#andalee

Meet My Characters -> Andalee

So I have finally made it through 90 days and I am feeling pretty proud of myself. I ended up missing another day this week which makes 2 out of the whole challenge which isn’t bad at all.

So here is how my last week went

Day 85 - Once I did a warm up I decided to go back to learning some belly dance hip hop from Anasma’s ‘Bellydance Hip-Hop Liquid Fusion’ DVD.

I focused on figure 8’s which included horizontal hips (both ways) and vertical hips (both ways) as well as chest and Undulations (I had never thought of them as figure 8’s but I guess they are really). Of course the drills are still pretty hard and she goes over them quite fast. I think I need to try practising them in my own time to get them correct in my head. I did start to feel inspired to choreograph a belly dance hip hop fusion dance so maybe I will when I have more time.

Lastly I went over some zill practise doing Singles, Doubles and Rolls from Basic Zill Patterns for Bellydance Beginners by Anthea (Kawakib) on YouTube. I have got these down so will focus more on the other videos in the series. Total Time – 55 mins

Day 86 - I decided to try Autumn Ward’s ‘Beautiful Technique’ DVD as I had heard it had a lot of useful information.

I began with the warm up and although I felt that it was quickly paced it did have some new exercises that I can include in my own warm up. I think after using this warm up a few times and I know it a bit better it will be very useful.

I then went on to technique and focused on the foundation section. Although it went over information I already knew there were some parts that made me think. I also liked the clear terminology.

To finish with this DVD for today I tried some of the practise flows and I found I enjoyed these since it was more dancing than in the technique. I was unsure how to use this DVD for practise but I found the guide online to go with the DVD so I will follow the lesson plans that are prepared.

I ended with a bit of choreography as I needed to fill in some gaps for the troupe veil dance to ‘Yearning’.  Of course it is always difficult to try something when there is only yourself. I am hoping in the next rehearsal we can get on with trying things I have planned rather than wasting time coming up with ideas. Total Time – 55 mins

Day 87 - I went over the Warm Up and Arms from Autumn Ward’s ‘Beautiful Technique’ DVD and I found it a bit easier to follow now that I had done it once.

It was quiet in the restaurant but I was glad to be dancing there again after missing a week.

I ended with my own cool down Total Time – 35 mins

Day 88 - I began with one of my favourite warm ups, the ‘Warm Up For Bellydance Workout’ and ‘Warm Up For Flexibility’ with Coco on YouTube. I feel these videos have a bit of everything and I always feel ready after using them.

I then decided to do some chapters from Ruby’s ‘All About Arms’ DVD. I went over ‘Frames’, ‘Hands’, ‘Basic Arm Techniques’ and half of the ‘Slow Pathways’. I only did half since I could feel my energy draining and I wanted time to do my Yearning choreography.

I came up with a bit of the chorus section of the dance to ‘Yearning’ that came be done with and without a veil. Tomorrow I will see what the other troupe members think.

I then finished my session with my own cool down in which I focused on my upper half. Total Time – 1 Hour & 10 mins

Day 89 - We continued the choreography for the Turkish Drum Solo in my Folkestone lesson today. It seems to be going well and my students are picking it up well.

In the troupe rehearsal we went over the mix that we are performing on Saturday since there are a few edits to the music that changes the choreography slightly. We also tried some of the choreography I came up with for the ‘Yearning’ dance. I am finding this one hard to create but I am going to keep trying until something sticks. Total Time – 2 Hours

Day 90 - In my Ashford lesson we learnt the rest of the Egyptian Pop Choreography to ‘Oul Tani Eyh’. The students struggled on some of the faster sections but we will go over it all next week so they feel confident about performing it at the showcase. Total Time – 1 Hour

So will I keep up dancing even though the challenge is over? Yes I will since it has certainly given me the motivation to spend an hour or so in the day focusing on my own dancing skills. Going over dance DVD’s has been a lot of fun and I believe that it has helped me physically and mentally.

I may not force myself to do it every day since sometimes I really didn’t feel like it but the challenge has reminded me how much fun it is to practise my dancing and choreographies. After 90 days it has become a routine so I hope that I will continue that routine as much as possible.

I have also enjoyed trying a variety of Warm Ups and Cool Downs and I think at some point I will write a list of all the moves I like and create a warm up and cool down from them.

I have decided to take part in the 90 Day Belly Dance Challenge created by Andalee the founder of 'Belly Dance at Any Size' (www.bellydanceatanysize.com)

Most of the time these challenges are difficult or not realistic such as dancing and working out every day for so long. This is why this challenge is so good.

On the 1st of April for 90 days I will have to dance at least 5 mins a day for it to count. 5 mins is better than nothing and it also gets you into the swing of dancing every day. Of course sometimes I will be dancing for much longer than that due to teaching classes or performing but it will be nice to do a little bit on my days off instead of sitting in front of the tv.

Andalee has created a progress tracker sheet to keep yourself up to date with what you have done, how long you did it for and any reflections. I think this is a great idea and I am encouraging anyone else to join me on this achievable challenge.

You can find out more about the 90 Day Belly Dance Challenge and download the progress tracker at http://bellydanceatanysize.com/90-day-belly-dance-challenge/

Find out how I am doing on the Metamorphosis Belly Dance Facebook Page