happy dancey rambles
I'm massively excited about d_c_m's hafla tomorrow night (though, sadly, it may be running without d_c_m as she is sick, poor thing. People I know need to stop getting sick!).
I am performing a solo--to a remix of "Whatever Lola Wants" since my mom loves that song so I want to dance to it for her--and I am also performing with Different Drummer so we can show off our holiday choreography. Why yes, now that you mention it, I loathe holiday music... but it is much more palatable when it comes from a goth label (thank you, Projekt!).
I am also also performing with my beginning belly dance class, to a choreography we created! This is immensely exciting because I've taught semester-long belly dance classes for 2 years, and never before have my students been interested in doing a final performance. This semester I got lucky, and I love my students! Basically, I brought in a half-choreographed song ("Turkish Kiss" by Tarkan...it's just so fun!) and we collaboratively choreographed the remainder of it. We've been practicing it for a few weeks now, and tonight, for the first time, I just sat down and watched. My face muscles hurt from smiling so much, that's how ecstatic I was! Of my four or five regular students, only two or three may actually show up to perform, and that's fine. I'm still thrilled at the whole thing.
Better yet, if there is sufficient interest next semester, I may get to offer a beginning and an intermediate class at Windfall, where I teach. "Sufficient interest" counts as at least three students signed up for the whole semester. Two of my current students are interested, so hopefully one more will show up so I can teach craaaazy things like floorwork and veil and bizarre improv exercises.
It's funny that I'm at such a good place in my dancing after going through a rather prolonged funk--on a purely individual level, that is. Everything with my troupe has been great, I just doubt my own abilities every once in a while. I feel like I'm technically proficient at most of the things I want to be, but I'm still figuring out how to put moves together in an effective and expressive way, if that makes sense. And I'm still figuring out how to be a good performer. But slowly, it's coming to me. Honestly, I think one of the motivations behind my current dance project is for me to figure out what I like and how to go about it. Hm, I should work that into my paper somewhere in my reflexive approach section...
I am performing a solo--to a remix of "Whatever Lola Wants" since my mom loves that song so I want to dance to it for her--and I am also performing with Different Drummer so we can show off our holiday choreography. Why yes, now that you mention it, I loathe holiday music... but it is much more palatable when it comes from a goth label (thank you, Projekt!).
I am also also performing with my beginning belly dance class, to a choreography we created! This is immensely exciting because I've taught semester-long belly dance classes for 2 years, and never before have my students been interested in doing a final performance. This semester I got lucky, and I love my students! Basically, I brought in a half-choreographed song ("Turkish Kiss" by Tarkan...it's just so fun!) and we collaboratively choreographed the remainder of it. We've been practicing it for a few weeks now, and tonight, for the first time, I just sat down and watched. My face muscles hurt from smiling so much, that's how ecstatic I was! Of my four or five regular students, only two or three may actually show up to perform, and that's fine. I'm still thrilled at the whole thing.
Better yet, if there is sufficient interest next semester, I may get to offer a beginning and an intermediate class at Windfall, where I teach. "Sufficient interest" counts as at least three students signed up for the whole semester. Two of my current students are interested, so hopefully one more will show up so I can teach craaaazy things like floorwork and veil and bizarre improv exercises.
It's funny that I'm at such a good place in my dancing after going through a rather prolonged funk--on a purely individual level, that is. Everything with my troupe has been great, I just doubt my own abilities every once in a while. I feel like I'm technically proficient at most of the things I want to be, but I'm still figuring out how to put moves together in an effective and expressive way, if that makes sense. And I'm still figuring out how to be a good performer. But slowly, it's coming to me. Honestly, I think one of the motivations behind my current dance project is for me to figure out what I like and how to go about it. Hm, I should work that into my paper somewhere in my reflexive approach section...