Don’t like your dance studio?

I have been looking at what search terms bring people here. One of the searches is “don’t like my dance studio.” I’m not sure what the person who was searching for it hopes to find, but I suspect maybe advice on what to do.

My first question is why s/he doesn’t like the dance studio. Is it the environment (catty students)? The teacher (incompetent, ineffective, just don’t jive)? The classes (switching times, offerings)? The physical space (too small, cold, far from home)? Once you know why you don’t like something, a solution is easier to find.

If you don’t like the students, how much do they affect you? I’ve been non-dance situations where I don’t like the people but I have to take a class. I’m polite and civil, but I’m not best friends with them. I learned to make the best out of it that way, because I like other things about the class.

If it’s the teacher you don’t like, I would be more inclined to leave the studio, depending on the situation. Students come and go all the time, teachers often stay at a studio for awhile (or forever). Figure out what you don’t like, though. If she lacks skill or you can’t learn from her for whatever reason, I’d leave. If she isn’t the warmest person, I’d reconsider. I’ve had good teachers who I don’t love and I’m not close to, but I’ve learned a lot from. If the teacher is just plain mean or abusive (insults students), I’d definitely leave without a second though. A former dance teacher of mine once said “I’m not paying money to be insulted and feel bad about myself.” I think that is excellent advice. You do want a teacher who’ll correct you, but there is a difference between correcting you and making you feel awful.

If you’ve talked to me in the last few weeks, flakiness annoys the heck out of me. I can empathize with people who have issues with unreliability, especially with classes. In that case, I’d suggest talking to the teacher/director about that matter in a polite way. Ask why it is and is there any way to ensure that the classes always run. If what you’re after isn’t being offered, you have two options. Find a new teacher or see if your current one is game for starting a new topic. I know both of my teachers were always interested in suggestions; I think some of mine have even helped start classes. Sometimes, teachers don’t know if their students want to learn new stuff. I know Sonya has honored requests, if there are a lot, for class time changes.

If you don’t like the physical space, I’d step back and figure how bad it really is. If it’s cold, you can always layer on clothes. Working in a small space may or may not be an issue; in Middle Eastern dance, there isn’t always a lot of traveling or moving about the stage. The stage sometimes is only 4 feet by 4 feet! Sometimes people carpool if the class is far; you save gas and you have a friend along for the ride.

The last thing, before you call it quits at a studio, is figure out if it isn’t them but you. I’ve been there about getting discouraged by my lack of progress at times. I know sometimes people feel like the teacher is “jus jellus”, but perhaps you really aren’t ready for the next level or to perform. If you have a good teacher (knows his/her stuff, is honest and helpful, etc.), you should trust and respect their opinion.

Ultimately, you have to weigh out the pros and cons and figure out what’s most important to you. Your money and time are important, so why waste it if you are unhappy somewhere? Shira’s site has an amazing directory of teachers; it is the largest one on the internet. If you want more of a recommendation for a new teacher, ask around on Bhuz, tribe, Livejournal, or the many other communities; people are always willing to recommend others. Good luck!

 

First class of Flamenco

I went to my first Flamenco class yesterday. I’ve been itching to work on another dance style for a while. I love doing Middle Eastern dance, but I think it’s go to change it up. I also miss the feeling of excitement and nervousness for a first class. The people who take dance before my class are in a beginning class. I think it’s awesome to see how excited they are about exploring a new way of moving.

My Flamenco class consists of mostly non-previous dancers. I think that they have an advantage on me, because they don’t have muscle memory with footwork. I still have muscle memory from classical Indian dance training. Some of the footwork reminded me of it but wasn’t quite it, which meant I had to concentrate a little more to fight it.

They are also not accustomed to dancing barefoot. The teacher said that character shoes were fine or even sneakers for the first few classes. I went with character shoes, figuring I may try doing Middle Eastern dance in them if I hate Flamenco. I think they are about two inches high. Dancing in shoes is a lot harder than I thought. I didn’t realize I was so used to feeling the ground with my feet. I also didn’t realize that my turns were powered so that I can do a 360 barefoot; my shoed turns cause me to go around greater than 360.

