Yesterday our belly dance group Bennington Beledi Tribal Bellydance( BBTB), had its annual Holiday Hafla…a belly dance holiday party.
Our dance group has been around for a long time; April marks my 19th year. I’ve danced with many women over the years, but Kat, Kathleen, and I have been dancing together for over 18 years.
Callie has been a member of our student troupe Sisters of the Shaw for at least 14 years. Emily also a member of Sister of the Shawl comes next with 7+ years, then our students Trish with 6 years, and finally Maria who has been with us for at least five years. These are the core women that danced at our hafla yesterday. Kathleen beats us all; she started dancing our style of belly dance 26 years ago.
Since covid hit, our troupe has remained together and dancing. This year turned out pretty good, all things considered. Last winter, Emily & Kathleen kept everyone dancing on zoom; before that, I made weekly videos for everyone to dance along to. An unbelievable thing happened when we were all able to dance in person again after almost six months apart; we all got better and improved tremendously! It was like we didn’t skip a beat.
I am proud to be a part of BBTB and watch our students blossom. Callie is our “oldest” sister of the student troupe, meaning in dance years, not age. She is the rock, the steady one, the one who keeps it together by keeping things in line when they are dancing together.
Emily stepped up last winter and helped teach by dancing with Kathleen during zoom. Emily improved so much during that time. Yesterday, Emily performed a solo basket piece. Basket work is when a dancer balances a basket on their head and makes the basket part of the dance. Emily’s solo was stunning and smooth.
Callie and Emily dance as a duet in our student troupe, Sisters of the Shawl. They are a tight duet, they get into each other’s energy and dance so in time with each other, you would swear it was choreographed. Our biggest compliment after a gig is that when people are floored, it was improv.
Trish came back stronger as well. Trish works hard to correct her technique and zilling, which is getting better and better. She has had to learn to slow down and listen to the music and dance from her heart, not her head. For several months Trish and Callie have been practicing sword work. Sword work is when a dancer dances with a sword balanced on their head. It isn’t easy and takes a lot of practice. Ironically, sword practice forced Trish to slow down, or she would drop her sword, in turn slowing down when she didn’t have a sword on her head.
Trish and Callie performed a sword piece yesterday that was smooth and graceful. It’s much more complicated than it looks with the possibility of dropping the sword at any given time with just one wrong move. Trish and Callie were a perfect duet, they practiced hard, and it showed.
Then comes Maria. When Maria started taking classes with us, she couldn’t step on the beat or hear it. Maria had never danced before and had zero body awareness meaning she was not aware of what the parts of her body were doing when she was moving or standing still. We had to teach Maria how to walk first, then dance.
It seemed a bit hopeless for the first few months, but she showed me little signs that she could dance. Maria didn’t believe me, but with patience, instructions, corrections, and building her confidence, she improved week after week. She was so dedicated and practiced at home, which is rare. She still practices at home, and I can tell each week.
I always say that you have to build up muscle memory first then the moves will follow. The same thing goes for zilling, playing our finger cymbals. Maria didn’t believe me initially, but over time she understood what I meant.
As teachers, Kathleen and I teach the same dance moves repeatedly. The explanations and instructions are different every time we teach them, depending on how we feel that day. For me, it’s whatever inspires me. Kathleen has her way of teaching, and I have mine, meaning there is always something for everyone to learn even if they don’t hear it that time or the next. Trish and Maria have said over the last year, “I never heard you say that before.” I die laughing and tell them they weren’t ready to hear it yet. This is 100% true.
Once you learn to step on the beat, learn the dance moves, play the zills, you have to learn how to lead. We are an improv style of dance, meaning nothing is choreographed. Learning how to lead is intimidating and scary. There are many things to consider when it’s your turn; the rest of the group follows what you are doing, so if you mess up, they do too. We never push someone to lead before they are ready; even if they aren’t too sure, we are.
When Trish would get into the lead, she used to look down, and you could see her thinking so hard it would hinder her dance. She is becoming more comfortable in the lead and is learning to start and stop songs. She is looking up now, thanks to that sword practice again.
When Maria used to step into the lead we had to teach her “how” to step into the lead with confidence. Before, she would have a look on her face like here goes nothing. She didn’t take it seriously because she didn’t think she could lead. We knew she could. When the time was right, she heard the right words at the right time and began to take leading seriously. It’s still intimating and scary for her, but she gets better every time she does it.
When Maria began taking classes, she wanted to dance with an attitude and confidence like we did. After many attitude and confidence lessons, she “gets” it now and is more confident and has a baby attitude, not giant ones like Kathleen and I have when we dance. Lol.
Yesterday, when we watched these four ladies dancing together, you could see how much they trusted each other and enjoyed dancing together. Maria truly was part of the “quad” and looked like she belonged there and believed she did. I can’t tell you how proud I am of her.
Kathleen and I danced to two songs with skirt work. Skirt work uses your skirt as part of the dance, much like the other props, baskets, and swords. The best part of skirt work for me yesterday is that you don’t lift your arms overhead or drop your skirt. My left arm still hurt too much to lift, so these two short songs were perfect.
Kat retired from our dance troupe a few years ago but still comes to my Tribal Workout class each week. Yesterday, she danced to a song with us, and it was wonderful to have her there with us. Kat, Kathleen, and I have danced so many gigs together we couldn’t even count. Even though we don’t dance together often we would still be able to perform together if we had to since we all know each other’s dance moves so well. It’s just like riding a bike.
Wednesday is our last class of the year. My homework for everyone, including myself, will decide what they want to achieve and work on next year. We’ve been around a long time and aren’t going anywhere; our new motto is “We are still here.” You bet your ass we are.
Love😍