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HELP!!! Yes- I know. All of my bellydance posts begin with HELP! But that is because I am a new (well, new-ish) bellydance student. I have been taking lessons since January with my best friend at a fabulous local rec. center under a fabulous instructor. I have a dance background that is varied- baton twirling circa 1980, high school drill team circa 1988-1990 and jazz classes at college circa 1992-1993. Then I went on to compete Tae Kwon Do which ... in many ways has dance elements if you compete forms. In other words. I am not completely dance inept. My body has performed dance and difficult maneuvers before. I am not too terribly out of shape in that I exercise regularly and have a healthy weight, BMI of 23 and a healthy resting heart rate.... SO WHY AM I HAVING SO MUCH TROUBLE WITH BELLYDANCE?
First of all- thank you to all of you- you finally helped me get my taxeem down- which is really a step a in the right direction, but when I add snake arms to it, the whole thing disintegrates into chickeny weirdness.
Zils... whoa. Don't even get me started on the caucophony that is produced when I begin zil practice- and I am singer...I have an excellent sense of rythm until I strap the zils on and my legs are doing one thing, arms doing another and the music has different pattern altogether.
Really right now everything- every move just feels awkward ( even the ones I thought I was doing well at) and ... frankly, it feels like I am not good enough to cut the mustard. I want desperately to be good at it; to master it and to feel good in class instead of ashamed. I am willing to work at it. I drill moves in front of the mirror every single time I am in front of one. I practice to my FCBD dvd. I have begun doing pilates in the hopes that it will help me strengthen and condition the muscles.
What I want to know is this: every bellydancer out there who is a newbie like me or a seasoned professional... did you or are you currently experiencing this self-doubt? Did something help you pull through? How do you keep your confidence up through the awkward learning phases? Should I try more yoga, ballet? Should I hang up my hat and give up- I really don't want to. I would love any advice I can get from anyone. Class doesn't resume until June 3rd and I need to step up my game hardcore in the next few months if I ever hope to get out of the beginner class. HELP!!!
First of all- thank you to all of you- you finally helped me get my taxeem down- which is really a step a in the right direction, but when I add snake arms to it, the whole thing disintegrates into chickeny weirdness.
Zils... whoa. Don't even get me started on the caucophony that is produced when I begin zil practice- and I am singer...I have an excellent sense of rythm until I strap the zils on and my legs are doing one thing, arms doing another and the music has different pattern altogether.
Really right now everything- every move just feels awkward ( even the ones I thought I was doing well at) and ... frankly, it feels like I am not good enough to cut the mustard. I want desperately to be good at it; to master it and to feel good in class instead of ashamed. I am willing to work at it. I drill moves in front of the mirror every single time I am in front of one. I practice to my FCBD dvd. I have begun doing pilates in the hopes that it will help me strengthen and condition the muscles.
What I want to know is this: every bellydancer out there who is a newbie like me or a seasoned professional... did you or are you currently experiencing this self-doubt? Did something help you pull through? How do you keep your confidence up through the awkward learning phases? Should I try more yoga, ballet? Should I hang up my hat and give up- I really don't want to. I would love any advice I can get from anyone. Class doesn't resume until June 3rd and I need to step up my game hardcore in the next few months if I ever hope to get out of the beginner class. HELP!!!
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Re: Beginning Bellydance Self-Doubt and other musings
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 10:32 AMHi,
I think all dancers do experience plateaus in their learning curve, but there's also a moment when the lightbulb goes on, and something just clicks!
Really, my first piece of advice is to allow your self to be a beginner. I know that as adults, we all get so used to doing things we're good at, and now, you've stepped into a dance form that is challenging....You may have quite a bit of dance and movement experience, which can help with your level of body awareness and fitness, but it's no guarantee that bellydance will come easily. :)
Just know that in time (years, IMO) the muscle memory and those neural pathways will be well-established, and the moves will become second-nature. In the mean time, give your "inner critic" a break, and let go of the "timeline"!
I've been teaching Tribal Bellydance for years, and I see many of my students repeat the basics (notice I said "basics" not "easy's" :) )
many times, and sometimes they're in that class for a year or *more* before they feel ready to add more complexity to their repertoire. There's no one saying "You must complete and be proficient in basic movements and concepts in ___ time, or else..." so, I 'd say, work hard, enjoy the learning process, and above all HAVE FUN! :)
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Re: Beginning Bellydance Self-Doubt and other musings
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 10:41 AMWhoa! You've been at it for four months and your worried about not excelling at layering? Never mind the zills! I've been dancing for 2 years now and I'm not worried about zills. Granted it's been sort of off and on, but I'm just saying, give yourself a break! You weren't born bellydancing. It takes a lot of time to get your body to do these things in isolation much less to pat your head and rub your stomach, so to speak. Be proud of your accomplishments and just keep going. Please don't give up because you're not mastering it after four months. If it were easy, we'd all be touring! ;)
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Re: Beginning Bellydance Self-Doubt and other musings
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 10:42 AMSelf-doubt? I wouldn't necessarily call it that; I'd call it self-challenge. I mean, I've been dancing for seven years and am now teaching and will still find myself in a class where I go,"what the f--- am I doing here?" But those are the times when I grit my teeth and focus!!
