Week 9 of the 90 Day Belly Dance Challenge
I’m still hanging in there and I am determined to do the whole 90 days even if some days my muscles are aching and my energy is low.
From looking at my past blog posts you might think that I am not struggling as much as I say. After all I have been dancing for at least an hour most days. I find that once I get changed into my dance gear and move furniture I am ready and focused to make use of the time. If I don’t do this I find my dance session is a lot shorter.
So take a look at how my 9th week went
Day 57 – For my Ashford lesson we were upstairs in the room with carpet and no mirrors. It’s not my favourite room but when our usual one is in use it is better than having nothing at all. It is still a good size so space isn’t a problem.
We finished learning the choreography by the end of the class which gives us 2 more lessons to practise the dance before performing at the Multi-Cultural Festival.
I have noticed that the students are fine when following me at the front but as soon as we turn to face the back I can see they get mixed up. I think I will have to have them start performing it without me so they can do it alone. Total Time – 1 Hour
 Day 58 - Today I really thought I was going to miss my first day. Once I thought about that it made me get up and do at least a little dancing.
I began with my own warm up and then went on to choreographing my solo in the sea themed dance.
This dance is a theatrical belly dance piece which includes a story to the beautiful song ‘Yearning’ by Raul Ferrando. As I have been focusing on the troupes section I decided to use this time just to choreograph the first few minutes of my solo which includes floor work.
Afterwards I went and practised my usual two dances Total Time – 20 mins
 Day 59 - For my warm up and cool down I decided to use the ones from Aziza’s ‘Ultimate Bellydance Practice Companion’ DVD as I hadn’t used it in a while.
It was better than I remembered as they were just long enough, included good stretches and Aziza is such a good teacher.
I went over Combo #3 from Sadie’s ‘Sultry Slow Moves’ DVD and included a veil at the end as she does although I had to follow rather than learn. I didn’t need to look at the screen when doing the dancing as I remembered the moves from last time.
From there I carried on to go over Technique 4 and then into Combo #4. I especially liked doing the Maya’s with ¾ hips as it was a little challenging and looks great. I also enjoyed the switching sides with a pelvic pop.
Once I finished working on my technique I went into choreographing the chorus for the troupe dance to ‘Yearning’ as well as going over my solo from yesterday. I ended up adding one of the moves from Combo #4 into this dance as I felt it worked well.
Before cooling down I felt my abs could do with some more work. I did a few core body exercises as well as a few wrist strengthening exercises from the book ‘Strength Training – Exercises for women’ by Joan Pagano. Total Time – 1 Hour & 40 mins
Day 60 - To warm up I did half of the warm up from Ranya Renee’s ‘Modern Oriental’ DVD as I had to sort something out suddenly and didn’t get to finish.
I then went and danced at the restaurant which was pretty quiet for a Friday. A group of Arabic guys were playing a doumbek to my music which was a lot of fun. It isn’t often I get to dance with a live drummer and although it seemed that they were still learning how to play, it was interesting for me to try and dance along. Total Time – 30 mins
Day 61 - I wanted to do something different and challenging today so I chose Anasma’s ‘Bellydance Hip-Hop Liquid Fusion’ DVD.
The warm up alone is 20 mins although I felt my muscles needed to be warmed up before stretching. Other than that I like this warm up for days when I have a bit more time.
I then went over the lines technique which included hips, chest and shoulders in frontal, horizontal and vertical planes. Although the technique sessions are quite easy as they are basic moves the DVD challenged me in the drills because of the hip hop style. I also worked on circle technique which also included hips and chest.
 I struggled with making the shoulder moves like hers. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with my hands as when I tried to copy hers it still didn’t look right. I will have to keep at it.
To finish I did my own cool down using some stretches from the warm up. Total Time – 1 Hour
Day 62 - As I thought the warm up and cool down from Aziza’s ‘Ultimate Bellydance Practice Companion’ DVD was great so I used it again.
I then walked through my choreography for ‘Lonely Star by the Sea’ as I am performing it this Saturday. I also went through how I will breathe to help bring more emotion to the piece as well as making it easier for me to dance. After a couple of rehearsals I am feeling confident.
I then went over Combo #4, Technique Part 5 and Combo #5 from Sadie’s ‘Sultry Slow Moves’ DVD and I have not found any of it too challenging apart from the Maya move layered with a chest figure 8. This is one of those difficult Sadie layers which will take a lot of practise.
I then decided to run through the drills I practised last time from Anasma’s ‘Bellydance Hip-Hop Liquid Fusion’ DVD. Total Time – 1 Hour & 25 mins
Day 63 - As the Folkestone Multi-Cultural festival is in 2 weeks I decided to hold a 2 hour lesson so that students would feel more confident to perform.
Many of them found the quicker section difficult so I went over it many times until they could do it without me.
It was hard work especially for the students who are used to dancing for 1 hour but they seemed happier about the routine by the end.
Next week we shall do the same but in costume so they can practise the moves in their costumes. Total Time – 2 Hours
This Saturday I am performing at the Sevenveils Summer Performance Platform which is when I finally perform the ‘Lonely Star by the Sea’ choreography. I am going to be practising in my costume next week as I am concerned that my veil may catch on some of the crystals. Better to find out sooner rather than later.
