!!!
One of my ballet teachers wants me to start taking pointe classes with her!!!
TIPS FROM BLANCA
The following tips will help you take your dance from a simple routine to a magical performance.
Tips:
- Center yourself before you begin. Your stillness will also draw your audience in.
- Make a story and believe it. Are you a priestess making an offering? A sorceress casting a spell? Is it a love spell? A divination? You are a performer so allow yourself to play.
- Making up a story will not only fuel your intention and emotional energy, it will also give logic and meaning to your routine. Your audience doesn’t need to know the story, but if you know it, you will engage them.
- A story will also help you remember what comes next when you are onstage and looking at your notes is not an option.
- Get feedback from a teacher or from a camera. One of the most important things to look for when watching yourself in the camera is your arms. Your arms give you away during a slow dance. Tame them!
- Candle tray is about ritual. By that I don’t mean that you can only do this dance as a ceremony. I mean that leaving your routine to improvised whim will do you a disservice. Create your own tray ritual and perform it the same way every time. (Of course, you can always make improvements.)
- Eye contact is incredibly powerful. If you are shy, don’t look directly at your audience but keep your glance at the level of their eyes.
- Dare to be dramatic. Make a ‘big deal’. Chiftetelli is such a mysterious and hypnotic rhythm… let your inner diva out.
- Add highlights to your show: a special pose or moment, a quick accent, a turn. Rehearse and know exactly where, when and how you will perform such highlights.
Mistakes
The best way to deal with mistakes is not to make them, so my personal advice is:
- Practice, practice, practice
- NEVER visualize yourself dropping the tray
I hope that this online course gives you the tools and inspiration to create your own Candle Tray dance and to begin choreographing your own pieces.
Lots of love,
~ Blanca
MARTHA GRAHAM ON FILM
One of the most inspiring dance films i’ve seen yet!
Did she really start dancing at 22? The film proclaims this, and as I listened it was like a weight being lifted off my shoulders….
Watch it by any means necessary!
Ballet Tip of the Day
Keep a journal of all of the corrections given each day. Writing down corrections will help you remember and apply them.
The Key to Sensual Belly Dance by Blanca
VENUS AWAKENS
Here you are awakening in the human world. You are Venus. You’ve been wanting to experience the physical world for some time… today is the day.
2
SENSING UNITY WITH YOUR BODY AND THE WORLD
You become aware of your own body and of a new sense of unity with the Universe. You discover physical sensations For the first time…
3
FREEDOM AND EXPANSION
This new world gives you a sense of freedom and expansion. You feel the rain falling , you enjoy the trees swaying in the wind. You acknowledge the beauty of the sky and the majesty of the mountains.
4
RELAXING AND BEAUTIFYING (FLOORWORK)
You come across a quiet river; you kneel down to look at your reflection and beautify yourself. You prepare to meet the rest of the world.
5
REACHING OUT TO OTHERS - THE VILLAGE
You reach out to others, not seeking anything from them, but because you want to give your love to everyone. You arrive at a celebration and you give a gift of your dance to the guests. You greet everyone and acknowledge the beauty of all who are present.
6
THE COURAGEOUS FEMININE
You are Venus, the goddess of love. You teach your human friends about the alluring and seductive aspects of femininity… You are playful, daring, fearless. You find your own way in life, celebrate your uniqueness, and reign in your confidence and generosity.
7
THE RECEPTIVE FEMININE
And then you invite everyone to come into your world and recognize the receptive and vulnerable aspects of the feminine nature: to develop the qualities of acceptance, forgiveness, of having an open mind, adapting, flowing, letting go…
8
THE EVOLVING FEMININE
With each turn of your life you evolve and become wiser and stronger. For every situation or hardship, you turn around and find the solution. You are invincible because of your will to give and to share.
9
ELEVATION
You are a Goddess on Earth. And your heart is filled with the sense of elevation, joy of life, and hope.