Now, when I say I've been bellydancing for seven years, keep in mind that seven years bellydancing is really barely anything at all. Most dancers I know have been dancing for 10+ years, some approaching 20-30 years. This is not an art form that people "get" and then just do...it is a constant learning process, a constant stream of realizations, epiphanies, and hurdles.
I understand being frustrated, but bellydance is totally different than the other activities you mentioned, and is a whooooole new skill set. I've had experienced dancers come into my class and feel totally clumsy...and these are highly trained modern or jazz dancers. Bellydance uses muscles that most women never even think about...you are asking your body to consider things it's never considered. You've only been taking classes for about five months...try to give it time. It takes some folks months or years to master the taxeem, or the the shimmy. I'm STILL working on my shimmy!
So...keep going to class and keep at it. Five months is not very long at all, so don't think that you *have* to get things at a certain time or at a certain pace. And remember--have FUN! -
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Re: Beginning Bellydance Self-Doubt and other musings
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 10:55 AMI think we were posting at the same time... with practically the same results :D -
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Re: Beginning Bellydance Self-Doubt and other musings
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 11:02 AM;)
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Re: Beginning Bellydance Self-Doubt and other musings
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 10:53 AMYou've only been taking class a few months. You need to be a little kinder and more patient with yourself. It takes a while to be able to execute each move correctly and then even longer for it to feel at all normal or natural. This is true for everyone, I'm convinced, and I know for sure it was true for me.
You are lucky to have a strong movement background, but nothing you're describing in your background is a dance based on fine torso articulation, which is a lot of what bellydance requires. While your kinesthetic awareness might be pretty high, bellydance is just different than most other forms of dance and it takes some getting used to.
I expected to pick up bellydance super easily because I had a ballet and jazz background. Long story short, this didn't end up being the case. Six years later I am still working at it. I still feel awkward doing certain moves. I still have odd stutters in my posture and when I travel and transition between moves. I just love dancing so much that I don't care. I still want to improve of course-- I'm sure I'll always want to-- and I look at my progress with a critical eye, but I don't pick myself apart.
I know the movements themselves might feel awkward right now, but try to find something about the experience of going to class and practicing at home that you enjoy-- whether it's the music, the camaraderie, whatever. Allow yourself some time in your own practice to just dance for fun. It doesn't have to be bellydance, just dance to your favorite music for your own enjoyment.
It's important to think about progress and improving your technique... but dance is supposed to be FUN. yes, even super serious tribal dance should be fun. The goal should be to enjoy your body, not rail against why it's not adequate, and NOT to constantly compare it unfavorably to your fellow dancers. Sometimes it's hard to have fun, to relax and enjoy yourself, but *relaxing* itself might just be a key to your technique development. -
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Re: Beginning Bellydance Self-Doubt and other musings
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 11:02 AM<but nothing you're describing in your background is a dance based on fine torso articulation>
In addition to this, I find that it's the isolations in general that get most of my beginning students. Dancers that have done Haitian want to use their whole upper back and shoulders; modern dancers want to move through space, not isolate underneath themselves; ballet dancers want to stay in their trained posture. Even those with Hula or Polynesian dance backgrounds--which you might expect to have an easier time of it--must learn new ways of doing very similar moves.
And to reiterate the point...4-5 months of classes is a very short time. As Sara said, have patience with yourself, and know that this is *not* an easy dance to learn. And don't worry--we've all been there :)
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Re: Beginning Bellydance Self-Doubt and other musings
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 11:06 AMoh...and one of my deep dark bellydance secrets--I can't dance for shit if I'm playing zills. Got out of practice years ago as Ultra Gypsy shed its standard tribal improv skin and never got back into it. I can play all day long on the sidelines...but when I'm doing both, one or the other goes to hell. One day I'll turn my focus back to it, but for now I'm focusing on other skills.
