My hair practice helps me remember what in the hell I did when I do it again for real. š¤¦š»āāļø I have to bobby-pin the flowers better today since the purple one in the back fell off right after I took this pic.
We just got done with production around 11:30 am; we kicked ass. I wanted to get it done early in the day, so I could relax, eat and start getting ready for our gig tonight at the Bennington Museum.
Our dance troupe hasn’t danced publically in three years. When the museum asked if we wanted to perform at the 25th-anniversary celebration for the North Bennington Art Park, an event we have danced at many times before, we said yes immediately.
I will be dancing with four other dancers in two 15-minute sets which is a generous amount of performance time. We’ve done shows where we drove two hours to get there for a five-minute time slot. That’s showbiz for you; you take what you can get.
Two of our dancers are experienced performers, and two are new to performing. We are performing as a multi-level troupe and our number one goal tonight is to enjoy ourselves while dancing together and having fun. Period.
Performing shows true dedication since it takes a long time to get ready for a gig. I am out of practice, so I expect it will take me between 2-3 hours to do my hair, make-up, costuming, and jewelry. I have to load the sound equipment in the car, make sure my phone is charged, and have lots of water with me.
When everything is done, I take my traditional selfie before the gig; then, I am off to see where we are dancing, set up our sound system, and do a sound checkāall things I’ve done a million times.
I’m not nervous about performing; it’s in my blood which I have found out since my biological father was a performer as well; not a belly dancer, though. Lol.
All week I’ve taken small snippets of time and got out everything I am wearing, and I practiced doing my hair and make-up. I liked how my hair came out, but I hated the make-up since I tried something new.
This was not a good look for me; the super dark eye shadow and liner made my eyes look like slits, and did not open them up the way I wanted. So it’s back to what has worked for me for the last 19 years of performing. Why mess with what works?
For lunch, I will have my traditional good luck meal that I ate for 15 years before any gig; a bowl of pasta with marinara sauce, grated parmesan, and a dollop of ricotta cheese. This meal holds me over until I get home and gives me energy; plus, it’s one of my favorite meals.
Wish us luck; I can’t wait to report how well the gig went, and hopefully, I will have some photos that other people take and possibly a video if we can find someone to do it.
Hey guys, I just wanted to let you know I am laying low right now while I am adjusting to the change in meds for my anxiety and depression.
Itās like me to worry about not posting for a few days. Besides the change in meds giving me headaches, which is normal, I donāt feel like myself, which is also normal.
Donāt worry, I am sure I will be back to my crazy, animated self in a couple of days. Until then, stay cool and hydrated the best you can in this hot weather. Hopefully, we will get some much needed rain soon as well.
I wish I had one physician like people did back in the old days. One who knew you and not only your medical and family history, but your family.
Like everything else, things change and we have to roll with the punches; we have no choice. I have had three primary care providers in the last five years.
I had an appointment with my new doctor yesterday whom I have seen in the past for minor issues; but now she is my primary provider.
The word provider felt strange to me when it first made its debut. It feels sterile and foreign to me.
Anyway, at my appointment we discussed the numerous panic attacks I have been experiencing.
I explained my mental status in a nutshell and we put together a plan. Knowing my biological family history is indeed helpful now.
Fingers crossed I can get this shit under control and soon. š¤š¼
Itās belly dance day which is the best medicine and therapy for me by far. Yip!
I donāt post things I make for lunch very often because they are dull and ordinary. We eat a lot of leftovers turned into salads or sandwiches.
Yesterday, we had what was supposed to be the night befores dinner. On Wednesdays, my belly dance day, I have our dinner made ahead, and it just needs to be reheated. I donāt get home until almost 8:30, and I am ravenous.
When I got home from belly dance, Marty was heading to his fourth rescue squad call of the night. Heās an advanced volunteer EMT; it wasnāt even his coverage night.Ā
Marty is not one to let someone in need have to wait for an out-of-town EMS agency to cover the call if no one else responds. He needs another person to be the driver.Ā
I ate some leftovers and went to bed. He didnāt get home until after 11 pm. I am glad I didnāt wait for him to have dinner together. After dancing and teaching for 3 hours, my body is physically exhausted and needs to rest.
