The Six-Part Vintage Routine

This past weekend I had the privilege of studying with legendary dancer Helena Vlahos, while she was in Seattle for the first time, sponsored by Roxy of Oriental Bliss Productions.

Helena started her belly dance career in the 1960s. She became a wildly popular performer, leading to multiple television appearances and the opening and operating of two belly dance schools. Helena became famous for her abdominal quarter rolling act; an act for which she holds a Guinness World Record for abdominal dexterity. You can see a video of the act below. Helena is also an accomplished zill player, a fact I can personally testify to, and her zills have been recorded as part of the musical instrumentation on multiple albums. You can learn more about Helena at her website.

Helena presented four different workshops over two days, covering over ten hours of material.While all the workshops were great, I wanted to focus this post on her workshop regarding the six part vintage routine. Having danced it myself many times, I've had plenty of exposure to the vintage routine and what it comprises (which some dancers say is five parts and some say is seven). However, it was the way that Helena described each part that really stuck with me and got me thinking about it in a new light.

In discussing, each part of the routine, Helena really highlighted the key attribute or feeling of each part. This in turn, got me thinking about what one word I would use to define the performance quality of each of the six parts. The result is the summary below, which is a combination of some of Helena's commentary combined with my key word and additional commentary.

Part One - Fast Entrance
Defining Characteristic: Confident
Key Steps and Props: Zills, traveling steps and turns
Common Rhythms: Ayub or Malfuf
Description: This is the part of the routine where you set the stage. You are in effect introducing yourself to the audience and letting them have an initial glimpse of who you are. Just like when you met someone in real life, you get to know them before you give away all your secrets, so too in belly dance. As a dancer you don't want to give away all of your tricks too soon in your show, so hold off on the power shimmies and intricate isolations for later in the performance.

Part Two - First Slow Section
Defining Characteristic: Ethereal
Key Steps and Props: Veil
Common Rhythms: Bolero or Rumba
Description: This is the part of the routine to really highlight graceful artistry, especially through the inclusion of veil work. You've already laid your foundation, so now is the time to begin casting your spell over the audience. Like a goddess working her magic, think of evoking the mystery of the dance.

Part Three - Medium Section
Defining Characteristic: Friendly
Key Steps and Props: Hip drops and twists, moves with grounded beledi feeling, audience interaction
Common Rhythms: Maqsum, Saudi, Baladi, Masmoudi or Persian 6/8
Description: This is the part of the routine to cement your connection with the audience. You've established your rapport with them, so now is the time to be friendly using lots of eye contact and smiles. Start moving in closer to them, possibly even engaging one or two as extras in your show. Think lots of loose and bouncy moves.

Part Four - Second Slow Section
Defining Characteristic: Intensity
Key Steps and Props: Floorwork, sword balancing, mayas, hip circles, figure eights, camels and other smooth, rounded movements,
Common Rhythms: Chiftetelli
Description: This is the part of the routine to bring the sultry intensity. Slow down and milk those luscious, juicy movements. Be sure to bring the intensity into your facial expressions as well. The friendliness of the last section has now been left behind. Think of making your gaze so powerful that you're looking right through the members of your audience.

Part Five - Drum Solo
Defining Characteristic: Playful
Key Steps and Props: Shimmies and staccato isolations
Common Rhythms: Large variation with frequent changes
Description: Now is the time to bring the wow factor. The routine has been building to this point. Now is the time to pull out all the stops and really show your audience your technique and what you can do. Lots of exuding lots of high energy while playfully "ticking" and "tocking" your isolations along with the drum. Movements should include lots of shimmies, combined with fast and sharp isolations punctuated right in time with the music.

Part Six - Finale
Defining Characteristic: Pride
Key Steps and Props: Similar to entrance with zills, traveling steps, and turns
Common Rhythms: Reprisal of your entrance music or Karshilama
Description: You made it! This is the last and shortest section of the routine. This can be a short minute or less section, or a bit longer if a dancer wants to go out for tips. (Helena mentioned that dancers used to go out for tips in part three back in the 1960s, but current day practice is more commonly during this ending part of the show.) But regardless of the length, now is the time to hold your head up high, because my goodness, that was one heck of a show!

Photo Credits: Top - Helena Vlahos; Bottom - Helena with Sequins and Shimmies author, Alessandra

Letting Go of the Best

This last weekend I ran the See Jane Run 5K in Seattle. While I placed fairly well, finishing 10th overall and 4th in my age group, I was way behind both my personal best and my original goal pace for the race. To me, these personal metrics are far more important than how I rank against others, because I always compete with myself first and foremost. Normally, I might have let this outcome cause me to feel discouraged and defeated. However, this weekend I didn't let myself slip into that kind of mental space. In fact, I actually felt the exact opposite: proud of my achievement and grateful that I'd been able to accomplish what I did. Let me share how I got there.

My race day started by arising early Sunday morning, while my husband was still fast asleep in bed, eating a healthy breakfast, and making my way down to Gas Works Parks in Seattle. After watching the half-marathoners take off and warming up, I took my place at the start line. As I was counting down the minutes until the start gun, I reflected on my training leading up to this point.

