Suhaila Level 3 Prep Weeklong

Reported by Yasmin

But I'm not ready!
I dreaded going quite frankly. I had completed my assignments and was training regularly with the online Suhaila classes but I still didn't feel prepared. Perhaps one never feels prepared enough. With the money down on the workshop fee, my flight booked and a commitment to share the rental car and hotel with Stacey, there wasn't much choice but to go. And when I left the workshop a week later, my eyes were opened.

The first morning, Suhaila gathered us to one corner of the Berkeley area studio to introduce the workshop philosophies. The studio doors were locked and late comers were forced to wait outside for a good 15 minutes. This was our first lesson: Respect the teacher, respect your time, respect each other's time. Commitment means being on time, which from Suhaila's perspective means being 15 minutes early.

There were about 25 dancers in the workshop and perhaps a third of them had taken a Level 3 class before. A third might have been Bay area regulars. The rest came from as far away as Hong Kong, Canada and Italy.

Mornings
Mornings were filled with extensive warm-ups followed by hours of Level 3 drills. We also practiced dance movement and folkloric fusion. To me, drilling is like executing math equations in my body. Lots of mental energy at the onset and if I get it easily, my body relaxes into a smooth motoring machine. If the equation doesn't fit my body immediately, the internal mental energy picks up and my phsycial body careens on the edge, slightly out of control. Often times I just need to get out of my own way and all the pieces click into place. There seem to be different "states" of drilling based on a number of variables such as level of drill difficulty, level of fatigue, protein and water in my body, my mind's attempt to control my body, physical limitations, level of focus, and more.

Afternoons
Afternoons were dedicated to presenting personal choreography to Suhaila in front of the class. This was my favorite and most terrifying part. Actually, I take that back. The Sanford Meisner acting exercises were the most terrifying and opening experience for me that week. It was the last exercise on Thursday evening and emotions in the room were already simmering strongly from the hours of drilling, personal choreography, and Suhaila choreographies. Tears, shouts, disdain, anger, silliness, love and raw emotion came tumbling from our bodies. It was authentic. It was vulnerability like I'd never seen before. For the next few days after that experience, my senses were heightened to this almost vibrational level. I could clearly see people and most of them seemed to be emotionally half-dead.

After personal choreography feedback, the second part of each afternoon was dedicated to learning the L3 Suhaila choreographies: L3 Finger Cymbal Drum Solo, Maddah, and L2 Finger Cymbal Drum Solo with L3 increases. Soon there will be choreography kits that students can purchase to prepare themselves ahead of time. This will allow students to be able to focus exclusively on the emotional preparation, acting techniques, and personal choreography topics of Level 3.

Evenings
Evenings were spent working late into the night on our individual homework assignments. Stacey spent the evenings teaching the dance studio classes as part of her Level 5 preparation, which is focused on becoming a certified teacher within the Suhaila format. This gave me private time in the hotel room to evolve my personal choreographies, prepare my training plans and practice the L3 choreographies. I would pick Stacey up each evening around 10pm and we would go find dinner, recap the day, wind down and then head back to the hotel for more study.

Personal Feedback
As for my personal feedback from Suhaila, she thought I had made some break throughs. For one thing, I was opening up and getting out of my head. Her advice for me until I arrive in L3 next year is to take singing lessons to learn breath control patterns, projection, and pacing. This was the last thing I expected as a take-away from a dance workshop but upon further reflection it makes aboslute sense. When one sees a dancer working in unison with her breath, one sees integrated complete dance movement.

By Dancers For Dancers Vol 6~includes Stacey Lizette!

Sabaya sista's could not be happier for Stacey. Her performance will be in the By Dancers For Dancers Vol.6 to be released in November!

Live music review: supreme sitar

Live music review: supreme sitar & belly dancing with Atash at the Copa in Austin

Posted using ShareThis

Sahara Nights 4 Year Anniversary

After all the adrenaline of a show is over and you are ready to hit the sheets, you can't help but be thankful! You think of all the people that make your event happen and, of course, the people that appreciate your efforts.

Sahara Nights started in July 2005 with Lily, Maribel, Rania, Stacey, and Yasmin. Our aspirations were simple: to have a venue to dance both as a group and as soloists, to have control over the arrangement of our music, and to present a monthly staged show of quality belly dance that Austin can appreciate.