Wednesday night’s dinner turned into a Thursday lunch menu; we had Korean cauliflower āwingsā with Alabama white BBQ sauce, Asian lettuce wraps, and a small bowl of white rice.Ā
This was my first time making the Korean cauliflower wings. Iāve made cauliflower Buffalo āwings,ā but these were as good or if not better. I wrote an entire blog piece last year titled Su-per-cauliflower-listic-ex-pi-a-li-do-cious. Here is the link if you want to read about it.Ā
As I was searching for recipes, I saw one from Chef Edward Lee, a Korean chef who lives down south. His twist on his regular Korean chicken wings is a drizzle of white bbq sauce. I had never heard of such a thing!
I researched and found I am late to this flavor bomb party. It will now be a regular drizzle on our bbq chicken and smoked brisket. Above is the recipe I used for the white bbq sauce.
After searching for a recipe for the Korean cauliflower wings, I tried this one from Food52 without the sauce the recipe recommends with the āwings.ā
As for the Asian lettuce wraps, I used a copycat version of PF Chang’s recipe from Damn Delicious. Itās a good recipe, so I always have a can of water chestnuts in my pantry. I used ground turkey because thatās what I had on hand. Above is the recipe link I used.Ā
I never take credit for recipes that food bloggers do by blatantly copying and pasting someone elseās recipe and then calling it their own. I dislike that they do this! It isnāt fair to the original person who did all the work.
At this point in my busy life, I donāt see myself creating my recipes for these dishes any time soon. Use the ones I did, and I promise you wonāt be sorry; they are straightforward.Ā
We finished up with production and have deliveries to make this afternoon. Iāve got a million things on my to-do list today, but for the next couple of hours, Iāll be poolside then having leftover āwingsā and lettuce wraps for lunch.
Happy Friday! Have a great rest of your day and weekend! š
My sister Jennifer came to visit this weekend. She met us at the Troy Farmers Market and had a great time strolling through the market and shops. She made some purchases and was happy she could support the farmers and small business owners.
She got to see us in action at the spƤtzle booth giving out the spƤtzle spiel to people who didn’t know what we were selling. I think she could have given the spiel herself by the end of the day.
We made some grilled pizzas with a watermelon feta salad on Saturday night and ate outdoors on our back deck. The weather was perfect; we couldn’t have asked for a nicer evening for Alfresco dining.Ā
Marty didn’t think we had enough seating, so he sold our 4 seat-high-top outdoor set on Facebook Marketplace a few weeks ago and purchased 6 “used” brand new Telescope chairs.Ā
He found a table that went well with the chairs and we picked up an umbrella at The Christmas Tree Shoppes when we were in Albany a couple of weeks ago. He had to redo our party lights from a zig-zag pattern to square to make way for the umbrella.
Our deck with the “new” outdoor dining furniture still doesn’t feel like we are on our deck. We typically wouldn’t have chosen bright blue and white, but we like how fresh and clean it looks.Ā
I kid about when the server will come around and either bring me another drink or clear the table. That’s how much it doesn’t feel like our space yet. We love it and are glad we went outside our comfort zone.
We had coffee on the front porch Sunday morning, and Jennifer said, “This is like a resort.” We laughed and agreed how lucky we were to have a lovely front porch in a beautiful vacation destination.
We prepped our dinner and headed out to the pool. We set ourselves up on the pool deck and sat there until it was too hot and needed to cool off.
Our small pool deck is just big enough for two chairs.
We floated around for an hour or more on our pool noodles and chatted. The water was 85 degrees and lovely. Besides reapplying sunscreen, we did nothing but relax.
This felt wonderful for me since we have been working so much lately. It was a vacation for Jen since her kids were away down the Jersey shore with her ex. She has a busy schedule and rarely gets time just for herself.
We went back and forth from the deck to the water, and Jennifer said, “This really is like a resort.” I had to agree with her looking through her eyes and realizing the same thing myself.
After almost 4 hours, we moved up to the back deck and sat under the umbrella, trying to hydrate ourselves with water. This was when Jennifer said, looking at the mountains in the background, “It feels like a hotel.” Not being used to the furniture, I said it did.
Marty and Sam were out for the day, so we had the “resort” to ourselves. When the guys came home, we made homemade corn tortillas on the flattop grill and grilled some shrimp on the bbq in the outdoor kitchenāsome toppings for the tacos and a Mexican street corn salad made for a delicious summer meal.Ā
After dinner, I was the one who said, “When is that server going to come by and clear the table and bring me another glass of white wine?”
