MEDiM1(01/2004)

This Past Month...

01/31/2004: Hello beautiful dancers! How has 2004 been treating you
so far? I have been busy trying to finish the Aaminah website update,
and I'm happy (and relieved) to announce that I have finally put the
pictures up in the troupe photo gallery and the photo shoot photo gallery. Here's a peek at some of the images:

All images copyright 2002/2003 by Julie Eason

01/24/2004: Mira's "Spins and Turns" workshop was great fun! The participants ended up quite dizzy but very happy for the chance to
work more intensely on moves that add so much excitement to the
dance. We learned about spotting techniques, graceful arm movements
that add a "wow!" factor to our spins, and of course some challenging combinations (with shimmies, as promised).

01/22/2004: Mark your calendars! The Aaminah School of Dance spring show date has been set for May 15, 2004. We've chosen the theme of "Elements", so there will be four sections: Air, Earth, Water, and Fire.
As always, it will be at the lovely Union Street Brick Church in Bangor.

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What's Ahead...

February 14, 2004: Valentine's Day Show in Brookline, MA
For those of you interested in a trip to the big city of Boston to shake
off the winter blues, don't miss Hot Flashes, a Valentine's Day show
in Brookline featuring dancers of "a certain age" and live music by the Aboudi Badawi Ensemble.

The performers will be a mixture of professional dancers, "amateur professionals", and students presenting solos, short routines, full
routines, and a group finale number, all to live music. There will also
be open dancing, vendors, refreshments, and a raffle.

When: Saturday, Feb. 14 from 7:00 - 10:00 PM
Where: Brookline Community Center for the Arts, Brookline, MA
Cost: $15 (NBDA or AARP members $10, couples $24/couple)

Order your tickets online at www.bellydancenewengland.com with
Paypal or credit card and they will be sent to you by mail (tickets will
only be available in advance of the show).

For more information call: Alizah at 978/352-2563

February 15, 2004: Workshop with Helena Melone in Kittery, ME
Waterdance: A Process Workshop in Mellifluous Movement
"This workshop celebrates this essential life force and our own inherent sense of fluidity and grace with strength and resiliency, incorporating intuited improvisational dance with structured technique drawn from Flamenco, Middle Eastern dance, and creative movement."

When: Sunday, February 15 from 12:00 - 4:30 PM
Where: Firedance Studios: 78 Government St. in Kittery, ME
Cost: $50 in advance, $60 at the door

For more information call Helena Melone at 603-978-1313

February 28, 2004: Hafla in Orono, ME
Farasha will be hosting a hafla in Orono with free dancing and an
informal show. Some Middle Eastern delights will be provided, but feel
free to bring some food or drink to share. This hafla is for ladies only - please feel free to invite dancers, mothers, sisters, friends, daughters...

When: Saturday Feb. 28 from 12:30 to 3:30 PM
Where: Keith Anderson Community Center in Orono
(right downtown, next to the Post Office)
Cost: $2 or $3 donation to the building for the use of the hall

A few notes for those who want to dance in the show:
* Please let Farasha know ahead of time so she can schedule
accordingly.
* This is an informal setup - no stage, no fancy lighting. Dancers are encouraged to mingle with the audience. Think of this as a party!
* Please keep pieces under 5 minutes.

Need more information? Here's Farasha's email address.

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On The Web...

This month's featured link:

http://radiobastet.com/

Art by Adrienne Laura McKenzie

If you love vintage belly dance music from the 1950s to the 1980s,
check out Radio Bastet. Marisa Young of Portland, Oregon posts
three separate hour-long broadcasts to her website on the last Friday
of every month (in streaming RealAudio format). Her site also contains
a collection of vintage album covers from that time period, which range from lovely to downright hilarious.

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Three Questions...

... For Mira (Julie Eason):

Mira teaches the intermediate and advanced classes for the Aaminah School of Dance in Bangor and is the Technical Director for Aaminah Desert Dancers productions, designing and sewing many of the costumes as well as creating the stage sets.

When did you begin dancing, and what inspired you to start?

I've been dancing ballet and jazz since I was 3. My mother was a ballet dancer, and she would dance with me all the time. I had to stop dancing for a long time due to a problem with my feet. I just couldn't stay on the balls of my feet for very long.
I even had surgery to try and correct the problem, but it didn't work. I saw an Oriental dancer at a festival when I was in college. I noticed that she dance flatfooted most of the time. So, I figured that this was a dance I could do. Once I tried it, I fell in love with the movement and the way it made me feel. Ironically, I actually saw my "first" Oriental dancer when I was about 10. I was dancing in the Nutcracker and our director had hired someone to do the Arabian number. I can remember her costume vividly, it was all pearls and pink satin.
I wonder if that's actually when I first fell in love
with this dance?

Which dancers or dance styles do you love to watch and why?

My all time favorite dancers to watch are my students! But I also enjoy watching Jillina, Suzanna Del Vecchio and Karen Barbee (from TX).

What are your dance goals in the upcoming year?

I'm very excited about our spring show, "Elementals". It's going to be so unlike any other Oriental dance show I've ever seen. Much more like going to the theater. It's going to be fantastic. Other than that, I would like to finally go to Rakassah East in October.

What do you do when you are *not* dancing?

When I'm not dancing, I'm a full time mother of 3.
I also write, sew and do martial arts.

What is your favorite dance music at the moment?

