Everyone Can Dance

Earlier this month, I thoroughly enjoyed watching an evening of ballet performances, at Edinburgh Ballet Circle’s annual showcase, at the St Bride’s Centre, Edinburgh. 

Edinburgh Ballet Circle

Edinburgh Ballet Circle is an entirely amateur ballet troupe, consisting of dancers who regularly attend one of the many adult ballet classes across the city.  This was set up in 2011 by director Jonathan Burnett and is the first entirely non-professional ballet company in Edinburgh for some 50 years.  I've been attending Jonathan's classes for a couple of years now and I went along to support some of the people from my class who were in the show. 

The production consisted of 3 ballets.  The first part was my favourite, Act 2 of The Nutcracker, featuring a fun circus themed twist together with some fine comedy touches.  I particularly loved the ‘sugar plum fairy tight rope dancers’, with brave tutu wearing amateur ballerinas, showing off pointe work skills.  There were also ‘chinese plate spinner dancers’ with their pirouette free for all.  And I can't omit to mention the small group of male ballerinos who appeared in almost every scene and were game for anything, even a tongue in cheek clown routine.  The second ballet was a dramatization of the Little Mermaid, with wistful and dramatic story telling, ably danced and very atmospheric.  The finale was the ‘Ballet of the Nuns’, a quirky show that lived up to its bizarre title.

Nuns in tutus

I absolutely loved the whole thing.  Overall, the night showcased everything I love about community dance, whatever the genre.  It’s fantastic to see dancers of every ability, age, shape and size giving it their all.  There was always something to look at, whether skill, drama and finesse, or smiles of joy coming from the corps de ballet for just being there. 

It really reminded me how great it is within the Egyptian Dance or Belly Dance community, to have performing opportunities for student dancers to express themselves, whether at a local hafla, festival or community show.  It is so important that these showcases continue, for dancers of every skill level to work hard for, enjoy, and share with friends and family. 

Barefoot Dance Shoes Review - Bloch Soleil Foot Gloves

My new purchase from my local dancewear shop is a nice pair of gloves... for my feet!

My new Foot Gloves

In nearly all the dance styles that I do, I dance bare feet.  But unfortunately it's not always possible to go barefoot all the time.  So occasionally I will wear either soft ballet shoes for performances or a split sole jazz shoe for greater protection and support whilst practising (think cold church hall floors...).

The problem is a shoe can change my dance, as I find myself using my feet differently as I subconsciously transfer my weight onto the balls of my feet, point my feet more and play with swivels and arabesques.  But that's not always the look and style I want to go for, especially when dancing a more earthy style.

I've also been studying Hilal Dance.  This is an extremely grounded dance that is much more flat footed and earthy than other contemporary styles.  It uses a lot flowing of movement through space, including walks, turns, spins and spirals, and it's very important to have good contact to harness the energy through the floor.  However, I've found the training to be a little harsh on my feet and by the second day of an intensive workshop weekend, I've had to tape over the blisters on my feet rather than resort to shoes.

So, I've just invested in a pair of Bloch Soleil Foot Gloves.   I chose this kind of shoe because it both respects the shape of the foot and the need to go barefoot, whilst providing protection over the balls of the feet and, as a huge bonus, comes with a a nice big cushion underneath the big toe.  

Bloch Soleil Foot Gloves close up

They cost me £14.50 from a local dance supplies store.  Before I bought them, I was a little worried about fit.  My feet are very wide and find it hard to get a comfortable fit from my dance shoes, and Bloch only sell these in 5 sizes.  However, after inspecting them in store, I found that they are in fact very stretchy and the size 'L' was fine for my UK size 6 feet.  

So I wore them for the first time in class last weekend and I think they worked quite well.  They looked a little tight when I first put them on at first, but were comfortable enough once I got used to them.  They also stayed on my feet the whole time, sliding down my feet only a tad, but not enough to cause any real difficulty.  They helped to prevent the blisters I get from sticky floors and made the turns smoother and easier.  The ease of movement against the floor did change my dancing a little, however, so I had to think a lot harder about my balance and adjust my steps a little to prevent sliding.  As this natural floor contact is important, on the second day of workshops I kept my feet bare as long as possible, and only put the shoes on once we started drilling turns.

Barefoot chic by Bloch

Overall, I think the Bloch Foot Gloves worked quite well, stayed comfy, and did the job they were designed to do.  I still prefer barefoot, but accept that this is a good option that I would definitely keep in my dance bag for next time. 