After dinner, we went to our next-door neighbors, Arthur & David’s house, for a small get-together. They are always so considerate with their dessert, cheese, and fruit buffets.Ā
There were two delicious cakes from a local confectionery shop in Manchester, an assortment of cheeses, and GF crackers. This makes us feel like we are regular guests. I don’t think they know how special this is to us.Ā
Jen packed up early this morning and was on the road by 6 am. She hit zero traffic going back to NJ. She made a mistake last year leaving later; the 3-hour ride took 5. Ugh! What a way to kill a relaxing weekend for sure. She was home by 8:50 am!
This is where I wrote this blog post this morning.
Today, Marty and I are taking a holiday off and will spend the day at the tiny resort. Simple grilled chicken with a bruschetta topping will be an easy breezy dinner. We are joining the neighbors for a campfire tonight and looking at the sky for nearby fireworks. š
Marty is on-call with the rescue squad tonight, and Sam is working the overnight shift in the ER; hopefully, they won’t have too many patients with their thumbs blown off! It happens. Yikes!
Happy Fourth of July!šŗšøĀ
***Before I finished writing this, Marty had a chainsaw and started cutting down tree branches. That man just doesn’t know how to relax!
On Sunday, our long production day went easy. Yesterdayās production day felt like an eternity that would never end.
I made boxes we needed to fill some of our orders; they towered over me. Ok, I am only 5ā1ā but you get the drift.
Making spƤtzle isnāt something I have ever gotten tired of doing. Thatās the fun part of production. I love it! The dishes? They suck.
The dishes take me over 2 1/2 hours to do. Marty suggested he clean the big tilting kettle while I finish up the dishes. It was worth a try.
With Marty helping with the clean up as opposed to start weighing and packaging spƤtzle himself; this saves me 30 minutes and we both get to start packaging the product together. This is working and I am happy. Yay!Ā
Once we started packaging the spƤtzle I kept look over at the towers of boxes. It became daunting. Then, whenever I looked over at the big bin of spƤtzle he was working on, it always looked full. It was like a bottomless bin; and there were 9 of them.Ā
It took hours to finish but when we were done, we were pleased with our days work and closer to filling all of our wholesale orders.Ā
Today, we finished up all the orders even though we cut production short since we have deliveries to make this afternoon and a show tonight. We kicked ass this week to get it done!
Now, I know some people who are reading this and are probably thinking, āWow! They must be raking in the dough!ā Unfortunately, trust me, this isnāt true.
We learned very quickly that farmers, cheese makers and food manufacturers make the least amount of money. You see, the distributor needs to take their cut then the retail stores need to take theirs.
The first two ingredients in our spƤtzle are local milk & eggs. We feel strongly about using local ingredients and supporting the farmers near us. The eggs have tripled in price and the milk has almost doubled.
The flours we use are all non-gmo and cost more; again we feel we need to use the best ingredients for our product. The packaging supplies like our retail packages, bags and cardboard boxes have tripled as well.
I donāt have to tell you about the cost of gas when we travel to make deliveries, we are all suffering greatly from this right now. Our distributor had to raise their price to help cover the fuel for their delivery trucks.
We are hanging on and slowly but surely we are continuing to establish our brand and growing the business.Ā
We are very blessed and grateful how far we have come in 5 short years.Ā We couldnāt do it without our customers who are spreading the spƤtzle love.ā¤ļø
We are completely caught up for the moment which feels pretty good! Tomorrow and Friday we will focus on making spƤtzle for the farmers market on Saturday.
Now, I am going to try to take a power nap before getting dressed up, help get the delivery boxes loaded up, and on our way to a fun afternoon & evening in Schenectady.Ā
On the road againā¦
Iāll let you know how the show was and if we were successful finding a good gluten-free dinner out. Fingers crossed!
Waiting for the coffee to brew, then it’s off to work!
Yesterday when the Alexa alarm went off at 4:25 am, he told us, “The early bird catches the worm.” We have a male Alexa voice because he sounds friendly and not bitchy all the time like the female one.
Yes, the early bird catches the worm proved true again today, hitting the production kitchen very early while it was still cool out. By the time we were finished with production, it was hot and steamy in the kitchen.
We must make a lot of spƤtzle today, tomorrow and Tuesday to fill the large orders we received last week. No day of rest for us this week, but that’s ok; we are grateful for the business. After today’s production, we are in a good place and now know we will get it all made on time. That’s a massive relief for both of us.
