dance good feelings
I know I don't post a lot, but I was so pleased by this that I had to post.
As my LJ bellydance friends know, I take classes with a very demanding and critical teacher, who makes everyone start at the beginning and gives tests and final exams in order to evaluate your progress. Sometimes she actually makes people cry in class, her criticism is sometimes hard to take but I've learned to take it and use it to make myself a better dancer. This summer was my second session in her advanced class. Usually we end our sessions with a final performance which is videotaped and evaluated, but this session was too short.
So, we all show up at class yesterday, last class of the session, when all the beginning and intermediate classes usually have their tests, and she tells us that we are going to do individual improvisation for 2 minutes or so since we had no final this semester. (Improv is no big deal in front of friends, on stage, or alone, but in front of her critical eye, its hard). Well, I was feeling really shitty, stressed, I had eaten dinner too close to class, and I felt, well, fat. So she puts on some shaabi (Egyptian pop) and has us dance, starting with some of the more experienced dancers. It was interesting because I had never seen some of these women perform. My turn was somewhere in the middle, and I didn't really like the song that much, but got up and danced. I thought I did ok, and knew she would pick on my hands or arms, probably.
Afterwards she critiqued each of us individually (but not privately). Some people went too fast, some weren't marking the beat right, or getting the musical phrasing right, or had stiff arms or hips, butts not shaking enough. She got to me, and she said "Speaking of juicy butts, Jehna, that was great! I honestly don't have anything to say. Your arms, hands, everything was great." And then she moved on to the next person. I was absolutely shocked. I think its the most meaningful and best compliment I've ever had in bellydance. I could not believe it. She *always* has something to say in class, when we focus on technique, down to "bend your thumb more, hide it under your fingers" or "your posture is appalling." The thing is, no, I am not perfect, no one is, but I think I put it all together pretty well, its just that we don't get the opportunity to show that too her very frequently. Maybe she was surprised that I could actually put it all together and make it work.
Anyway, I just felt so damn good, and I still do! The funny thing was, people were saying "well, you got a good song" and one woman even said "well she was behind you the whole time and didn't see your face, you usually smile more but you looked like you were thinking of what to do next." Oh well. I don't care. I still feel great!
As my LJ bellydance friends know, I take classes with a very demanding and critical teacher, who makes everyone start at the beginning and gives tests and final exams in order to evaluate your progress. Sometimes she actually makes people cry in class, her criticism is sometimes hard to take but I've learned to take it and use it to make myself a better dancer. This summer was my second session in her advanced class. Usually we end our sessions with a final performance which is videotaped and evaluated, but this session was too short.
So, we all show up at class yesterday, last class of the session, when all the beginning and intermediate classes usually have their tests, and she tells us that we are going to do individual improvisation for 2 minutes or so since we had no final this semester. (Improv is no big deal in front of friends, on stage, or alone, but in front of her critical eye, its hard). Well, I was feeling really shitty, stressed, I had eaten dinner too close to class, and I felt, well, fat. So she puts on some shaabi (Egyptian pop) and has us dance, starting with some of the more experienced dancers. It was interesting because I had never seen some of these women perform. My turn was somewhere in the middle, and I didn't really like the song that much, but got up and danced. I thought I did ok, and knew she would pick on my hands or arms, probably.
Afterwards she critiqued each of us individually (but not privately). Some people went too fast, some weren't marking the beat right, or getting the musical phrasing right, or had stiff arms or hips, butts not shaking enough. She got to me, and she said "Speaking of juicy butts, Jehna, that was great! I honestly don't have anything to say. Your arms, hands, everything was great." And then she moved on to the next person. I was absolutely shocked. I think its the most meaningful and best compliment I've ever had in bellydance. I could not believe it. She *always* has something to say in class, when we focus on technique, down to "bend your thumb more, hide it under your fingers" or "your posture is appalling." The thing is, no, I am not perfect, no one is, but I think I put it all together pretty well, its just that we don't get the opportunity to show that too her very frequently. Maybe she was surprised that I could actually put it all together and make it work.
Anyway, I just felt so damn good, and I still do! The funny thing was, people were saying "well, you got a good song" and one woman even said "well she was behind you the whole time and didn't see your face, you usually smile more but you looked like you were thinking of what to do next." Oh well. I don't care. I still feel great!