Oryantal Dans, Roman Havasi
Sorry, been a bit absent recently, busy busy!
Taught my first class today on Turkish Romany style belly dance! Phew. I've taught dance before, but that's the first time people have paid for me to do it. (They didn't pay me, just the studio. But still. Pressure).
It seemed to go really well; they liked the moves and the combos, and I managed to sound knowledgeable about Oryantal Dans. I was relieved that we didn't get through everything I'd planned, since it meant I wasn't aiming too low. Plus there was a new girl who seems really cool! So yay.
I did have some thinky thoughts, about art and authenticity in modern society. Because I've never really been trained in Turkish style. My first troupe had a lot of Turkish influence, which I didn't discover until I moved on. Everything else I learned from a few workshops, an instructional DVD, and hours and hours of reading and watching videos on YouTube.
I feel kind of insecure about this, because who am I to set up as an expert? I've never taken a Turkish style class! But then I thought about it, and it occurred to me that this is how we've learned to dance for hundreds of years: by watching other people. Yes, the YouTube part is new, but the general concept of watching other dancers and imitating them is how dance was learned and passed on (and why dances absorb from other nearby dances). It's only recently that this idea of schools, training, of paying to be taught, of an "official" way of doing things, has come into being. So should I be insecure that I learned the Old Way (aided by technology)? I think the things I've learned are accurate; sometimes more so, because I learned them by watching Turkish dancers, not by listening to some random instructor with unknown credentials. But I still feel like I'm letting down my students, when they ask where I learned and I have to say from Professor Google.
Anyway, I also went to the local Turkish festival! Woo Turkey! :) I missed the language lesson but I did get to see some amazing folk dancers from Ankara who showcased the dances from various regions of Turkey. Some look like Greek dance, some look weirdly Russian or Cossack, one looked like it was straight out of Fiddler on the Roof, and a couple looked bizarrely Irish. Like Lord of the Dance Irish. Weird. But I got to see some Roman Havasi (my current obsession) and pick up a couple more movements, so hooray!! Plus circle dancing!! I adore circle dancing, it is the greatest thing ever and it breaks my heart that I only get to do it once a year.
(And it kind of relates to my earlier point -- a lot of the people in the circle knew the dance, but I doubt any of them had ever been to a formal class. They just saw their families do it growing up.)
Taught my first class today on Turkish Romany style belly dance! Phew. I've taught dance before, but that's the first time people have paid for me to do it. (They didn't pay me, just the studio. But still. Pressure).
It seemed to go really well; they liked the moves and the combos, and I managed to sound knowledgeable about Oryantal Dans. I was relieved that we didn't get through everything I'd planned, since it meant I wasn't aiming too low. Plus there was a new girl who seems really cool! So yay.
I did have some thinky thoughts, about art and authenticity in modern society. Because I've never really been trained in Turkish style. My first troupe had a lot of Turkish influence, which I didn't discover until I moved on. Everything else I learned from a few workshops, an instructional DVD, and hours and hours of reading and watching videos on YouTube.
I feel kind of insecure about this, because who am I to set up as an expert? I've never taken a Turkish style class! But then I thought about it, and it occurred to me that this is how we've learned to dance for hundreds of years: by watching other people. Yes, the YouTube part is new, but the general concept of watching other dancers and imitating them is how dance was learned and passed on (and why dances absorb from other nearby dances). It's only recently that this idea of schools, training, of paying to be taught, of an "official" way of doing things, has come into being. So should I be insecure that I learned the Old Way (aided by technology)? I think the things I've learned are accurate; sometimes more so, because I learned them by watching Turkish dancers, not by listening to some random instructor with unknown credentials. But I still feel like I'm letting down my students, when they ask where I learned and I have to say from Professor Google.
Anyway, I also went to the local Turkish festival! Woo Turkey! :) I missed the language lesson but I did get to see some amazing folk dancers from Ankara who showcased the dances from various regions of Turkey. Some look like Greek dance, some look weirdly Russian or Cossack, one looked like it was straight out of Fiddler on the Roof, and a couple looked bizarrely Irish. Like Lord of the Dance Irish. Weird. But I got to see some Roman Havasi (my current obsession) and pick up a couple more movements, so hooray!! Plus circle dancing!! I adore circle dancing, it is the greatest thing ever and it breaks my heart that I only get to do it once a year.
(And it kind of relates to my earlier point -- a lot of the people in the circle knew the dance, but I doubt any of them had ever been to a formal class. They just saw their families do it growing up.)