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This may be an odd question, but in your "basic belly dance position", are your wrists above or below your elbows?
My teacher recently said the wrists should be below the elbows (she described it as holding a balloon in your armpits, so the arm is more or less straight). I have always heard the wrists should be above the elbows (like you are holding up a big beach ball, trying to avoid the T Rex arms). I'm wondering if that is a cab vs. tribal vs. american vs. traditional (middle eastern) thing, or a locality thing (Northern California vs. Southern California). If any other teacher told me to put my hands low, I have ignored them, lol.
So, where is your "go to spot" for your hands, where do you live/ have studied/ and what type of dancing have you studied?
My teacher recently said the wrists should be below the elbows (she described it as holding a balloon in your armpits, so the arm is more or less straight). I have always heard the wrists should be above the elbows (like you are holding up a big beach ball, trying to avoid the T Rex arms). I'm wondering if that is a cab vs. tribal vs. american vs. traditional (middle eastern) thing, or a locality thing (Northern California vs. Southern California). If any other teacher told me to put my hands low, I have ignored them, lol.
So, where is your "go to spot" for your hands, where do you live/ have studied/ and what type of dancing have you studied?
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Re: Hands up or down?
Mon, October 5, 2009 - 10:04 PMWhy, no Trina, I don't think that's nearly as odd as some things you think about. :-)
I dance with my hands up, so the arms make a (hopefully) graceful W shape.
I have danced mostly in Northern California, but have taken a couple of classes in Southern California. I have a few scattered videos, and don't recall them saying to keep the hands below the wrist.
I have done mostly "SCA Folkloric Tribal" (a mix of everything anyone would share, sometimes with a discussion of where it was from, and sometimes not), with a few "Mish Mosh" belly dance classes where it was probably mostly American Cabaret, but the instructors never made a big point of describing where moves came from. I took one ATS workshop, and if I recall the arms are relatively "flat", with the elbow and wrist on the same level.
Trina -
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Re: Hands up or down?
Tue, October 6, 2009 - 5:19 AMI'm a noob to ATS, but from what I understand, when your arms are in second (which is what I believe you're describing), the elbows are slightly lifted above the wrists.
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Re: Hands up or down?
Mon, October 5, 2009 - 10:42 PMIn my opinion, you should do whatever your teacher tells you to do. Whatever style she teaches, do what she says when you are in her classes. If you decide you don't agree with her, then try and find a teacher that you do agree with or whose style apeals to you.
In any case, there is no right or wrong.
Cheers,
Carrie -
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Re: Hands up or down?
Tue, October 6, 2009 - 9:31 AMMy "I've ignored them" may have come across more strongly than I meant it to. I try to do what she recommends in class, and definitely don't try to tell her she's wrong. I meant that if anyone else has said the hands are below the wrists, it didn't sink in. :-)
That's a problem with message boards. What I think in my head doesn't always translate to exactly what I type.
I'm mainly trying to understand where that particular posture came from. I personally feel that I'm free to mix and match, but I should know where the parts are coming from. :-)
Trina -
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Re: Hands up or down?
Tue, October 6, 2009 - 11:40 AMThere is a presentation when it comes to Tribal. One extremely important aspect is the arms. In *Tribal* arms are up and elbows lifted, never do the elbows sag because it tends to be viewed as a sloppy presentation and/or inexperience with this particular form. Dropping the elbows below the wrists is more commonly seen in other forms of BD. Not to say those forms represent sloppy arms but it is usually viewed as so in Tribal.
There does exist very specific *rules* in Tribal. MIxing and matching though is always acceptable in fusion. I would heed caution though.
Where it came from? FCBD def. advocates it. Prior influences were most likely evolution from Bal Anat and Flamenco if I were to venture a guess.
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Re: Hands up or down?
Tue, October 6, 2009 - 11:41 AMI smell what your steppin' in.
The only history I can speak of comes from the Ghawazee women and Ouled Nayl or Nayliyat. And I do have experience with country dances of India danced by the 'Gypsies'. (no, I do not want to provoke a conversation about the word Gypsy). ;-)
With the Ghawazee women, the arms are soft which would lend to the elbows being slightly lower than the wrists and they do have incredible posture. But the thing is, these are folkloric, country dances danced by nomadic peoples. There's really no right or wrong. They don't have a set structure that they adhere to. The dance is passed down from generation to generation (if we're lucky) and shared among the women. Even within a group of tribal dancers (not American but real Tribal people), there is a lot of variation. It's when we took it to the stage did we have to decide what is artistically pleasing and what suites us stylistically, which changes the innocence and freedom of a cultural folkloric dance.
I hope that helps any. I'm hard core ATS, so there are many styles of belly dance that I can't speak for.
Cheers!
Carrie
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Re: Hands up or down?
Tue, October 6, 2009 - 2:31 PMThere is no right or wrong, just different stylizations and options. As Carrie said, do what your teacher says and decide for yourself later.
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Re: Hands up or down?
Wed, October 7, 2009 - 1:37 PMWhen I began dancing, my wrists were above my elbows. It felt stiff and unnatural and I hated it. As I moved onto another instructor, the arms were much softer and more graceful in my opinion. I do teach a softer arm posture, but your decision on your arms and how they are held is up to you personally.