The only advantage that I may have in my class is I’m used to moving. I know sort of how to do floreos. Danielle has made me practice with the arms a lot before, so it isn’t as painful as it could be.

The teacher, Rosetta, is good. She looks like a really friendly soccer mom type. She’s very nice, and I really respect how she conducted the first class. She first reiterated the point about not investing tons of money in Flamenco, until you’re sure you’re going to continue your studies. I like that, since it seems like so many people invest money in costumes and stuff in Middle Eastern dance and then quit soon after. I also like that she emphasized the idea of practice; she told us we’d never get better and that we’d repeat the first lesson if we never practiced. She even handed out a little sheet of homework for us to practice. It can be very difficult to remember (at least for me) what we did in class or what’s the most important to practice. The other cool thing about Rosetta is that she is so nice but when she takes her Flamenco pose, she looks like she could rip out your throat in a split second.

So how do I feel about Flamenco after my first class?

I love it.

 

Indian Classical Dance: Tradition in Transition

I originally bought this book as a coffee table book. However, Indian Classical Dance: Tradition in Transition offers more than a book for guests to casually browse.

One of the most striking parts of the book are the photographs. They are absolutely crisp and beautiful to see. They are well worth the cost of the book. Beyond the photos, though, is a lot of useful information about classical Indian dance. The text is very detailed and takes you through the origins to contemporary time. If you’re interested in any of the major classical Indian dances, I’d check this book out.

 

Sage advice

I was once told, on separate occasions by different people, that dancers are very insecure people and physicists tend to worry more than anyone else.

In my process of cleaning an image with 235 channels for my thesis, I was thinking about how I feel about all of it. I’m not particularly talented with image processing and reducing the noise in the images, honestly. My advisor was surprised at what I didn’t observe in cleaning the image (a few of the images I thought were acceptable were not).

I don’t think I’m a fabulously talented physics person, nor do I believe I’m an astrophysics goddess, but I was kind of thrown since I thought I was doing okay for someone who had started about a month and a half ago really do something with this imaging (and it isn’t daily). I’m not happy with my progress, as I think I’ve mentioned at other times.

I’ve been beating myself up over this during the weekend. Being of both temperaments (as well as tendency to be dramatic at times), I’ve been wondering if I’m cut out for this. I have these moments in dance as well. The moments where you can’t execute something simple or something everyone in your class but you can. You feel bad, you question whether if all your best efforts are in vain, and so on.

While processing this image, I kept thinking about it. My research isn’t even in a field I plan on pursuing! Then I remembered one of the most important pieces of advice to my life: always keep in mind why you’re there. I don’t remember the exact phrasing, and I know I always change the wording when I state it, but the sentiment is to remember why it is you do what you do. My Bharatanatyam teacher Carla told this to me, and I have carried that in my mind since.

With dance, off the top of my head, I can think of several things I have struggled with. A shuffle in Indian dance (just softly kicking your leg while striking the heel on the floor) was hard. Tribhangi turns were difficult. Upward vertical figure 8s (called taqsims sometimes) were difficult. The hip drops with release were difficult for me not to look bad. And generally speaking with Middle Eastern dance, I’ve had to come to terms that I’m a small girl. I’m short and thin. Belly rolls will never be huge and soft on me. I can’t take huge steps and expect to look remotely graceful. Remembering a turn’s direction is difficult, since it’s different than in Indian dance. I’m a forward turner through Indian dance. By that, I mean my non-weight bearing leg/side goes towards the audience; belly dancers tend to turn backwards.

However, I stuck with dance, because I kept the big picture in mind: I wanted to be a better dancer. Instead of getting caught up on how I wasn’t getting it and other negativity that can fester, I changed my mind’s focus

So for my thesis, I have decided to focus on why I originally picked this advisor/project: because I wanted to be more well-rounded in physics. Because I wanted a challenge. Because I wanted someone who wouldn’t let me get away with bsing it and demand of me quality work. Because I wanted to prove to myself that I can succeed in physics.

