Monthly Archives: November 2012

Quickie Review of Spins and Turns with Marguerite

One of my major weak spots in dance is the turn. This is the legacy of not having taken ballet classes beyond those miserable ten weeks as a child, but I don’t know how to spot, I have little balance, and I can rarely end where I’m supposed to. I still remember going to a trial class with a well-known New York City bellydance teacher, and her having the students do chaine turns across the floor. For some reason, the entire class seemed to be filled with pro dancers (and this was notan advanced class) who could chaine up a tornado if they needed to. I got dizzy after a few steps.
The mermaid spin: not happening for me anytime soon.
 I’ve been working towards spotting in one of my weekly classes, where the instructor teaches it quite well. But I worked with Spins and Turns with Marguerite to see if I might learn any tricks that could help me outside of class time.
The verdict? Spins and Turns should almost just be called “Spins with Marguerite.” Well, that’s not totally fair, but the focus is very much on technique for performing extended spins and whirling. In this sense, it is varied and covers a lot of technique: Marguerite covers preparatory stretches (though no warmup), step turns, pivot turns, turns on releve, and barrel turns. She offers multiple types of spotting techniques, including a cool one that involves spotting on the ceiling. There are different kinds of arm positions, again, mainly to add interest to longer spins, or with veil. And there is a section on level changes, including the quite difficult “mermaid” spin performed on the floor. (This was painful enough that I realized after one try that it would be unsafe for me to continue on my own.) The head flip turn I didn’t even attempt – I knew that would be a bad idea. Finally, there are tips on shoes, surfaces, and even braiding a tassle into your hair. A couple of performances round out the video, an old school orientale performance in heels, with zills and veil, and an “ethnic” spinning dance in Central Asian-inspired costume.
If you are looking to learn to spin for meditation or performance, this video would be just the thing. I imagine if you wanted to incorporate extensive spinning into a veil choreo, it would be useful too. It wasn’t quite what I was looking for, however. I usually encounter choreographies that have a few three point turns worked into other footwork, or several turns in quick succession across the floor. The video didn’t really cover these and it also didn’t quite tell me how to stop on point.

The other thing really has to do with me as a learner. Turns – both getting up to speed and spotting – are hard for me. Marguerite breaks things down very carefully. Nevertheless, when she goes up to speed I’m not sure how I’m supposed to make that leap. I’m still looking for that video that will help me with really minute, step-by-step instruction on getting brief turns just right.


 

Two Ahmeds, two Saids

A quick note about a fun and filled Saturday. It began with my hightailing it up to Prenzlauer Berg to attend two workshops by Ahmed Said. Now, I was a bit early, so I treated myself to a really convincing cappuccino and a good-enough croissant before going in search of the dance studio at the Kulturbrauerei.

I finally made it, and was in for more than five hours of energetic dance. The first workshop was on Egyptian folkloric dances, namely Nubian and Debke. I had no experience with either. I adoooored the playfulness of Nubian, the groovyness of it, to say nothing of the music. Debke was more challenging. By that point, I was really feeling the impact in my feet and knees, and it made it hard to keep up. I think I could learn to like it if I got the basic step down, but for now I’m happy to leave it to the menfolk.

The second workshop was devoted to a shaabi choreography. It seems like every dancer who’s coming through Berlin these days is offering a shaabi choreo. And this is a Good Thing. I love the peppiness of the shaabi music I’ve heard so far, for starters. And Ahmed mixed up bellydance steps with some moves that were practically out of the disco, which I especially loved because it reminds me that this dance is, ultimately, about joy in movement and music. You can’t take yourself that seriously when you’re pretending to stab yourself out of heartache.

I had just enough time to jump on the subway — no doubt grossing out my fellow passengers — go home and take a shower before it came time to… go to the ballet! At that point I couldn’t even walk anymore, so hubby and I got a taxi to see La Péri at the Staatsballet Berlin. In a way, it was incredibly fitting. A nineteenth-century “hijinks in the harem” ballet newly choreographed by Vladimir Malakhov, it was the most unapologetically orientalist production of, well, anything I’ve ever seen. In it, Achmed — the second Ahmed of the day — is tired of all the available ladies and romantically dreams of the pure and eternal love of a supernatural Peri.

The second Said of the day had to be Edward Said, who was no doubt doing pirouettes in his grave. I mean, at one point Achmed is in prison, and while the previous backdrops had suggested his harem was in Istanbul, the prison has giant, Pergammon-style Mesopotamian wall carvings.

The production was gorgeous — although one of the poor little corps Peris did accidentally run into Achmed at one point — and the costuming was enough to make any bellydancer swoon. (Nourmahal, Achmed’s former favourite, had on a tribal kind of look — I had to wonder if that was on purpose.) But it also made me realise that if it hadn’t been for Balanchine, I would never have fallen in love with ballet. It’s the modern take on the dance that draws me, as well as the athleticism.