Flying instructors know this, and so their earliest lesson is not how to fly the plane, but how to land it. Flying students practice landings over and over again, because not only do they need to be able to land the plane safely, but they need to feel completely confident doing it. Worrying about the landing could cause them to make a mistake.

Give Your Show a Safe Landing

This is equally true for belly dance. No matter how good or bad your show was, what the audience remembers best is a strong finish. And even if your show is going well, worrying about what comes later can sabotage your performance.

Even so, most of us start from the beginning of the piece when we learn choreography. But you’ll learn more quickly and remember it more reliably if you start from the end and work your way backwards towards the beginning.

Why Shouldn’t I Start From the Beginning?

When we learn choreography from the beginning, we practice the first combination, then the second combination, and then we practice both of them. Then we learn the third combination, and practice combos 1, 2, and 3. And so on.

Combo 1

Combo 2

Combo 1 —- Combo 2

Combo 3

Combo 1 —- Combo 2 —– Combo 3

Combo 4

Combo 1 —– Combo 2 —– Combo 3 —– Combo 4

Can you see what’s happening here? The early combinations get much more practice than the later ones:

Combo 1

Combo 2

Combo 1 —- Combo 2

Combo 3

Combo 1 —- Combo 2 —– Combo 3

Combo 4

Combo 1 —– Combo 2 —– Combo 3 —– Combo 4

By this point, you’ve practiced Combo #1 four times, but #4 has only been practiced twice!

And it only gets worse as you continue; if your choreography has 12 combos, #1 will get 600% more practice than #12.

This Directly Impacts Your Performance

This means that when you go to perform your choreography, you’re going to get less and less confident as you approach the end. The sections you’re most familiar with are in the past. That sets you up for a stressful show, and that stress can ruin your performance.

However, if you start from the end, you know the later combinations inside and out. This means that when you perform it, you get more confident as the piece progresses. This confidence boost brightens your stage presence and helps you be your best. And even if you fall on your face early in the show, you can still count on a strong finish.

How Do I Learn a Piece Backwards?

In order to learn a piece backwards, we use the standard procedure; we just start at the end. Here’s how:

1) break the choreography up into a logical “chunks” or combinations. For this example, let’s assume that your choreography yields 12 combinations.
2) learn the very last combination (combo #12)
3) learn the previous combination (#11)
4) practice combos 11 & 12 together
5) learn combination 10
6) practice combos 10-12 together

Continue in this fashion until you have added in all the combinations. Then practice the whole choreography until you’re confident about the early combinations. By this time, you should be extraordinarily confident about the later ones.

But If I Learn It Backwards, How Will I Understand How the Dance Unfolds?

The downside of this method is that it doesn’t let you observe the structure of the dance as you learn it. So before you begin to learn a choreography backwards, watch the whole piece once or twice to get the lay of the land. If you’re learning it from written notes rather than video, walk through the choreography once without music to mark it out.

Make a note of any repeated elements and other patterns. This helps you understand the choreography, and gives context to the combinations as you learn them individually.

Tips:

• If the choreography repeats a particular section several times, learning that segment first may give you a sense of accomplishment and some anchor points. Then proceed to the final combination, and work your way backwards as usual.
• When you learn a new combination, practice the transitions into and out of it as well.

So when you learn Combo #10, the “chunk” you’d practice would include the transition from Combo #9, Combo #10 itself, and the transition into Combo #11. This will help you integrate each new section into the whole piece.

Summary

When you learn a choreography from the beginning, the early parts get more practice than the later ones. As you perform it, you’ll always be less confident about what’s to come.

If you start from the end and work your way forwards, the later parts get the most practice. So even if you have some trouble at first, you can count on a good ending.

The process of learning a choreography backwards is the same as learning it forwards. Start with the final combination, add on the previous combo, practice them together. Then add on another combination, practice the whole thing together, and so on.

Before you begin, you may want to watch the choreography a few times to get familiar with its structure.

With this method, you can expect many happy landings.

Nadira Jamal is a belly dance performer and teacher in Boston. She is the hostess of Taktaba, the free video podcast on dance composition for belly dancers, and the creator of the Improvisation Toolkit DVD series. For more articles and information, visit http://www.taktaba.com.