Achieving this "simple" aspiration meant committing to weekly rehearsals for the next four years to present group choreographies, nearly daily correspondence to plan a succinct show that we enjoy and that appeals to the general audience, monthly flyer design and distribution, online marketing charges, newsletters, organization of lights, decor and stage props, coordination of complimentary food, managing logistics of special musical guests, and regular check-ins with management to make sure all expectations are met, i.e. profits for the club and market our show to all of Austin!

The responsibilities that we took on to achieve a successful monthly club night revealed each of the hats we wear to make the business of Sabaya "work." Our most celebrated result of this common project is the friendship and respect we continue to grow for each other and for the group. A sampling of some of the mutli-tasking responsibilities we each perform include:

• Creative graphic design by Rania


• A professionally designed website by Yasmin and Lily


• A monthly newsletter written by Yasmin and edited by all


• Effective marketing by Maribel


• Rehearsals led by Stacey, who keeps us all on point

With Austin being the live music capital of the world, one would think we could easily find Middle Eastern bands, DJs, and drummers. Not really... After realizing that our show would have to be a fusion of Middle Eastern music, we explored the various musical styles available to us. We formed a partnership with Austin's favorite world music band, Atash. We were able to explore Jason McKenzie's Sunray Project with Indragit, the sitar player. We were able to work with el John Selector, the percussionist from Thievery Corporation and, most recently, the musical talents of Jef Stott for our 4 year anniversary celebration. Special thanks also to Sean Mecredy who contributed his time and talent to the show.

We are very thankful for the opportunity to bring beautiful music for everyone to dance to at Sahara Nights. Sabaya thanks all our friends who make Sahara Nights special:
Silvio Ramos (Copa Operator), Vance Strickland (photography), Kelly (Ararat Middle Eastern Cuisine), DJ Avatar, Atash, el John Selector, Sunray Project, Jef Stott, and all our friends who consistantly come to share this special night with us.

Looking forward to sharing another exciting year with you!

Love,
Sabaya Bellydance Collective: Lily, Maribel, Rania, Stacey, Yasmin

It is never too late for a fresh start

From desk job to professional dancer...... at 50!

http://fittoboom.msnbc.msn.com/?source=msnspotlight>1=25054#/home/video/8/0

Sahara Nights::4yr Anniversary July 11th

Sahara Nights
Saturday, July 11, 2009

Sabaya/Copa 4 Year Anniversary
We hope that you will join us for our four year anniversary party as we fly in our musical guest, Jef Stott (http://www.jefstott.com), from San Francisco. As some of you in the bellydance community may know, Jef Stott is an accomplished oud player and electronic composer, fusing the powerful traditions of the Middle East with breaks, dub and electro.

Bellydance Class 101
In honor of our 4 years at Copa, we will also be opening up the club in the early afternoon to teach a crash course in Bellydancing 101. For those of you who have always wanted to try this dance form, we invite you to this very informal, fun, and lively 2 hour class. Sabaya dancers will teach belly dance basics with inside tips to achieve the best isolations by Stacey, classic Egyptian stylization by Rania, tribal basics by Lily, and strong long lasting shimmies by Maribel. You may even learn a short set of combinations to perform as a group in the Sabaya show later that evening.

So! Whether you want to grab a group of girlfriends for some fun together, whether you are curious if bellydancing is for you but haven't wanted to commit to a course of instruction, or whether you know someone who has secretly wanted to try bellydancing, spread the word about this crash course and then send a registration email to info@sabayabellydance.com. We will send specific information about the class to you via email.

Here are a few clips of Jef Stott in action! www.jefstott.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP2wjB5qVpI

Bellydance Workshop w/Sabaya July 11th

Join Sabaya members as we teach you:
Isolations by Stacey, Tribal basics by Lily, Egyptian stylization by Rania, and shimmies by Maribel. This workshop is geared to all the dance enthusiasts that are curious about taking a lesson but never find the time to commit to a class series. Invite your girlfriends and make it a day of it, with the workshop during the day and show off your new moves at night at Sahara Nights at Copa Bar & Grill.
$20 for 2hrs. plus free admission to Sahara Nights in the evening.
Register via email info@sabayabellydance.com