So, it’s going to be a busy but fun week. Tuesday, we have deliveries to make in Saratoga and Niskayuna, NY, which is very close to Schenectady. It just worked out perfectly that we are going to Proctor’s Theater in Schenectady on Tuesday night to see the show, Mean Girls, so we won’t have to make a separate trip.
We have been looking forward to seeing Mean Girls for a while and know the music well from the weekly broadway music we play in the production kitchen on Fridays. After making our deliveries, we can grab a bite to eat and then hit the show.
For the rest of the day, we will keep cool and relax. We have a couple of steaks to throw on the grill with a baked potato and salad for an easy uncomplicated dinner.
I hope you guys had a good weekend, enjoy the rest of your Sunday! š
Iām still here! I havenāt written in days; itās not that I havenāt wanted to, I havenāt had anything noteworthy to write about.Ā
VT SpƤtzle has been busy, in fact we are already behind for next week! This is a great thing but a little overwhelming at times. Our small business consists of Marty and me and that is how we want to keep it for the time being.
All week Iāve been completely stressed out until Marty pointed out two things yesterday that made me start to think of things a little differently or try to anyway.
We would be more stressed out if we didnāt have orders coming in. āļø
I canāt worry about the things I have no control over such as the current state of affairs and high prices. āļø
While I try to give all my worries over one by one to God at night, these worries are deep in my subconscious. They are so deep I have been woken from a deep sleep twice this week with terrible anxiety attacks. What the fuck?
On the outside I donāt appear to be stressed out, but this is how depression and anxiety usually works.Ā Itās true that some of the most happy and funny people are the ones suffering from depression and anxiety. Take Robin Williams for example.
Last night at dance class, I had fun without any worries or stress. I really needed to dance; when I do all of my thoughts outside of the dance studio fade away. Dance really is my therapy.Ā
This was from last June when we had a photo shoot.
When I am dancing or teaching I am in the moment. I am not thinking about what I need to do, or things Iāve already done. I am in that one moment of time with music and the women I love to dance with.
Any of our dancers will tell you just how therapeutic dance is. We have all had a bad, rough, tiring, or just a bla day and didnāt feel like going to class. Since we are dedicated we show up anyway and always leave with a smile on our face.
Today, we are out of the production kitchen making deliveries in Saratoga & Albany. We really donāt have a production day to waste, but the orders need to be delivered.Ā
While we are in Albany, we also have errands to run, scheduled an oil change, and supplies to pick up. Every trip counts just like every penny.
So as you can see, there is nothing exciting to mention or no fabulous food to share. I wanted to check in anyway and say hello so you donāt forget about me.Ā š
*** I used my phone when I wrote this on the road coming back from Albany so forgive the mistakes; its hard to post this way, but itās the only time I will have tonight.
History was my favorite subject in school, and I still love it today. We live in historical Arlington, VT, a small town with some famous residents such as Ethan Allen one of the Green Mountain Boys.Ā
Some others include Seth Warner, Samuel Adams, Remember Baker, Thomas Chittenden, Dorothy Canfield Fisher, Norman Rockwell, and the newest famous resident Alec Baldwin.
I wrote about the history of Arlington, VT last year in a blog post titled “Puddle jumping through history.”Ā You can read the blog post by clicking on the title if you are interested.
Last May the city of Troy, NY, where we are vendors at the Troy Farmers Market, HBO turned Troy into New York City in the 1880s.Ā HBO was filming a new series called The Gilded Age. The transformation was incredible down to the most minor details.Ā
I wrote about the transformation in a blog post titled “Hollywood on the Hudson.” The day I walked around the streets turned movie sets I was utterly alone except for one other person snapping photos and taking it all in like I was. It was very cool. You can read the blog post by clicking on the title.
Our vendor spot at the Troy Farmers Market is located on lower River Street. I knew there was a plaque on the building directly behind us; today I went over and read it.Ā
It was where the poem ‘Twas the night before Christmas was first published. I love shit like this and grabbed my phone to take a picture.
