, but a lot of time in class is spent getting choreographies ready to perform. It's lots of fun and lovely atmosphere, and new dancers are made welcome!

  • Dancebase Improvers: Grassmarket, 7.30pm on Wednesdays from 14 September
  • Fisherrow Improvers: 8.30pm on Thursdays from 1 September.

For classes at Dancebase, book your space at the Dancebase website. For Fisherrow classes, just turn up and join in.

It would be great to see you soon - please get in touch if you have any questions.
 

Fitness Convention, August 2011

I was invited to teach at a Fitness Convention at Meadowbank Sports Centre over the summer. It was organised by Joanna and Les of Fitness Around the World, who are best known for their super-popular Zumba classes. Like most bellydance teachers, I've lost a few students to Zumba over the last year or so - it's marketed as a workout, a party, a get-fit fix, and when I've tried it, it's been great fun. It's not a dance class, it's not about technique or beautiful movement, but it's fun!

I took part in some of the other classes at the Convention, including Cuban Salsacise (fun but I could not keep up with the steps - although it improved when I took off my trainers!), Bodylicious (lots of squats and a zillion stomach crunches) and Zumba. In the Zumba, I was really disappointed that the music just did nothing for me. Accoustics in a sports hall are never good, so perhaps that was the problem. Or perhaps it was just too much of the pounding techno for my taste!

I have to say that some of the Zumba moves just don't respect the diversity of fitness levels or flexibility of the participants. The demostration crew were all young, slim and had spines like spaghetti, leaping into deep, fast pelvic thrusts and backbends with no warning or explanation. It's the opposite of how (in my experience) bellydance is taught, with emphasis on good warm-up, safe posture and modifications of moves and positions to suit the dancer.

There were about 50 people in my session. Because it was a fitness audience, I gave them a near-solid hour of upbeat, energetic bellydance, teaching one move at a time and then dancing/drilling it to a pop choon (Saad, Hakim, Tarkan, Nawal, Milk & Honey, Hisham Abbass). There was a good response.

For me, it hadn't felt right to teach a 'normal' dance class at a fitness convention, so I'd modified my usual classes. However, after my session was a Broadway Dance class (I was too hyper to take part!) which taught a choreography (in very high heels!), so the whole event had a real variety of class styles.

Joanna and Les are hoping to run another Fitness Convention in the spring - I'd recommend it, but watch out for those spaghetti-spine moves!

Wednesday 20 July 2011

Eavesdropping

If you listen to conversations you aren't meant to hear, you might hear things you don't like!

This week I taught a taster session at a community World Fun Day - it turned out to be for mostly (enthusiastic) toddlers. Getting changed in the loos after I overheard...

"Yeah, bellydancing is amazing!" (I smile!)
"Yes, it's so womanly." (I grin!)
"Yes, and what they wear - it's not too revealing, is it? Just fancy and nice." (I nod, I'm in quite a modest bra & belt set after all...)
"It must be so nice, having a night out and getting dressed up like that, I mean, it's not like everyday life." (Yeah...)
"And when they all move together, it's lovely." (Hmm? But I was all alone...)
"And those swords!!" (oh, hang on a minute...)
"And when they danced at the Kirkgate at the opening of the Leith Festival, that was just *amazing*!!" (oh. right. I'll get my coat.)

I am getting used to being usurped by The Twisted Tails! And now, even when they're not actually *there*!! And if they weren't such nice ladies and such spectacular performers, I might get annoyed about it.

Monday 11 July 2011

Fancy pants: costuming

"[Gasp] - where do you get your costumes?"

Most bellydancers get that question quite a lot!

I'm fortunate enough to have a very good friend in Cairo who helps me a lot to find lovely things that work for me. In my opinion Cairo has the very best costumiers for bellydancers, and quite right too since it's the home of the dance! Eman Zaki's Golden Lotus label produces gorgeous, fasionable costumes; everybody loves Sahar at the moment; Amera Kattan runs Pharaonix of Egypt. I have a blue Pharaonix costume which always attracts a huge number of comments. One day I'm going to let it go out there and dance on it's own, because nobody notices how I dance when I wear it!

But this year I've been visiting Celia Buchan in the slightly-less-sunny Penicuik, and she's been working on a very beautiful costume for me. The trip to the Edinburgh suburbs is less arduous than getting to Cairo, and there are DVDs and chocolate biscuits for my children to enjoy while I'm there! I got my costume a couple of weeks ago and I love it. With a bit of help from Caroline Rose too, we came up with a design that would suit my shape (IBTC member, not much of a waist but muscley in the tummy). Celia made the costume and her skill and taste in bling are as good as her sewing and design work!

I feel great in this costume. It fits me perfectly and I love it. It's beautiful, it doesn't overshadow me, it's designed for my body, and nobody in the world has anything like it. What more could I ask for?

