I went to bellydance tonight. That'll make, what, the second time I've gone? Added to the handful of times I practiced with Mari and Brooke privately, that isn't a whole lot, total.
I've gone back and forth on the bellydance issue many times. I always thought that I didn't really want to do it, that I was trying to force myself to go out of some bizarre sense of obligation, but today I finally figured out what it is.
I was trying to do a "jewel", which is two and a half side-stepping hip circles followed by a pose. I was having a hell of a time going to the right. Candy, one of the Alchemy dancers, was there for a workout and was doing the moves right ahead of me. She looked back and watched me for a minute, then said, "You don't have to step out so far."
I kind of spluttered, "Okay," because I have trouble taking criticism, even when it's helpful, but she was right. I was stepping out a lot. Why was I doing that?
Then I realized that I had a natural tendency to step as far as comfortably possible with a stable center of gravity. This tendency came from one of the ways I learned to move in kung fu: covering a lot of ground swiftly while maintaining balance. Not making large steps was extraordinarily difficult because of the muscle memory.
I did kung fu for two and a half years when I was in high school. I didn't just go to a class. I (sort of) made being a kung fu student my life. It changed the way I thought about things, and it changed the way I comported myself. Kung fu stances are second nature to me now (even if I'm not as flexible as I used to be).
This means that when I'm trying to do some other kind of stylized movement, I constantly have to fight my tendency to fall into a fighting stance. When I'm in bellydance, raising my arms for a pose, I have to think about not putting guards in front of my face and body.
Combine all this with learning new, often difficult movements, and you can see that I might have a bit of a struggle on my hands.
The reason, therefore, that I have avoided bellydance is because it is hard for me.
It is extremely liberating to make this sort of realization. It means that I don't dislike it, I've just been wussy. It means I have a challenge to face.
I have an enemy, and that enemy is myself!
But what it really means is that I can go spend time with my friends and not obsess over whether or not I like what we're doing :)
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3 comments:
Oh, YEY!! What a LOVELY discovery, Hea Hea. :) I'm so pleased to read this. It was SO awesome to see you at class, tonight, and it's going to be even MORE awesome to hopefully see you more often, now!! :D
fantastic. i was at kempo yesterday and critiqueing in my mind (as i always do) the other students. no one seemed to use their stances at all. stances should be a very natural thing. it sounds like you're off to great start. now all you need to do is go back to kung fu. =]
don't forget though, you don't always want to cover a lot of ground swiftly. sometimes you want just smaller movements and smaller shifts for better positioning when already engaged. sometimes shifting only an inch to your left may be the most effective move you can make.
really though, it shouldn't matter. whether your doing kung fu, belly dancing, ballet, swimming, or whatever, PRINCIPLES OF MOTION AND BALANCE NEVER CHANGE. everything you did in kung fu applies to everything you do in belly dancing. remember how those kung fu stances made you feel grounded and try to get the same feeling in your belly dancing. you'll fall over a lot less that way. apply what you learned in kung fu and find out how belly dancing can challenge you in the exact same ways.
Thanks, Brookie :)
Hai, will you be my sifu?! :D
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