I have two tips for practice for today!
1) Practice with Movement Mantra. Say it as you dance it!
2) Remember - Love comes first.
It is helpful when learning & practicing new belly dance steps to name what you are doing as you do it! This can be outloud or internal speaking. I start in class by guiding the process, naming what we are doing as we do it. Then - especially when connecting with new material - I allow time for students to repeat the mantra I have proposed outloud at the same time as they practice the movement.
This narration helps students
- focus
- remember the movements
- embody the movements more fully so they can dance with greater confidence
- start to connect with the rhythm of the movement
- harmonize body mind and spirit with the action
For example, for the traveling move I call "step, hip," I have people say "step" as they step and "hip" as they hip! Very simple, but not always easy!
The other day in class our movement mantra was "step, hip, sit, hip."
The first "step" is important, and I talk about my philosophy of that step in all my classes. Any dance step we take is about connecting to Mother Earth with reverence, sensitivity and intention. You are never alone when you dance. Earth is there supporting you. Sky is above. Space is all around you, ready to receive your energetic imprint, your shapes, your love, your flow. Every move you make has an impact on the space and community around you. Breath keeps you alive. We tune into ALL of this with the first step.
On a physical level, the first step is about preparing our incredible body's brilliant skeletal structure to support the hip action with ease and grace.
We step and we hip with a sense of gratitude for this dance, for the gift of our vessel. We belly dance with appreciation for our body's capacity to channel so many wonderful energies - from shimmies to waves to circles and spirals and beyond. We step with supple knees that, when slightly bent, act as shock absorbers for the skeleton -- soft, unlocked knees support and free up movement of the hips and spine.
Here is a little video about how Love comes first!'