Oh, and after I bought them I found out that they also come in lots of cool prints, including zebra, leopard, snakeskin, and even a version with a cute little band of henna drawn on! I might need to think up a reason for a second pair...

Fuzzy pack shot shows the choice of prints

I'd love to know if you go barefoot or wear shoes when you dance?  And if you prefer shoes, which kind do you wear?

Bellydancing and the Blues

If you haven't heard all about it yet, Guy Schalom - talented darabuka player, dancer and leader of the Baladi Blues Ensemble - recently recorded a programme for BBC Radio 4 all about traditional Baladi Egyptian music and dance.

Bellydancing and the Blues

Bellydancing and the Blues was broadcast on Boxing Day at the end of last year.  The good news for anyone who didn't manage to tune in on the day is that the programme is available to listen again on BBC iPlayer on a permanent basis.  

The is an insightful documentary about a traditional form of Egyptian music and dance and how both developed and grew through interplay between east and west.  There are some fascinating contributions from distinguished musicians and dancers from Germany, the UK and Egypt including Raqs Sharqi Society trained Jane Wass, music producer Jennifer Carmen and Egyptian accordion master Sheik Taha.  I particularly loved hearing a different spin presented to the history of belly dancing past and present.  And as a real bonus, the whole show is ornamented with musical excerpts of beautiful Egyptian music, including from Guy's own Baladi Blues series of CDs. 

Guy Schalom

Here's an extract from the blurb on the BBC website:

"Dancer and drummer Guy Schalom hunts out the spirit of the new Egypt in one of its biggest cultural exports. To our ears, Baladi is the music of the bellydancer - kitsch and mock-Arab. But in its true form it is the essence of Egypt, 'of the country', 'home' in the deepest sense..."

To listen to the programme in full go to BBC iPlayer. 

Oh my eyes! - Stage make-up tips

Here is a review type post about a couple of my favourite products for getting that Arabic eyes look.

In my make up bag I've a few favourites from make up forever who do a great variety of professional make up, including waterproof, which I find works great for performaning.  To line my eyes, there are two products I really like, both from their Aqua range.

The first of these is the Aqua Eyes waterproof eyeliner pencil.  I've got this in shade 0L-Matte Black.  It's nice and smooth to apply, can be smudged easily for a nice effect, or built up to a harder line.  And once it's on, it stays exactly in place, all night, through performing, night driving, everything.  I find it a very versatile product, not only for stage, but also for teaching and everyday wear. If you find it hard to shape your eyeliner, a smudgeable one like this can be drawn on first for the outline shape, then for more drama draw over the top with liquid liner. 

The second product I rely on is Aqua Black Waterproof Creme Eyeshadow.  This is a pot of black boot polish looking colour.  It can be used as a base for smokey eyes stage look, but I like it as a matte eyeliner, applied to my upper lid with a small brush.

I make sure to brush it on really close to the top lashes, almost to the lash line, opening up the eyes so as not to leave any gaps.  This is the best way to disguise any mistakes or gaps from glueing on lashes - as long as the liner goes on first, then the lashes.  A nice angled eyeliner brush would make application pretty easy and help with winging out the liner, although I've been using a discarded lip brush which works okay.  I like this product better than other brand gel liners as it doesn't tend to gloop or clump, and once it's on it's not going to slide around or budge for anything.  It's also easy to wipe off the brush afterwards.  Lastly, the packaging is a compact plastic tub, good for squeezing into my make up bag, and there's no risk of dropping a heavy sphere of glass encased gel liner onto my foot...

Waterproof make up shouldn't be used in inside or waterline of my eyes.  The Aqua Black especially should also be applied extra carefully away from contact lenses, as it's got so much staying power, it'd stick to the lense too given half a chance.  

Finally, something that often comes up in dressing room chat is how stubborn it this kind of make up can be to take off at the end of the night.  My method is to always use a good quality waterproof eye make up remover.  There's quite a few brands that'll work, the trick is to look out for bottle that contains both water based and oil based solvent - you'll recognise this in a bottle which has two liquids inside, one floating on top of the other.  You need to shake to mix the two, put some on a cotton wool pad and then hold this to your eye a count of 10 - long enough for the liquid to soak into the make up.  Then a gentle wipe should take everything off with no rubbing.  I then finish the eye by turning the pad over and wiping clean with the reverse side.  It's quick, gentle and very easy.