Author: Nadira Jamal
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Mistakes are like Suckers

It’s human nature to fear mistakes, but they’re especially terrifying for dancers. After all, the audience’s eyes are always on us. So we become perfectionists, and fret about tiny mistakes that our audience would never notice.

Fear of mistakes sucks away our attention and our creative energy. And since those tools are critical to improv, it can be devastating. So we get even more afraid.

But what most dancers don’t realize is that making mistakes will actually improve your improvisation skills. We need to welcome mistakes, and deal with them appropriately, if we want to improvise successfully.

Why Are Mistakes So Important to Improv?

Mistakes are important in improv because they teach you what does and doesn’t work for you.

When you dance, you have a huge pool of movements and combinations to choose from. However, not all of them fit the music and flatter your body.

If you choreograph your performance, you can take days or weeks to sift through these options, and decide which you like best.

When you improvise, you have to make those decisions in a split-second. But that split second is all you need if you have already sifted out many of the bad ideas. And you do that by making mistakes.

The trick is to make them in a safe place.

How Do I Make Mistakes in a Safe Place?

The safest place to make mistakes is in the privacy of the studio, so get in there and practice some improvisational dancing. Your goal for this practice session is to make mistakes. Be sure to do it mindfully: acknowledge the bad ideas, welcome them, and then let them go.

You’ll resist making mistakes at first, but remember that our goal is to prune away the bad ideas during practice, when nobody is looking. That way, you’ll have mostly good ideas left to choose from when you improvise.

So go make some mistakes. Welcome each snafu. Greet each bad idea with open arms. After all, this may be the last time you ever see it!

But Won’t I Make Faster Progress if I Focus on Usable Material?

Nope. Focusing on good ideas will help you generate a list of usable material more quickly, but that list doesn’t help you improvise.

The ideas that are inside you – good and bad – are going to come out sometime. You can’t stop them. If they don’t get their moment of freedom in the studio, they will break out on stage.

So give the bad ones their time to shine in the studio, where they can’t embarrass you.

Summary

Fear of making mistakes is natural, but it is a liability when it comes to improvisation.

Improvisational dance requires that we make decisions in a split second. We can inform that decision by making as many mistakes as possible before we step on stage.

The best way to do this is by mindfully making mistakes when we practice, so we can learn what does and doesn’t work with our bodies.

It may be tempting to focus on good ideas, but this won’t help you prevent mistakes when you improvise. The bad ideas are going to come out sometime. By welcoming mistakes when we practice, we can improve the odds for when we perform.

Next Steps

Go to your practice space, and make some mistakes. When an idea isn’t working for you, acknowledge it, and then say goodbye to it. Because now that you’ve pruned it from your mind, it can’t suck away any more of your attention.

Nadira Jamal is a belly dance performer and teacher in Boston. She is the hostess of Taktaba, the free video podcast on dance composition for belly dancers, and the creator of the Improvisation Toolkit DVD series. For more articles and information, visit http://www.taktaba.com.

Author: Nadira Jamal
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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The skirt that you ultimately choose should be comfortable enough to dance in. It should be loose enough for the intricate moves you will be making while you are wearing it. If the skirt is too tight you will not be able to perform to the best of your abilities.

The Fabric

The fabric that is used on your skirt is very important. It is one thing that will make your costume the best it can be. The fabrics that are most often used are velvets, satins, silks and chiffon. If price is a concern you will find that silk and velvet are the most expensive fabrics to use. Satins and chiffons are not quite as expensive.

Chiffon is a very alluring fabric because of its sheerness. It almost gives the appearance of being transparent. This can be perfect for enhancing the movements of the belly dancer as she performs her routine. If you have a need to be more modest you will probably want to stay away from chiffon skirts. Satins and silks move and shimmer while the dancer moves as well. They are very light and can catch the air as the dancer whirls and turns on the stage. Velvet is a heavier material and might not be the ideal choice for someone who is looking for a flowing lightweight look.

The Styles

The styles of skirts are very varied. You will want to consider your routine and the audience before you make a final choice. The selection of a fuller skirt is appropriate for a dance routine that has you twirling and whirling around the stage.