However, I have also been dancing with my wonderful students, the Helwa Hurdies. One of the Hurdies, Ruthie, was getting married in July, and asked us to perform at her wedding. It was an honour, a priviledge, and a very exciting occassion! We worked all term on the choreography and Ruthie and Kenny kindly bought us skirts, veils and coin belts. All that was left was the oft-thorny question of tops.

It was back to Celia Buchan who taught us all how to make our own. How to take a common-or-garden structured bra, chop it up, and make it look fabulous for stagewear. We spent a lengthy evening in Celia's house, tea and biscuits ahoy, measuring elastic, learning about buttresses and stabbing ourselves in the fingers.

I can't pretend I found it easy. I can't pretend I enjoyed the experience. There's a reason why Celia can produce gorgeous costumes - she can sew. I can't. Well, I suppose I can do the stitching, and I didn't fail needlework at school, but it's safe to say that there's a reason why, in my 14 years of bellydance, I've never made my own costume. But nonetheless, I managed to do it (although there are still a good few safety pins involved in it.) And what's more, all the other Hurdies did it too, and looked utterly amazing.

So, in short - If you want to feel like a million dollars on stage, don't buy guff from some unknown source. Save your pennies and get something made for you. It's soooo worth it. But if you want to look like a great troupe, get sewing. As long as you can all get together, preferably with wine, and enjoy the experience!

Wednesday 22 June 2011

Leith's Awesome Hafla!!!

What an amazing night! My first Leith Festival event, A Bit of Cairo on Duke Street, was a success! The Parlour Bar turned out to be a great venue with very helpful staff. And Leithers turned out to be a brilliant audience.

So, hours before the event, two of the performers pulled out - I guess it's not a real hafla without last-minute stress! By 7.30pm I was very nervous but as the bar started to fill and the atmosphere began to build, I calmed down a bit. There were dancers, bellydance students with their friends and families, and a good number of people who'd come along after seeing the listing in the Leith Festival programme. There were also a few slightly perplexed locals. But it was a really good mix, in total about 60 people, and the atmosphere was just amazing!

When I was performing, the speakers tripped and my (already too quiet) music disappeared entirely. I was gutted because I was really enjoying myself and the audience response was so good. But everybody was already clapping along, so I got them to keep it up and danced to the rhythm of the clapping instead, until the [sterling] bar staff got the music on again. Not every audience would have managed it, but this was a hell of a crowd!

We had nine performances, a lovely variety of dancers and styles - and because our dancefloor was the bar area, and we couldn't dance while customers were being served, nine performances was just the right number for a two-hour show. As it was a free event, everybody had a few quid available for raffle tickets, with a bottle of Baileys and a term of classes as prizes - and £100 was raised for Just Because.

I am really chuffed with how the night went, and would love to do it again next year! A big thank you to you if you came along, and especially to the performers and The Parlour.

Tuesday 7 June 2011

A Bit of Cairo on Duke Street!

In the last few years I've looked at the brochure for Leith Festival and been disappointed there's been no bellydancing events.

Last year I was lucky enough to see the Twisted Tails and my own wonderful performance group the Helwa Hurdies performing at the opening of the Leith Festival, along with students of Leith teachers Shelley Dance and Hilary Thacker, which was much better.

This year I decided something else had to be done, so next week you are invited to A Bit of Cairo on Duke Street: Leith Bellydance Hafla!

The venue is The Parlour Bar on Duke Street, a smashing, friendly pub which serves smashing tea, coffee and cupcakes, as well as the usual shandy-business (they call it "boozy goodness"), plus Monster Munch (all flavours). During the day they regularly entertain smaller customers with boxes of Lego and colouring-in. This is not the smelly old man's pub of its previous incarnation! The Parlour also hosts Open Mic nights so they know how to treat performers.

If you would like to come along and enjoy the performances, it's free entry, just hitch up and get yourself a comfy seat (there are settees as well as bar stools). If you'd like to dance, let me know and I'll add you to the programme. Just watch you don't catch your veil on the popcorn wagon! Oh, and the changing facilities are a wee bit scarce, but the atmosphere will make up for it. Come on out for a fun, schoolnight hafla and enjoy the Leith Festival ambiance!

Monday 9 May 2011

Starting bellydance with the new term!

It's a couple of weeks into term now, but new students are always welcome to my classes at The Fisherrow Centre, Musselburgh, on a Thursday evening!


If you'd like to join, the beginners/open level class runs from 7.30-8.30pm, and is friendly and fun. I'll be teaching the basic bellydance moves with a great soundtrack of Egyptian pop music for you to find your shimmy and groove to. If you're nervous, bring a friend - but we are friendly and welcoming to everybody!