I did some research on Dr. Clement C. Moore the author. The writer’s cousin sent the famous poem to The Troy Sentinel Newspaper anonymously. Dr. Moore wrote the poem in 1822, but it was published on December 23,1823.Ā
The inspiration he got for the poem was while he was walking through the streets of NYC looking for gifts and a Christmas goose for charity. He saw a chubby round gentleman with both white hair and a beard. This is who prompted the poem.Ā
This poem led to the story of the modern-day Santa Claus we know today. Rudolph came along later. LOL. Geez, that’s two Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer references this week from me!Ā
Dr. Moore wrote the poem at Christmas time for his six children and had no idea it would be published, let alone become iconic. I am sure he didn’t imagine when writing the poem that would create the legend of Santa Claus.
After the poem was published, at first, Dr. Moore was embarrassed by the childish poem and felt it wasn’t something to be proud of since he was known as a highly educated man. He didn’t want people to know it was he who penned it.
However, after the publication, Dr. Clement Moore took credit for the famous poem when he saw people’s reactions and a new love for old St. Nick. The rest is history.Ā
Troy, NY is a city rich in history, it is known as the home of Uncle Sam. A welcome sign tells you so as you drive along route 7 headed towards Vermont. It’s been there for the 33 years I’ve lived in VT.Ā
Samuel Wilson was always cleanly shaven even though his well-known image as Uncle Sam has a beard.
I did some more research and looked up the history of Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam was a real person named Samuel Wilson who is buried at the Oakwood Cemetery in Troy. Here is a link about Uncle Sam if you want to know more about him. He was a remarkable man who eventually became the face of America.
So, on this severely windy and cold day at the farmers market which is located along the Hudson River, I became curious about the history of the building standing 20 feet behind us. It was an unexpected history lesson that I loved learning about.
I found out from the Poetry Foundation the poem was originally titled “A visit from St. Nicholas.” I never gave the poem a thought about where it came from, and now I know. “Hey, and if you don’t know now, you know.” A quote from Hamilton.
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; The children were nestled all snug in their beds; While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads; And mamma in her’ kerchief, and I in my cap, Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap, When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash. The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow, Gave a lustre of midday to objects below, When what to my wondering eyes did appear, But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer, With a little old driver so lively and quick, I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick. More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name: “Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donner and Blitzen! To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall! Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!” As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky; So up to the housetop the coursers they flew With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas tooā And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof The prancing and pawing of each little hoof. As I drew in my head, and was turning around, Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound. He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot, And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot; A bundle of toys he had flung on his back, And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack. His eyesāhow they twinkled! his dimples, how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow; The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath; He had a broad face and a little round belly That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself; A wink of his eye and a twist of his head Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread; He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk, And laying his finger aside of his nose, And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose; He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sightā “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
My skirt and hip shawl I wore to practice in after teaching last night.
I love teaching *ATSĀ® belly dance every week, but last night’s class was even more fun and inspiring. Nothing springs everyone back into performance mode as a real gig on the calendar for late August. We havenāt performed in public since October 2019.
Our dance troupe could keep dancing during the pandemic with the help of videos I made and Kathleen and Emily holding zoom classes.
We all came back to dancing in person last April. It was interesting that everyone improved over the pandemic despite not having classes the traditional way. I took 6 months off from dancing and didnāt even listen to belly dance music. I came back fresh and stronger than ever like everyone else.
Since the beginning of this year, classes have been energized with the addition of our three new students. Classes went back to beginners fundamentals and basics. We were all amazed at how fast the three picked it up. I love watching them get better and better each week and having fun, something vital to me.
After we received our invitation via email for a performance opportunity last week, it got me in full-on drill sergeant mode. While everyone was has been at classes and dancing every week there was a lot to do to get ready for a real public gig.
Maria and Trish have minimal performance experience but are super excited and were the first to say they were in. Callie, who has performance experience, and I will round out our quad for the gig. As soon as everything is finalized I will post more about the gig if anyone local would like to attend. It’s always nice having familiar faces and encouragement in the audience.
Last night, we reviewed what we needed to work on and my expectations. Everyone in the class, not just the ones doing the gig, got as excited as I did and were happy to drill their asses off.
They want to correct their technique and go over what moves they arenāt comfortable with. They also want to practice leading starting and stopping songs. I encouraged Trish and Maria to practice zilling at home, so it’s one less thing to worry about at class and the gig.
Right now, I am concentrating on everyone’s arms and posture. No more sloppy or limp arms; I am preaching about how proper posture is even more essential to help all the moves look better.