A dance routine that showcases your legs might be best served by a skirt that is not quite as full. A skirt that is sheer and shows off your legs is a more appropriate belly dancing skirt for this type of performance.

You can choose a skirt that has slits to show off your legs. This is perfect for an audience of men that will appreciate the look of your legs that will flash in front of them as you perform your routine. Belly dancing skirts come with some beautiful embellishments and adornment. Look for embroidery and jewels to add some extra drama in your skirt.

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Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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The skirt that you ultimately choose should be comfortable enough to dance in. It should be loose enough for the intricate moves you will be making while you are wearing it. If the skirt is too tight you will not be able to perform to the best of your abilities.

The Fabric

The fabric that is used on your skirt is very important. It is one thing that will make your costume the best it can be. The fabrics that are most often used are velvets, satins, silks and chiffon. If price is a concern you will find that silk and velvet are the most expensive fabrics to use. Satins and chiffons are not quite as expensive.

Chiffon is a very alluring fabric because of its sheerness. It almost gives the appearance of being transparent. This can be perfect for enhancing the movements of the belly dancer as she performs her routine. If you have a need to be more modest you will probably want to stay away from chiffon skirts. Satins and silks move and shimmer while the dancer moves as well. They are very light and can catch the air as the dancer whirls and turns on the stage. Velvet is a heavier material and might not be the ideal choice for someone who is looking for a flowing lightweight look.

The Styles

The styles of skirts are very varied. You will want to consider your routine and the audience before you make a final choice. The selection of a fuller skirt is appropriate for a dance routine that has you twirling and whirling around the stage.

A dance routine that showcases your legs might be best served by a skirt that is not quite as full. A skirt that is sheer and shows off your legs is a more appropriate belly dancing skirt for this type of performance.

You can choose a skirt that has slits to show off your legs. This is perfect for an audience of men that will appreciate the look of your legs that will flash in front of them as you perform your routine. Belly dancing skirts come with some beautiful embellishments and adornment. Look for embroidery and jewels to add some extra drama in your skirt.

Paul J Eastwood has been writing articles online for nearly 4 years now. Not only does this author specialize in diet, fitness and weight loss, you can also check out his latest website about the Garage Heaters Help [http://www.electricgarageheater.org/] which reviews and lists Information on all types of Equipment like Electric Heaters Online [http://www.electricgarageheater.org/electric-wall-heater]

Author: Paul J Eastwood
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Where Should You Go

You can check with your local gym or college for belly dancing classes. Or get your yellow pages out and look for a dance studio that offers lessons. Sometimes Middle Eastern restaurants will offer lessons for their customers. Go online to find out what is available in your local area.

If you are unable to find a belly dancing class in your area then you can learn to belly dance online. There are sites that will offer lessons through video right on the website. There are many moves you will learn; here are a few of them.

Snake Arms

The graceful arm movements are distinctive of belly dancing. You will learn to move your arms so that they resemble a snake slithering around your body. Not only will you learn a graceful move, but you will also be toning up your arms at the same time.

The Shoulder Shimmy

This dance move is used in many other dance styles. You just move your shoulders back and forth in opposite directions. Those who are new to belly dancing will start out very slowly and gradually increase their speed as they master the movement. This wills workout your shoulder and back muscles.

The Hip Circle

What kind of dancer doesn’t use this classic hip rolling movement? Imagine that a giant pipe surrounds your hips. Move your hips around so that you graze all the surface of the pipe. You can add your own personal style to this dance move. Belly dancing is a great form of self expression. Listen to the music and get into it with the moves.

The Hip Piston

You are simply pumping one hip muscle at a time. You will learn this move slowly at first and gradually increase your speed as you master the move. Take your time and learn each move well before you move on to the next. You will find that your dancing is a great source of exercise and fun.

Paul J Eastwood has been writing articles online for nearly 4 years now. Not only does this author specialize in diet, fitness and weight loss, you can also check out his latest website about the Honeywell Space Heater [http://www.honeywellspaceheater.com/] which reviews and lists Information on all types of Equipment like Modine heaters [http://www.honeywellspaceheater.com/modine-heaters].