I know I’m not the best person at astrophysics and image processing, but I can be better, and I know I can pull this off and succeed.

 

‘The Ethics of Name-dropping’

I came across this thread on Tribe this morning about when and how you should name teachers under whom you studied or with whom you worked.

I can’t attest to everyone, but I linked up everyone I took at least a season’s worth (3 months) of classes with on my links section because I liked these people and hope that maybe others will check them out. I don’t do it to brag or to look like a better dancer. I simply wish to pay respect to my teacher. I don’t wish to name drop.

The teachers who I claim are influential are ones I studied under for a longer time (about a year normally) and/or I feel I gained a lot out of it. Their styles meshed with me more or perhaps it is because I studied under them for a long time. I feel that those people have had a bigger influence on me and my style of dance.

I don’t consider videos/DVDs or workshops really studying under someone. The former can be useful for some people, but the instructor on the DVD has no say in whether you’re truly getting his/her style or can correct you… It would be like if I told people I studied at MIT, because I use their OpenCourseware (lecture notes and other goodies posted online). I think workshops are a big step above learning from a DVD and one can gain a lot, but I’m not convinced that it’s enough to say you truly studied under someone. You can get a lot of useful things out of it, but I can’t say that you get nuances and an entire effect in a day or a weekend.

For my own benefit and perhaps for use in the future, I have a dance resume with everything on it. I don’t think it’s professional to misrepresent yourself. It’s setup like a combination of an actor’s resume and my ‘normal’ resume. The normal aspect of it clearly states under whom I studied, what kind of study (class, private lesson, workshop), and for how long. I think it’s important, because there’s a huge difference among those three. To make an analogy using my normal resume, I once had an internship at a nuclear physics laboratory. I state that I had an internship, not that I worked there. To me, if I were to state that I worked there, it sounds like I had a 40 hr/week job for a while, not a summer internship with somewhat flexible hours.

I can’t comment on other people’s motivations, because I don’t know what they are. Perhaps they have no motivations regarding this matter and don’t think hard about the wording. Perhaps they realize they are intentionally misrepresenting things. I have no clue. At the end of the day, I do strongly believe that it is important to be as honest as possible when representing yourself. I worked as a contract employee for a book publishing company last year, and every place I went to expected my skills as is. The same with physics jobs. You don’t have write dryly, but certainly don’t exaggerate your skills. It may come back to haunt you.

As for dance, someone on Tribe put it best (paraphrasing): a good video of your dancing speaks more volumes about you than under whom you studied.

 

On training yourself to dance

Lately, on a lot of boards I read, there have been discussions on dance education. Here are some things I’ve learned since beginning my dance education.

1. Study from a good live teacher. I know there are dance DVDs, which can be great supplements I’ve heard from friends (I personally do not use DVDs in my practice), but a live teacher can really show you the way and correct budding mistakes; it is a lot easier to learn things the right way in the beginning than correct old habits. I also emphasize studying from a good teacher, because like anything in life, there are varying qualities of teachers. Unfortunately, there is no measure, since the most expensive teacher doesn’t necessarily mean the best. The best way to find a good teacher is go to Bhuz or the Livejournal Bellydance community and ask people. To find an Indian dance teacher is a little more difficult. I suggest contacting temples or South Asian cultural centers or South Asian college departments. You have to do a little more sleuthing, because said teachers often do not have websites.

2. Study under different people. Different people are useful, because different teachers can make your brain and body work in different ways. I find that I’m really able to develop my own style, because I’ve had many different teachers. You also get exposed to different names for moves, different combos, and different explanations. Moves have crystalized under one instructor for me when another instructor’s explanation did not quite make sense to me.

3. Practice. Practicing is so important! I can’t think of a single person I know who doesn’t practice. That’s how they make it look easy. I understand having a busy schedule, so I try to do mini practice drills when I can’t dedicate a full hour or more to practice. For instance, I will shimmy during washing dishes. Be sure to practice a move on both sides of your body so that you develop symmetrically.

