#jwaad

I know it’s been a while since I wrote a blog post but I have been considering giving it up. But I am happy to say that this post means I have decided to stick with it. Yay!

So in my last post I talked about how I want to work on my own dance skills and develop my technique. I will admit that I didn’t finish the ‘On The Go’ program on Datura Online because I got bored of doing work outs. I know that working out will help me but I wanted to dance, after all that is why I Belly Dance rather than going to the gym.

On the plus side I did take the JWAAD Personal Development Assessment which was not only helpful but a lot of fun. It was great to go over one move with music and be able to play with all the variations and then move on to another move.

What did I learn? Well it seems that I have a lot of tension in my shoulders and neck which is affecting my moves. I do often find my shoulders are stiff and get neck ache so it makes sense that it would affect my dance. Movements should look easy and effortless so I was taught new ways to do certain moves to take the movement into the upper back. I also discovered that I have gaps in my technique as I am self taught so although I knew many advanced turns there were a few basic ones that I didn’t know.

So where do I go from here?

This is where things got difficult since I ended up having many ideas and found that the more I talked to people about it the more my own mind got changed.

It started off that I wanted to attend a class in London so I looked up and found the Bellydance Body Mind studio and was ready to sign up for their next course.

I then discovered an Intensive course lasting 10 weeks at JWAAD which would work on technique and a choreography as well as incorporating Pilates workout. My only concern was that I could only make the advanced course and after taking my assessment and still waiting for the results I wasn’t quite sure what level I was. Will I be able to keep up? Will it be too hard? These were questions that kept going round in my head.

Because of these worries I contacted my assessor who assured me that I would be able to keep up but the course wouldn’t fill in the gaps I have because I would need to start at a beginner level. Although this was the case I was ready to at least give the course a go just to experience it.

Then lastly my assessor told me about an upcoming course she is running that would help me fill in the gaps and advance my dance. This course is closer than London and because of it only running 5 weeks it is also cheaper.

So I was now stuck between going to London or training closer to home.

After speaking to a family member who convinced me that training in London probably won’t help my business and getting more customers than training local I decided to do just that.

So I am now planning on attending the local course with people I know which should make me feel a bit more confident in taking this step. I can’t help feeling a little disappointed as I liked the idea of doing something big like training in London and performing in a show, although I know that I need to start small and maybe when I have more money and confidence I can do this in the future.

Now that my own event is over, my current and next course is all planned out and I don't need to create any class choreographies I have decided to work on bettering myself though a few action plans.

My first plan is to get back into dancing on a daily basis. I did this while participating in the 90 Days Challenge last year but once it was finished I slipped back into my lazy routine of sitting around when I had days off. While doing the challenge I found that my strength and endurance levels did get better and I want to feel this again.

For the last week and the next 3 weeks I will be using a program from the Belly Dance website Datura Online

This website is like my dream site since all the videos are categorized into topics, length, teachers, style, level and even has workshops, classes and programs.

To start off I am doing the 'On The Go' program since it is only four weeks and has 3 sessions a week which fit into my current routine.

I have to say I am finding it a challenge since some of the strengthening exercises are pretty difficult. The only downfall with this site is that it has a lot of Tribal and Tribal Fusion style but I have noticed an increasing number of Egyptian style dancers such as Sedona Soulfire, Henna and recently Sadie.

Once I have finished this program I might try another one or maybe just decide on my own what I want to work on.

My next step is made up of two things.

Firstly I want to choreograph a dance for myself since I am always dancing someone else's dance when performing a choreographed solo. I have a few songs in mind from Oriental to Turkish and Egyptian Pop.

Secondly I want to choreograph with no time limit or for a certain level. I am forever creating dances for my students but have to change certain moves due to difficulty. If creating a dance for myself I can do what I want and it also allows more of my creativity to come though.

My last step is to take the JWAAD Personal Development Programme. This Technique review will allow me to identify my strengths and weaknesses so I know where I am and what I needs working on to become a better dancer. I will be assessed by a JWAAD assessor at a certain level and how i am able to perform 23 specific Belly Dance moves.

This will be a difficult thing since I always want to be perfect. I know that of course I won't be but that is why I am hoping to take the test, so I can feel more confident in my dancing in the long run.