Dancer of Many Forms, Master of One
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We have all heard the term “Jack of all trades, master of none”. This can apply to all types of professions, artistic or otherwise. However, as one of those crazy and dedicated dancing eclectics, I would like to like highly recommend the many merits of multi-genre dancing!
My first steps into the wonderful world of my multi-genre dance career, were in jazz and modern. Although I happily traded in my modern for belly dance classes after only a few months, I continued with jazz for at least 15 years and still love it very much. I am actually very sad that this dynamic, fun and powerhouse dance form has all but disappeared, as it has been eclipsed by modern. The discipline, muscle development and endurance required for jazz pushed me into a new realm of corporal consciousness.
The sweat, the stretch, the pace, the push… were divine, particularly while studying in New York. In these enormous daily classes packed with 60 students, I learned how to fight for my place in class AND force my body beyond its comfort zone, just to follow the combinations. One rather neurotic instructor conducted class using only verbal instructions of classical dance terminology. This made it clear that ballet class was necessary to understand terminology and further develop the technique required for some of these fast paced classes. I religiously attended ballet classes in Vancouver, adored the bar and exercises but even my very polite instructor would laugh when it came time for our little prancing combinations across the floor. I am sooooo not a ballet type. So, I was thrilled when I had the chance to study with the Ballet Jazz du Montreal for several months, as they were able to offer me the perfect combination of classical discipline offset by interesting and creative angles.
That elusive something that made me fall so completely in love with oriental dance, has kept me mesmerized to this day. However, before I understood that the real wealth of oriental dance is found in the repetition, the refinement and the minute variations of our fairly limited repertoire of movements, I did run into a creative “brick wall” after throwing myself into the dance heart, soul and full time for a period of about 8 years. I felt the need for inspiration, challenge and input. Thus began my love affair with flamenco. I don’t know if it was the music that first inspired my search, but I very quickly decided that I wanted to pursue the call of the great gypsy and so, moved to Spain. In the fiery and focused world of flamenco, there can be no doubt that challenge, input and inspiration are always available in endless amounts, even after 20 years of dancing, studying and teaching! And the rhythms are completely addictive! The possibilities of combinations –endless! I personally feel that flamenco classes are more challenging than anything that I have ever done, including university and an intensive 3 year massage therapy training course. It demands the technical prowess of a classical dancer, the stamina of a marathon runner, the rhythmical mastery of a professional percussionist, the emotional depth of a stage actress and the memory of an elephant. It is intense, I am intense, it is explosive, I am explosive, and it is tough I definitely have my tough side, it is aggressive, and I can be aggressive (come for a drive with me in Montreal). Flamenco is where that part of my energy belongs, is where it all fits, and now I don’t have it rearing its aggressive little head in the middle of my oriental dance.
Being such a percussion junkie, I have always loved the drums. In the gold old days, the powerful Saidi rhythm from the “Music of the Qaria” kept me practicing for hours, the heavier the beat the better I liked it, so when I found myself in Africa in the middle of a village party that was organized in my honour, surrounded by at least 20 percussionists, the drum actually did take over me and transmitted the energy needed to do the mother of all aerobic work-outs! It was enough to bring me to African dance classes throughout North America and Europe and eventually onto Brazil for another variation on the African dance theme, with the Sabor de Samba thrown in for more fun! The large, full body movements in African dance are really the foundation of so many of our Middle Eastern steps and movements. Often when students have a difficult time with certain movements and concepts, I will take them through the larger “unrefined” version and once their bodies understand the essence, it is much easier for them to tone down and refine the movement into its oriental counterpart.
I have also spent a few years studying and performing Polynesian dance. It is elemental it, is fun, it is sweet and it has many faces. From the ancient spiritual Hula Kahiko, with its deep plies, sharp angular lines and straight strong martial arm movements, to the Polynesian love songs of the hybrid Hula Awana, interpreted by liquid, sensual and slow hips with arms as delicate as an orchid, to the raw primal power hips of the Tahitian Otea…… The Polynesian mind is extremely innocent and childlike, understatement is essential. This was a big challenge for me and very helpful in my interpretations of lighter more delicate oriental orchestrations and help me to contain my overabundance of energy.
In summary, each of these dance forms has its own movement vocabulary its own special energy and its own emotional realm. My experience has been that when we work and develop specific muscles in our body that are required to perform specific dance movements, it is those same muscles that generate and release the energy and emotions contained within that dance form.
One of the questions that I am often asked by other dancers is whether I sometimes confuse the different kinds of dance that I do. Actually, I find exactly the opposite to be true. The more that you study and work with a certain dance form the easier it is to understand its movements, energy, attitude and quality and the clearer its boundaries become. When people have a little “taste” of a certain dance, or merely observe it, they can not possibly understand how to perform the techniques and movements or to access that energy. This only comes from taking many classes, doing the work to achieve a comfortable level of skill and taking the time to really slip into the mind set and energy of that form.
Another question that I hear all the time is “Which dance form do I like the best?” It is impossible to choose. All the dances that I do are wonderful; I love them all, although my principal dance is oriental. So, my answer is that it depends upon which one I am doing at the time because, when I dance, it is pure and unadulterated Living in the Moment. Actually, I don’t get enough living in the moment. I accept most workshop and tour bookings 9 -18 months prior to the event, I organize details and budgets for my Turkey and Acapulco Tours an entire year beforehand, I regularly have to meet deadlines for magazine article and ad submission 3 months before they appear, even pre-booking studios for upcoming class sessions and master classes has to be determined at least 6 weeks ahead of time. The actual dancing part of this business are among the rare times that I can really BE HERE NOW!
Students often complain that they can’t remember choreography, they get frustrated and almost allergic to the concept. However, there is no need to punish oneself and there is no magic or mystery involved in the process. Dance memory, like the mastery of dance technique, is an acquired and developed skill and the end result of many hours in class studying and reproducing choreographies. In order to develop this ability much more quickly, I highly recommend joining up for a weekly jazz class. These classes generally require that the students follow and perform a new choreography every class. Practicing regularly and forcing yourself to go over the material outside of class will also help you to improve your choreographic memory very quickly. If you find yourself in a studio or a room alone, with no idea where to start, I suggest that you record the class, with the permission of the instructor and/or work together with classmates.
Learning dance is like most other skills, including language. When someone learns a second language, especially as an adult, the road is slow and often difficult. But when they undertake a third language the process is much quicker and easier because we develop certain skills and understandings concerning the formation and principals of language. One sees connections, similarities and differences in structure and root words. The same is true in the world of dance. Your body develops a much fuller vocabulary of movement skills, your memory and recognition skills as well. There is also a body of universal movements that are shared by almost all dance forms and only require a different interpretation to fit into the repertoire of a particular form.
These are some of the main reasons why I believe that all of the dances that are part of my life, have enriched not only my life, but also all my other dance forms, especially oriental dance. They have all worked together to make me a better and more complete dancer with a better physical mastery, emotional depth, as well as a greater range of presentation and ease of execution. It is all work, but the work is certainly rewarding and fun.
So happy dancing to you all!
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