Guest Author - Asmina
As a dancer that has danced solo and in a group setting, choreography can be your savior or your worst nightmare. In this article, I’d like to share my thoughts on some of the pros and cons to consider when it comes to choreography.
I will be the first to admit that I am a perfectionist. I like things neat, structured and solid. So when I have performed solos, I HAD to choreograph my solo routines. For me, it helped take the edge off of being nervous but on the flip side, it also added an edge of nervousness because always in the back of my mind I always thought, "Well, what if I suddenly FORGET my routine?". All of that preparation would be for not!
In a solo performance I had last summer, that very thing I dreaded did in fact happen. I forgot what I was supposed to do BUT I didn’t COMPLETELY freak out. Instead, I just DANCED from the vibe I was feeling until my mind caught up with a part in the routine/music that I knew I had a specific move for and I went from there. As I recall, that situation happened 2 more times in that routine! When it was all over, I was so mad at myself for going brain dead in the middle of the routine but then I realized that 99% of the audience didn’t even notice a thing! That 1% that might have noticed something a little different would have been my kids and the old man because they had seen me working the routine to death. What I learned from that performance was my first lesson in trusting my training, my instinct and just feel the music.
Spot choreography is another form of choreography to consider trying. Just as I did in the above mentioned situation, spot choreography can be used at any point in a routine, for instance the beginning, the middle and end or even just during a certain part in a routine like during the chorus of a song. My 11 year old daughter Jordan seems to have mastered the art of spot choreography in our house. In her solo performances, I find her listening to her music in headphone over & over (while doing chores and homework!) to make herself familiar with the music. That is the BEST way to prepare for a performance: KNOW YOUR MUSIC inside & out! She then takes that knowledge of the music changes and can easily incorporate hip accents or chest lifts when appropriate in the song. The other is just dancer fill and it goes over extremely well.
Now, choreography is necessary in a group or troupe MOST of the time. Tribal is one of the forms of Bellydance where actual IMPROV can look like choreography. A well seasoned, rehearsed Tribal troupe can carry this off amazingly well by combining BOTH improv transitions with choreographed sequences. It is my assumption that the more a dancer becomes comfortable with being able to improv, the better one can be.
To be completely dependent on choreography can also have repercussions in the event the sound system acts up or your tape or CD has something wrong with it. Or in the event of the BDOU (Bellydancer of the Universe) Competition held in February 2005 in which there was a power failure dure to a storm, shutting down all electricity. It was in that true bellydancer spirit the show still went on, but not without some concessions due to the lack of electricity. Here, being flexible and just going with the flow!