Wear something comfy - not too tight and not too baggy, joggers and a vest are fine - and we usually dance in bare feet, but dance shoes are fine too.

I think there are still spaces in the classes I teach on Wednesdays (Grassmarket) and Fridays (Leith) for Dancebase, please contact Dancebase directly if you'd like to book these.

Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Sunday 17 April 2011

Upper body extension for beautiful veil workshop with Dawn White

I went to a lovely workshop today. It was "upper body extension for beautiful veil", taught by Dawn White. Dawn is a graceful, powerful dancer and when I used to go to her regular Edinburgh classes (back in 2003!), I remember thinking she focussed more on creativity and elegance of movement than I was used to, and less on hip technique. I was pregnant when I last went to Dawn's classes, couldn't keep up the pace and then she left for Australia!

You can see Dawn's upper body extension as she dances here!



I really enjoyed today's 2-hour workshop. Dawn's teaching challenged the way I think about movement - she talked about creating beautiful movement, not just shapes. She emphasised how we use the space with the extremities of our bodies, from our fingers to our toes, our chins to the crowns of our heads. There were challenging drills  - the notion of cracking walnuts between my shoulder blades was painful, but as Dawn said, if you go to a workshop and don't push yourself, you might as well be dancing in your living room. There were lovely swishy combinations with veils, the room was sea of colour as we switched from demure dancers to warrior princesses!

It feels like a long time since a teacher has given me new technique to think about, rather than a choreography or style of dancing. I am really looking forward to more workshops with Dawn and hoping she stays in Scotland for a good while!

Wednesday 23 March 2011

A little stick dancing!

This week I taught saidi-style stick dancing... to groups of primary 2 children!

My son is in primary 2 at Leith Primary School and they've been doing 'dance' as their topic for gym this term. After 6 weeks (to my boy, 6 endless weeks) of Scottish Country Dancing, and two weeks of Katy Perry's Firework, a la Just Dance 2 for the Wii (yes, really!), I volunteered to add a little international interest!

 I was a bit nervous - I was taking my 3-year-old daughter with me too; I had especially shortened sticks for the children; I had a last minute panic being unable to find my galabeya; and I wasn't quite sure what all the teachers would think of it.

It was great. Nobody lost an eye (which should be a worry with the 6-year-old and stick interface!) and only one girl got a  skelf from the stick (oops). Quite a few of the children spent more time goggling at me than dancing (they're more used to seeing me in the playground in civvies, I guess!).  But most of them got to grips very nicely with the saidi step, the dums and teks and pretending to be dancing horses. I held back on the stick spinning and backbends - maybe we'll try that if they have me back!!!

My 3-year-old nearly peed herself as I was a bit too busy to take her to the loo, but otherwise she was very helpful, pressing play and pause on the ipod when I asked her too!

Teaching children is so different to teaching adults  - not least because grown-ups have chosen to come to class and actively want to be there! But I really enjoyed it.

Monday 10 January 2011

Come dance with me!

Time for a new term! And a busy, exciting one for me. I hope you can come and dance with me at the Fisherrow Centre, or either of the Dancebase venues.

Wednesdays: Dancebase, Grassmarket
6.30-7.30 Beginners
Learn basic belly dancemoves, get shimmying to Egyptian music and enjoy the energy and elegance of belly dance, modern Cairo style! We will learn basic hip-work, fabulous foot patterns and rudimentary rhythms. This moderately energetic class will work your body all over. Please wear loose, comfy clothes.

7.30-8.30 Improvers
In this class you will learn different styles of Egyptian belly dance, as well as improving your technique, travelling, interpretation and confidence. There will be new moves and an emphasis on modern Cairo style belly dance. Later in the term you will need to bring a veil. Please wear loose, comfy clothes.

Each class costs £73.50 for the term (12 January - 6 April), please book at Dancebase.

Thursdays: Fisherrow Centre, Musselburgh. 
7.30-8.30 Beginners/open level
8.30-9.30 Improvers/performance
Fun, friendly community dance classes.
New dancers, come and try before you buy. If you're not sure which class suits you best, then try them both. The term costs £54 (£45 for senior citizens, students, unwaged), or £95 (£80) for both classes. NB No class on Thursday 3 March, but there will be a class in school holiday week.

Fridays: Dancebase, Leith
5.30-6.30 Beginners
Learn basic belly dancemoves, get shimmying to Egyptian music and enjoy the energy and elegance of belly dance, modern Cairo style! We will learn basic hip-work, fabulous foot patterns and rudimentary rhythms. This moderately energetic class will work your body all over. Please wear loose, comfy clothes.
£73.50 for the term (12 January - 6 April), please book at Dancebase

I'm really looking forward to lots of great dancing this term - please email me if you have any questions about the classes!