I like Turkish music with heavy drums.
Well, actually anything with heavy drums.

What have been your greatest influences in the dance?

Besides my mother, I would have to say all the wonderful people I've taken workshops from....Morocco, Artemis, Bert Balladine, Amaya, Zhaleh Fareshta. I'm mostly a "self-taught" Oriental dancer, so the teaching I did get in the form of workshops was invaluable.

Describe your proudest dance moment.

I'm always proudest when I watch one of my students get up on stage and just blossom into a wonderful performer. Because I KNOW how hard it is for them, I get to watch them struggle with steps and music and choreography.....and then I get to watch them figure it out and put it together and just shine! I love it!!

---- Thank you for the interview, Mira!

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MEDiM.org Forum

Check out the online forum for Maine dancers:

MEDiM.org Message Board

It includes a ride board, a flea market, news about upcoming events, recommendations about online vendors, class cancellation notices, rehearsal information, and whatever else you choose to post!

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Let Us Know...

... If you have anything you'd like to share with the Maine Middle Eastern dance community!
Please send information about your upcoming events, articles about your dance experiences, how-to tutorials, interesting internet links, descriptions of items to swap or sell, or ideas and feedback for this newsletter to MEDiM.org or post the information directly to the

MEDiM.org Message Board

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A Look Inside...

Zill Tips from Aziza Sa'id:
Learning to play zills is a challenge for most of us, so I have been following with interest an online conversation on the subject
with Aziza Sa’id, a well-known California-based instructor and performer. She has graciously allowed me to adapt her suggestions for this article.

Q: Does it matter which way I play zills, and in which order?

Aziza Sa’id: Yes, it does matter. Your strong hand and weak hand generate slightly different sounds and slightly different
timing. Few of us ever get precisely the same sound out of both hands. Using the same hand twice in a row gives a slightly
different timing than alternating hands.

For proof, try this exercise (keep in mind that by “R” I actually mean “strong hand” and by “L” I mean “secondary hand”):

Play: R L R L R L R L continuously as fast as you comfortably can.
Play: R R L L R R L L continuously as fast as you comfortably can.

Keep at each pattern for at least a minute - you'll hear the difference. The first pattern will give you an even alternating roll (if
your hand speed and strength is even). The second pattern will give you a bit of a “bounce” between hands that sounds more
like (R-R) (L-L) (R-R) (L-L).

If you want to get control over your 'handedness', here are some exercises:

For auditory learners: start with a mismatched set of zills - 1 pair from each of 2 different sets, one matched pair on each
hand. They should be about the same size and weight, but with different tones. This way your ear can tell you which hand
you are playing, and helps you to separate the hands by tone.

For visual learners: Reach both arms forward. Move your leading hand (R hand for RLR RLR) higher, on a level with your
eyes, and slightly to the side. Move your secondary hand (L hand for RLR RLR) lower, on a level with your waist, but slightly
to the side. You should be able to see both hands at the same time in your peripheral vision if you look straight ahead. This
helps you visually separate the hands.

For kinesthetic learners: Try switching your weight to be primarily on the same hip/foot as your leading hand. It may also
help to rock your body forward/towards the leading hand on the accented 3rd beat of the set (and-a-ONE and-a-TWO;
and-a-ROCK and-a-ROCK). Or start with your weight on the other side and tap your leading-hand side toe or stomp your leading-hand side foot with the beat (and-a-ONE and-a-TWO; and-a-TAP and-a-TAP).

For all of these exercises, play the patterns slowly - if you don't have music slow enough, play at half speed (but still on the
beat). Once you can maintain your strong hand leading each pattern, then switch to faster music. LOTS of repetition is
required, especially if you are directionally challenged! After you can maintain strong hand lead for each of the patterns,
repeat the exercises leading with your weak hand.

There are six possible combinations for triples, each of which gives a different sound:
RLR RRL RLL LRL LLR LRR

and those six combinations can be played in these sets:

Same hand leading:
RLR   RLR   RLR   RLR
RRL   RRL   RRL   RRL
RLL   RLL    RLL   RLL
LRL   LRL    LRL   LRL
LLR   LLR    LLR   LLR
LRR   LRR   LRR LRR

Alternating hand leading:
RLR LRL RLR LRL
RRL LLR RRL LLR
RLL LRR RLL LRR

Here are a few reasons for learning one pattern or another:

If you can play RLR RLR RLR RLR you will have much less trouble playing RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL than if you always
alternate the leading hand.
RLR LRL RLR LRL can be played just a smidge faster than RLR RLR RLR RLR, and you won’t fatigue quite as fast,
which matters if you ever encounter a piece of music that is much faster than you normally play.
Some drum patterns are easier to play if you’re used to alternating or keeping the same hand lead.

---Thank you, Aziza Sa’id!

Photos of Aziza Sa'id are used with her permission

Aziza Sa'id's websites are excellent online resources for Middle Eastern dancers:

http://www.Belly-Dance.com
http://www.Zilltech.com
http://www.AzizaSaid.com
http://www.FringeElements.com
http://www.AnwarAlSahaara.com

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	Middle Eastern Dance in Maine Issue No. 1 ~ January 2004 *Newsletter* \| Archives \| Calendar \| Instructor Directory \| Links \| Message Board
This Past Month... What's Ahead... A Look Inside... Three Questions... On The Web... Let Us Know... Forum
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