This was a great place to start. Over the next few weeks, we will also be working on stage presence and group dynamics. We are an ATSĀ® group improv belly dance group that is only as good as the energy the dancers put out to the audience.
So what exactly is stage presence? It is not being dressed up in costuming and makeup looking good. Itās the way you hold your head, have a smile, or at least a pleasant look on your face.
Dancers should act professionally at a gig since you are āonā at an event, even if you arenāt on stage. Showing up on time and ready to go is a must and reduces stress before the gig. It sucks when it doesnāt happen and is hard to let go of before going on stage. This may be my biggest pet peeve of all when performing.
The most significant part of stage presence is being confident. Walking on stage or at a gig with a confident air about you automatically makes people think you know what you are doing. Itās āfake it til you make it” in the beginning, and that’s ok. Hell, I did it for the first year. Itās doing everything with a purpose, even if you fuck up. “I meant to do that”kind of attitude goes a long way.
Group dynamics is when a group of dancers is having fun dancing together. Itās getting into each otherās energy zone and feeling what they will do next. Itās encouraging each other with smiles, little āyipsā and zaghareets when they do something extraordinary. Ramping up the energy gets the audience excited that something fun is happening.
A favorite meme of mine sorry it’s blurry.
So what in the hell is a zaghareet anyway? Here is an excellent description I found on the website Kesavah Bellydance.
“A Zaghareet (also known as an ululation) is a loud trilling that sounds something like āloo loo loo loo looā¦.ā and often ends with an āeeeeeeeeeā sound. Itās a combination of a high pitched, quite loud, āshriekā for want of a better word, as well as the āloo loo loo looā trilling of the tongue layered on top.
The sound is made in celebration at weddings, births, and other auspicious events. Women usually cover their mouths while zaghareeting ā some say this prevents evil spirits from entering; others say it’s to be polite and hide your open mouth.
It isan expression of joy, excitement, encouragement in the arab culture. Itās totally welcome to do when another dancer is on stage, also in a Zaffa (wedding parade in front of the bride and groom). It lends an air of excitement and charges the room/dance with a lively electric current.“
This is why we cover our mouths when zaghareeting, no one wants to see your tongue flapping around. š
So last night was like someone lit a match under everyone’s ass. The class had fun and is genuinely excited to work hard on their technique and get better by ādancingā together, not just stringing together a series of dance moves and calling it dancing. There is a vast difference.
One of the most complex parts of ATSĀ® group improv dancing is there isn’t any choreography to follow, so everyone is dancing in the moment. We can dance to the same song ten times in a row, and it will never be the same. Itās truly organic and beautiful. People can’t believe it isn’t choreographed; we have heard that by hundreds of people over the last 18 years.
How ATSĀ® group improv dance works, each dancer takes turns leading the group with small cues or gestures. Everyone hears and feels music differently, making it fun and ever-changing. Since things are changing all the time you have to pay attention.
One of the hardest parts about learning to lead is getting out of your head and letting the dance moves come from within and not overthink them. This is when things go wrong and look forced. That smile or pleasant look on their faces goes away, and they look like they are concentrating too hard.
Dancing from within takes a long time; it took me a couple of years not dreading taking the lead at gigs and enjoying it, plus feeling confident about it.
Selfie in the parking lot of the dance space. I just did a cut and color to my hair and was raring to go!
Kathleen and I laughed yesterday during our practice time about how whenever we step into the lead, neither of us knows what we will do ourselves until it happens. We are as surprised by what moves come out as much as the other dancers.
A blurry meme, but it’s my favorite!
To get people to feel comfortable and not afraid of taking the lead, we start our new students right away by learning how to step in and out of the lead position. Once they feel comfortable with that, they can lead a move or two.
The new dancers are always amazed that everyone knows what they are trying to do and can follow along. I donāt push anyone past their comfort zone because, after all, dance is supposed to be fun and not stressful. Everyone moves at their own pace.
I havenāt been this excited about dance in a very long time. I have an upbeat and enthusiastic teaching style, but now itās on complete overdrive.
Driving home at 8 pm on Wednesday nights after three hours of teaching classes and practicing with Kathleen, I am exhausted but always have a massive smile on my face because I am so proud of how my students danced, how far they have come, and how much fun we had.
I haven’t written about belly dance for some time, but I think I will be much more in the future! Yip! š
*ATSĀ® stands for American Tribal Style Bellydance