4. Get in the right mindset. One of my teachers told me that the most important thing to acknowledge is why you’re there. You’re there to learn dance. It isn’t a competition, so don’t get frustrated someone else seems to be progressing faster than you. It’s much more difficult to learn anything if you’re beating yourself up over it. Also, don’t be afraid to try new things. They can often be useful or you may fall in love with it.

5. Get used to the music you’re going to use for dance. It is so much easier to dance if you become familiar and comfortable with the rhythms and sounds in it.

6. Listen to your body. I think most people in exercise of any kind have overexerted themselves. Don’t do anything that hurts or if you’re sore the next day after an intense practice or class, go easy on your body. You only have one body, so make sure it isn’t injured.

7. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Some of the best dancers I’ve met ask a lot of questions about technique or reasoning. If you get discouraged because you can’t get a move, ask your teacher! S/he may be able to break it down slower for you or have an alternative explanation.

I feel very strongly about having a solid dance education, as you can tell. I know classes can be pricey and there are technically cheaper alternatives, but I feel that a live teacher and class is the best way to go. You are 100+ times better investing in your dance education than costumes or anything fun; I’ve seen amazing dances like below (video of Elizabeth Strong from Tribal Fest 7:

With a teacher, you get immediate feedback (quirks have a funny way of appearing), community if you’re in a class, someone to help guide you along, and if you’re lucky, a mentor. As for the rest- I think it’s very easy to get discouraged or accidentally hurt yourself, so I find getting myself in dancer mode and practicing are the best remedies.

 

Creating a library of dance music

Part of being a dancer is finding music. I use Emusic to get my music; the quality is quite good for mp3, and it’s cheap (if you haven’t taken up Emusic on the 50 free mp3s yet, comment with your email address; if I invite you to Emusic and you accept, we both get 50 free mp3s). While they’re good for Middle Eastern dance of its various flavors (Turkish, Lebanese, Egpytian, shaabi, etc.), I find them a bit lack for classical Indian dance music. First, let me preface that I’ve found finding classical Indian dance music a bit difficult. Most of my Indian dance teachers operate off of cassette tapes, and they often only know the song by its dance name, such as Alarippu, without an artist, publisher, etc. I’m not quite sure what to search, since names of the dances doesn’t seem to work, nor does a search of Bharatanatyam. Using Emusic, I’ve found 1 CD that appears suitable for classical Indian dance.

I was very excited when I came across Dances of India: Bharata Natyam Arangetram Songs. Allow me to preface that I have not sat through an entire arangetram of Bharatanatyam. Overall, I enjoy this CD. The quality is very crisp, and I find it very pleasant to listen to.

Some of the pieces I found a bit short. I would be very surprised if this would work for an arangetram, due to its length. The arangetram I saw in its entirety was about 2 hours; this CD is under an hour. I also feel like there could be more variation in the songs. To me, they sound very similar. I may not know the names of the artists or songs, but I feel that classical Indian dance music is much more varied than what this CD shows.

I out of 5 stars, I’d give it a 3. I’m glad I bought it, because I now have dance practice music, but I wish it offered more of a variety.

 

Opening Post

A few days ago, to stave of the summer boredom, I decided to start a blog regarding my life as a dance student and a grad student. For dance purposes, I go by Aleksie, hence my blog name. I currently am in Chicago, but I’m a bit of a nomad. I went to Smith College for my BA, lived in Boston for a year, and I am currently a grad student earning a masters in physics.

Throughout this, I’ve been a bellydance student/bellydancer. I study primarily Egyptian-based raqs sharqi, but I’ve recently added tribal fusion to my list of Middle Eastern dance education. After creating a dance resume, I realize I dance about once or twice a year in a performance. I’m hoping to perform more as time progresses.

In addition to my belly dance studies, I also study classical Indian dance. I started off with Bharatanatyam for a summer, spent two years learning Odissi, and am back to Bharatanatyam. My main goal with Indian dance is to be able to perform it; a subgoal is to have an arrangetram or graduation piece.

My blog will cover all of this, plus my musings on these topics, so if you’re curious about what it’s like to be a grad student, dance student, or both, please stick around.