As some readers may know, I've been dealing with a chronic illness for the past year and a half. My illness is not serious in the sense that I will ever die from it, but it is serious in the sense that it can be very debilitating at times. Unfortunately, because of not feeling very well in the months leading up to the race, I really hadn't been able to train like I'd wanted to. There were training runs that I skipped, cut short, or didn't push very hard in, due to not feeling my best. In short, I did what I could.

As the start gun went off, I set out with the rest of the pack. Less than one mile in, I could already feel my lungs heaving and my legs tiring. My Nike running app let me know my pace, and I was almost a minute behind where I "should" have been. At the halfway point, the discomfort had increased immensely and my legs were began to feel like lead. A little voice in my head started to whisper that I should quit, saying, "You know you could just stop running and walk. No one is here to know. Just give up and put an end to this." While another voice chided me for my perceived poor performance: "You ran a half marathon last year at almost the same pace that you just ran two miles. You aren't an athlete. You aren't strong. You are weak."

Yes, I was battling with both my mind and my body.

The course was laid out in an out-and-back fashion, so that as I was running the second half of the race, I was passing by the rest of the 5K racers who were coming along behind me. Just as I was the midst of this negative internal monologue with myself, one of the women I was passing by cheered for me and yelled out "You are my hero."

You are my hero.

Just the words I needed to hear. A boost to the spirit and psyche at just the right moment. I  responded by pushing on through mile three. As the end of the race came into view, I broke into a sprint and crossed the finish line.

With my lungs feeling like they might explode and that my legs might crumble beneath me, I knew I had given it everything I had. I'd left nothing on the table. I'd held nothing back. And while I might have not done my best in the absolute sense, I most certainly had done the best that I had in that moment. I could have walked across the finish line. I could have stayed at home in bed. I could have let my illness hold me back and never even signed up for the race to begin with.

And this is why I wanted to share this antecdote. I think it's so easy to berate ourselves, to listen to the internal voices that tell us we aren't good enough. That we didn't do our "best", either in comparison to ourselves or others. To always be measuring and finding ourselves lacking in some area. To be quick to point out our flaws and why we aren't deserving when someone gives us a compliment.

But in actuality, all we can ask of ourselves is to give our best in the moment. And the moment is an ever-changing, ever-growing, ever-expanding, and ever-contracting actuality. We can only access the resources immediately available to us. Life must be lived in the infinite now.

So whether it's a race, a belly dance performance, a presentation at work, or whatever situation we are asking ourselves to perform for, just let go of being the "best", and just be you as you are in the present moment.That's all we can ask of ourselves, and it's perfect just as it is.

I would also conclude by adding that there is great power in encouraging others. As the saying goes: Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Yes, be kind, compassionate, and encouraging. Just like my fellow racer did for me, a kind word of encouragement can help others in ways you might never know. She could have just kept running, focusing on herself and her own race,  But instead she choose to give of her energy and share solidarity, comfort, and inspiration with a complete stranger. To that woman, I say, you are a hero as well.

Photo credit: (Top) lovingenergies.net 

(Bottom) The author crossing the finish line in the See Jane Run 5K

Dancing with the Superstars

This past weekend I attended two workshops taught by Jayna and Stefanya of the Bellydance Superstars, as well as the evening Cairo Nights Vol. 4 CD Release show and party, produced by Roxy. Jayna taught double 3/4 double circular veil technique, and Stefanya taught a choreography that she uses for the Bellydance Superstars tour.

The first workshop of the day was with Jayna. Trying out double 3/4 circular veil with Jayna was a new prop that I'd never attempted before. Jayna credits her 3/4 circular veil inspiration to her mother, Marta Schill. Marta was one of the founders of national non-profit Middle Eastern Culture and Dance Association ("MECDA") and co-author of the book The Compleat Belly Dancer.

I don't think I was personally that successful at it, but Jayna definitely had some wow-factor moves. I was hoping she had a video of her double veil posted online, but unfortunately I wasn't able to find one to share with this post. (I have one that I took during the workshop, but I don't like to post without videos without people's permission.) So instead, for your viewing pleasure, check out her skill at double sword!

The second workshop of the day was with Stefanya. I don't usually care for learning choreography in workshops, but Stefanya won me over right away with her emphasis on artistry and expression.  A couple great tips that Stefanya shared were:

1. Three connections - in any performance you must make sure you are establishing the three critical connections, which are (a) your connection with the earth, in which you ground yourself down into it, (b) your connection with and relationship to the music, which like in any relationship, sometimes you lead and the music follows, and sometimes the music leads and you follow, and (c) your connection with and unity to the breath, which is your spark for creative expression. 
2. Engage in the inner thighs - to find the right muscle to engage, place your arms straight down at your sides, then take the hands and move them to the back of the leg (you should be touching just below the ledge of the glutes) and then think of squeezing these two points in toward each other. I had never actually had another teacher talk about engagement in this exact place or manner, but when I activated here, I automatically grew taller as it caused the arches of my feet to engage upward and it also caused my core to automatically draw in to the proper engage position.

Not the same choreography that we learned, but to see Stefanya's artistry in action check out the video below.

Photo Credit: Cover of Cairo Nights Vol. 4