Author: Paul J Eastwood
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If you cannot find a suitable dancing school in your area you will have to learn this art by yourself. While you are learning the art of belly dancing keep your eyes open for a new school. They are becoming very popular and one could open up any time.

Check the Yellow Pages

You may have looked in the yellow pages and discovered that there were no belly dancing schools in your area. There are a few different search methods that you can try to locate some good lessons. Try looking for an exercise studio that may offer belly dancing classes as a form of exercise.

Check online for a local studio that offers dance classes in your local area. Vary the searches so that you find the most results for your efforts. Try Egyptian dance or Turkish dance or any other variation on the theme.

You may not be able to find a studio that is dedicated to belly dancing classes but you are very likely to find some other method of obtaining the dance lessons. Gyms and dance studios are your best source to find the classes you are looking for.

Videos or DVDs

If there is no class available in your area you can still find the lessons you want. Check out some videos and DVDs that will teach you the movements for belly dancing. You should be able to find a suitable video that will meet your skill level. The good thing is that videos are very inexpensive. These videos will usually break down the moves so that you have a thorough understanding of the dance before you are finished.

It will be difficult to learn belly dancing without feedback. There will be no one there to tell you if you are making mistakes and you will run the risk of continuing the mistake without realizing it. You should try to find videos that teach you to put all the moves together into a dance. This will teach you how to put the moves together to make your own dance routines.

Paul J Eastwood has been writing articles online for nearly 4 years now. Not only does this author specialize in diet, fitness and weight loss, you can also check out his latest website about the Space Heaters from Honeywell [http://www.honeywellspaceheater.com/] which reviews and lists Information on all types of Equipment like Modine Heaters Online [http://www.honeywellspaceheater.com/modine-heaters].

Author: Paul J Eastwood
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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You would miss a lot of the knowledge should you took belly dancing classes without a fancy dress. 50 % of the fun along with the artistic impact originates from the costumes. The bra embellished with edges of beads along with coins, the identical belt, the harem pants or even the skirt help to make the lady feel more secure and confident in her beauty. Chances are you’ll be slim or plump, and you also may nonetheless feel being a queen dressed up like this. It’s ample to try once and you’ll feel self-motivated.

Simply how much do belly dancing classes’ value? It is a great notion to request about and locate out simply how much you spend per session or per month. Trainers might have various varieties of deals, occasionally offering you a price reduction should you bring in a companion. The most effective thing to complete is to do a bit of investigation and find out what you can locate in numerous dance saloons around the city.

It is not convenient in any respect to take a trip to your other side of the town for belly dancing classes. Therefore, the space from house is surely an element that influences selections as well. So does the instructor. You ought to really feel convenient while in the existence of the belly dance trainer. Plenty of ladies whine that they have felt anxious or unskilled during belly dancing classes, and for this type of reason they’ve quit.

The instructor produces the proper surroundings for the belly dancing classes. He/She is there not just to set an example and educate other folks the way to help make the precise dance moves, but also to motivate the students and help make these really feel good about them. This can be not about praising mediocrity yet about offering positive comments and encouraging students to relax, rejoice and enjoy the expertise.

As an alternative to studio belly dancing classes, you can get a web-based instruction program. A lot of females order belly dancing DVD lessons to study within the comfort of their house. Even if it’s not just like the true expertise in a dance studio, you can still obtain the moves and enjoy the dance, without leaving your living room.

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The simple answer is that it is completely up to you. If you find it more comfortable to learn in your home then a video is probably the best choice for you. But if you like the idea of a real live instructor who is available for questions and feedback then maybe you should consider one of the outside classes.

Meeting People

The advantage of a belly dancing class at your local gym is the ability to meet other people. All of the people in your belly dancing class all have the same thing in common. A love for dance. There will typically be a variety of skill levels in your class, but most often you will find people just like you who have no experience at all.

Once you have started taking classes and become acquainted with your classmates you can begin to get together with your new friends. You can even host special belly dancing parties where you perform and practice with each other between your classes. This can be a great deal of fun.

Videos

There are a great many belly dancing videos available for you to try out in your own home. This is great for the person who is a little too quiet and shy to take a class outside of the home. It’s also a great alternative for someone whose schedule is very tight.

