What Language are YOU speaking?

If language is considered to be a system of communication ‘ using sounds, symbols and words to express a meaning, idea or thought’ then dance is a language.

The language of Oriental Dance, is an expression of the feminine soul in movement to the music…That means ‘Your Soul’! That expression is as unique as your ‘voice’.

In keeping with the metaphor of dance as language…..we can explore a subject that has come to the forefront of the “Belly Dance World’ in recent years! That is, dancing improvisation or with choreography!

First off, they are not mutually exclusive..there is certainly a place for both! The question that comes to mind is with respect to ‘ learning’ the dance through choreography with the exclusion of Improvisation!

It has come to my attention, through various sources lately, that women are being taught to dance perdominantly through choreography…this has created the ‘phenomonon’ that students can’t dance without a choreography!

This would be like, learning a language and only being able to speak words in sentences that communicate thoughts, expressions and ideas that come from someone else. You would not be able to communicate your own thoughts, expressions and ideas!

This dance comes from a culture that is ‘foreign’ to us, not only in language but in movement, musical tone and rhythm. In order to ‘learn’ this language of dance we must learn the basic vocabulary/movements, immerse ourselves in ‘hearing’ the spoken language/music and allow ourselves to experience the expression by speaking/dancing!

The above elements of the dance are a ‘whole’ expression, they are not isolated parts. If your learning experience is simply a repitition of isolated movements that are then strung together into counted out phrases that are in sync with the music… forming a dance created by someone else… you will have learned ‘a dance’ but not ‘to dance’!

It is like the difference between writing a poem and reciting someone else’s poem…..

Shall we ask ourselves the REAL question? What attracted us to Belly Dance and why did we want to learn it?

Was it to experience the Beauty, Joy, Excitement, and Power that we saw and felt when we watched an Oriental Dancer?

In order to have that experience, it is necessary to understand and ‘FEEL’ the music and movement.  How do we accomplish that? How do we make this dance our own original authentic art?

Since this subject of ‘How’ we learn and develop in Belly Dance is a ‘Core’ subject, I would like to spend some time in the next couple of blogs exploring it!

I would like to invite you to leave your comments and questions that arise from your own experience with respect to ‘Learning the Art of Belly Dance’!

” True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,                                                   As those move easiest who have learned to dance”

Alexander Pope

And so Beautiful Dancers, I close with a video to inspire you, from a dancer that said in her own words, ” I have never choreographed anything in my life”… Read the rest of this entry »