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Re: Beginning Bellydance Self-Doubt and other musings
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 11:14 AMHowdy fella Texan,
I'm with everyone else on giving it time. I can't pat my stomach and rub my head, or is that rub my stomach and pat my head, to save my life. I don't have a teacher so I have to work extra hard with videos. I go at my own pace and understand I'm asking my body to do stuff it's not done before and asking muscles to move that have practically glued themselves to the couch. I haven't managed to do to many things at the same time but, I have managed to move a few steps doing hip lifts/drops, YEAH ME!
I'm learning this for me and only me. I don't plan to go and perform anytime soon. I've always admired belly dancing and always wanted to learn but life seems to always get in the way and I finally said enough is enough even if it takes me the rest of my life to learn. I enjoy it because I do and don't care what others think of me. I'm weird to others but unique to me and happy that way. -
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Re: Beginning Bellydance Self-Doubt and other musings
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 11:22 AMI had one teacher that suggested you take the beginners class 3 times before y ou move on to the next level..
BTW it took me about 5 years to convince myself that i could move up to "intermediate" or level 3/4... -
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Re: Beginning Bellydance Self-Doubt and other musings
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 11:55 AMMelissa: Go girl! Traveling can be tricky as hell! :)
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Re: Beginning Bellydance Self-Doubt and other musings
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 11:56 AMLisa, Lisa, Lisa,
I only have one question for you, when you twirled baton, you picked up that baton, started twirling and dancing and mastered it all in a couple of months?????
Give yourself a break!!!! I too did majorettes, think of all the hours and hours of practice that goes into baton. Now think about applying that to zils. And give it some time. Lots-O-Time!!!!
Even with a dance background belly dance is very different from western styles of dance.
Be kind to yourself, and do NOT give up!!!
~Z. -
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Re: Beginning Bellydance Self-Doubt and other musings
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 1:50 PMAll great advice ladies! Also, if you really want to see improvement, you may want to schedule private lessons with either your current instructor or a visiting workshop instructor whose dancing you admire! There's something to be said for one on one lessons! I love that individual attention in anything I attempt: dance, piano, voice, acting, etc. Good luck!
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Re: Beginning Bellydance Self-Doubt and other musings
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 1:46 PMI come from a somewhat similar background... I took ballet when I was young, went into toe shoes, learned African dance and drumming, and spent 10 years on stage in theatre. I took kickboxing for three years, ballroom, and swing dance. And for the first few months of bellydance lessons (I started January 2006), I wondered just what the heck I had gotten myself into and why I sucked so badly while everyone else was doing great!
Hang in there. It really takes time, and one of the things I've grown to love about bellydance is that there is always something I can be working on, nuances and subtleties to even the most basic moves. It's taken me this whole time to get snake arms I'm moderately happy with, so I know what you mean about the taxeem/chicken problem! Don't expect to be perfect right away. Just build a solid foundation of good techniques, good posture, and presence, and the rest will happen in time. I like to give myself one challenge a month, such as "learn to do a maya that looks as good as my taxeems" (mayas are a lot harder than taxeems for me) or "learn to layer a body wave with a shimmy," little bites that I can wrestle with one at a time.
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Re: Beginning Bellydance Self-Doubt and other musings
Fri, May 9, 2008 - 8:58 PMAsking for help is the only way to get it, no? :D
Everyone else has said that you need to give yourself time. They're right. The only useful thing I can add is in regards to zils--one woman in my classes offered this bit of wisdom when we all started learning zils:
Start with something you consider basic, ridiculously familiar, and comfortable. For most of us, this was either a standing shimmy or simple hip lifts in place (R-L-R-L). Put on your basic music and do the move for a few counts, then tell yourself that your hips know what they're doing and you can let them do it while your hands do something else--then just let your hips govern themselves and start your basic zil rhythm. Trust me and trust your hips and it will work! Your body is already familiar and comfortable with that move; now just let it continue doing what it's comfortable doing, and add on a little something else.
In general, it helps to not overthink things: keeping things simple means they're easier to remember. Keep that in mind while you're working on improving your dance across the board, and I think things will go easier for you. Good luck!
Hope this helps,
Namir (Katie) -
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Re: Beginning Bellydance Self-Doubt and other musings
Sat, May 10, 2008 - 12:50 PMI would just like to say that after almost 3 years of dance I am still having issues with some things and then there are those days where the body just says No! Layering, playing zills while dancing or anything more complex then a basic move takes time, patience and practice. Some moves that are very easy for some are harder for others and vice versa, it just really depends on so many factors. I know that it makes me feel better when some of these much more seasoned dancers say that they are still working on certain things, thanks! Just practice and work on it and over time it will come. I picked different moves or things to concentrate on until I felt that I had a good basis and then I moved on to the next item that was difficult for me. Just one step at a time....
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