The problem with video lessons is that there is no one to give you feedback on your performance. You will have to watch your own progression and monitor if you are making the correct movements. You might also have to try a variety of videos so that you don’t become bored with just one.

One on One Lessons

You might be able to set up some private lessons if you look around for an instructor. This is the ideal way to learn belly dancing. You have the full focus and attention of the instructor for the entire class time. They will be able to work with you very closely to make sure you are getting the moves right. The only problem with this method is that it is extremely expensive.

Paul J Eastwood has been writing articles online for nearly 4 years now. Not only does this author specialize in diet, fitness and weight loss, you can also check out his latest website about the Electric Garage Heater [http://www.electricgarageheater.org/] which reviews and lists Information on all types of Equipment like Electric Infrared Heaters [http://www.electricgarageheater.org/electric-infrared-heaters].

Author: Paul J Eastwood
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Belly dancing is quite popular in western countries for both children and adults. For the adults, it’s the best way to appreciate your curves and even enhance them further. There are different belly dancing classes that suits every individual; from beginners to intermediate and advanced levels. If you want to start belly dancing, choose a class that suits your skill and level.

Before, belly dancing was practiced in the Middle East to strengthen the hips of women, preparing them for childbirth. This is a tradition that soon became a form of entertainment, exercise, and art. Advanced belly dancers can do more than 30 moves. As a beginner, it is good to know that you don’t have to memorize every step to start learning. All you have to do is to learn how to be in proper motion since belly dancing involves certain isolated body parts by listening to the music’s rhythm.

The movements during Belly Dancing are isolated. During the time of Belly Dancing dances have to thrust and lift hips and pelvic muscles at the same time. Belly needs to be rolled too. Dancers need to learn to move arms just like a snake. For a perfect Belly Dance all the movements need to be accurate. After this, dancers can use the movements at work. Floor works help to learn sitting, standing as well as dropping. Veil work is another important part of Belly Dancing as many women are found having attraction for playing.

There are a lot of things to learn when it comes to belly dancing. Different teachers give the movements diverse names but it only means skilled moves. Belly dancing is all about body quake, shake, lock, thrust, drop, and curve. Fluid motion is exhibited once your arms, hands, and legs follow. The costume is really sexy, where women can show-off their body curves. The dancer should expose more skin for her to make sensual movements. With the mid-rift and hips exposed, the dancer can show all her grace and art to spectators.

Apart from just a dancing it is a good exercise. The movement on the muscles is very important to make a fit and healthy body.

Belly dancing is indeed a good addition to your fitness routine. You can do stretching with the use of your exercise ball or perhaps do some yoga stretches. The next things that you have to focus on are the basic movements of your belly, hips, shoulders, waist, and thigh movements.

To practice it needs to be exercised at least four times a day for nearly 30-40 minutes or more. It is 100% possible to lose weight by practicing Belly dancing.

If you want to keep fit and show off your beautiful curves, belly dancing is just the thing for you.

The author is a multifaceted writer. She writes articles for a variety of subjects like marriage and relationship advices, great deals on dresses online and cheap pageant dresses, family and parenting concerns, fashion and beauty tips and a lot more.

Question:
I am currently taking a belly dance and I absolutely love it. The class takes place once a week and I love the fact we learn certain movements and then incorporate them towards the end of class into almost a freestyle type of session where we use all the moves we’ve learned so far which creates a small routine and fantastic work out.

I would like to find some kind of DVD that uses this same kind of practice but I honestly don’t know where to begin. There is a program that comes on FitTV called “Shimmy” but the problem is that they have commercials interrupting the routine so you lose the momentum.

Can anyone recommend any kind of DVD that I could use during my “off hours” in my class?

Answer:

I have the Luscious – The Bellydance Workout for Beginners DVD shown below.  It’s got nothing to do with working out.  Yes, belly dance is a nice workout, but it’s not in any way, shape or form a workout video.

The movements are broken down and executed very slowly.  Any instructional belly dance DVD with Neon, Blanca, Sarah Skinner is always good.  Note the high ratings each DVD has.