Make up forever is a niche brand in the UK, although has a wider distribution in certain countries around the world.  In the UK there are currently two stockists that I know, the PAM store near Shepherds Bush in London (who also do mail order), and Guru in Fulham.

I'd love to know, what are your favourite make up products for stage?  

Big Dance Edinburgh and Bellydance Flashmob

I've had a fantastic dancey weekend.  I previously blogged about the Big Dance weekend of dance, in Edinburgh Saturday 30th June to Sunday 1st July, connected to the London 2012 festivities around the country.

After Saturday night's eventful gig, I felt spurred to head down to the National Museum of Scotland on Sunday to take part in the bellydance flashmob, organised by Elspeth Swishandhips, as part of Big Dance Edinburgh.  Months of careful and planning and organisation went into this and Elspeth even filmed and uploaded tutorials of all the choreography so that as many people as possible could take part. 

There were about 50 dancers, with Egyptian, ATS and Tribal Fusion styles all featuring.  With so many old and new faces, there was a fantastic buzz about the place and a huge crowd cheering us on - although I suspect not all of them were so unsuspecting.  Congratulations Elspeth, it was a fantastic event and thank you for all your hard work! And well done to all the dancers who took part!

Here we all are dancing in the Museum's spectacular surroundings (thanks to Norma for the photo): 

Big Dance events were taking place all over the city.  Here's my shot of Fife based ATS teacher Elaine giving a taster in the Museum, a bit later on:

And here's my shot of amazing double sword dancer Briar from Edinburgh troupe Twisted Tails under the shadow of Edinburgh castle.

At the end of the day, I even found myself chatting to someone in the crowd who felt inspired to start a new dance class.  Well how about that then for a successful way end to a weekend aimed at getting people dancing?

Here is Emma's video of the flashmob in all its glory:

Resources for zills and sagat - some great online videos

Since getting my new zills at the end of April, I've stepped up the amount of practise I've been doing.  As I don't, unfortunately, have access to a teacher, I have had to find different ways to teach myself.  My learning so far has been through online videos, and from a variety of CD and other rhythm resources.  For anyone who might be in the same position, I thought I would share some of the things that have really helped.  I'll start with the online videos. 

Free videos

YouTube is as good a place to start as any, when looking for some top up online tuition.  A quick search for "zills" plus "lesson", "learn" etc. will throw up a range of clips of varying quality together with a few trailers for video resources that can be purchased.  I found this a good way to cover a few basics and find some interesting play along material too.  Some of the videos that are for sale also look good, although I haven't invested as yet.  Here are 2 teachers that recommend. 

Firstly, Anthea Kawakib, a master ziller from the States.  She has an online course on her YouTube channel with 7 classes, suitable for both students and teachers who want ideas for teaching zills in class.  This short course, felt like an opportunity to follow the classes I never had.  The best thing about them is that from the outset, playing at the same time as dancing and moving about is absolutely essential.  By stop starting the clips and doing the same lessons over and over, there are maybe a few hours worth of free training here. Here is an example of Anthea breaking the technique down into manageable doses, from her second lesson:

The second teacher is Mahin Sciacca, author of the "Daily Bellydance Quickies".  She has posted a huge amount of free online material on belly dance and body conditioning.  This includes over 40 great zills videos, again aimed at familiarization, practise, and getting you moving and playing at the same time.  It helps to already have some experience of zill playing beforehand though, as does having some familiarity with American names for basic Arabic rhythms.  Here is Mahin teaching a combination with zills to Leylet Hob:

Subscription videos

The other set of videos I found useful, were Ansuya's online classes.  Former bellydance superstar Ansuya is famous for performing high energy belly dance, zills always in hand.  Just when I needed it, I came across a tweet from Ansuya granting a 24 hour free trial of Ansuya Online.  This is a subscription service that offers 4 new videos every month, together with the previous few months worth in an archive.  There is a basics class, a workout, a choreography and an "entertainment" section featuring extras type titbits.  I followed I think 3 different zills classes from the archive.  Lessons were 40 minutes long and I found the teaching to be excellent, clear and precise.  Rhythms were broken down into small pieces, built up again, speeded up and combined with moves.  I got a lot out of the learning, which even stuck with me for several days afterwards.

Although I am very grateful for the trial, I found the American belly dance posture and style quite alien to my own Egyptian Dance training.  But I would still recommend this series to an experienced dancer who can't easily access classes/workshop, especially if you're already a fan or interested in learning a variety of different props in addition to zills.