Saturday, April 24, 2010
¡Bailemos el Chaabi! – Let’s dance the Chaabi!
Como hemos comentado en el anterior post, existen múltiples estilos y variaciones dentro de la danza del vientre. El folclore norteafricano y de Oriente Próximo es muy rico, y son muchas las danzas populares que se bailan desde Marruecos hasta Qatar: el Khalegi, típico de los países del Golfo Pérsico, la danza del cántaro tunecina, el Baladi, las danzas zíngaras y el Chaabi, entre otras muchas.
El Chaabi es una de las danzas populares presente en varios países del norte de Africa, como Marruecos, Argelia y Egipto. Os dejamos con una muestra de este folclore popular con unas fotografías tomadas durante la celebración de una boda en un remoto pueblo del Riff marroquí, donde todas las mujeres asistentes nos deleitaron con sus contundentes movimientos de cadera a ritmo de darbuka.
As shown in previous post, there are multiple belly dance styles. North African and Middle Eastern Popular music and dance are varied and diverse in its multiple forms, some of which are Khaleeji, a form of dance born on the states of the Persian Gulf, Tunisian “dance with pitcher” – literally!-, Baladi, Gipsy-style belly dance, Chaabi…
Chaabi is one of the popular dances from the North African countries. Here you have a sample of this type of popular music with some pics taken during the celebration that followed a wedding ceremony on a remote village of the Moroccan Riff. All women present stunned us with their powerful hip moves dancing to the darbuka music.
El Chaabi es una de las danzas populares presente en varios países del norte de Africa, como Marruecos, Argelia y Egipto. Os dejamos con una muestra de este folclore popular con unas fotografías tomadas durante la celebración de una boda en un remoto pueblo del Riff marroquí, donde todas las mujeres asistentes nos deleitaron con sus contundentes movimientos de cadera a ritmo de darbuka.
As shown in previous post, there are multiple belly dance styles. North African and Middle Eastern Popular music and dance are varied and diverse in its multiple forms, some of which are Khaleeji, a form of dance born on the states of the Persian Gulf, Tunisian “dance with pitcher” – literally!-, Baladi, Gipsy-style belly dance, Chaabi…
Chaabi is one of the popular dances from the North African countries. Here you have a sample of this type of popular music with some pics taken during the celebration that followed a wedding ceremony on a remote village of the Moroccan Riff. All women present stunned us with their powerful hip moves dancing to the darbuka music.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
5 Answered Questions about Belly Dance
You have probably heard many times about the health benefits of Belly Dance: it improves body posture, boosts your self-esteem, helps improve our concentration skills and its energetic and undulating moves also help reduce stress. Also, medical studies confirm that practising this type of dance helps ease abdominal pain during the menstrual period.
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to try Belly dance, if you have not done it yet. If you are still reluctant and have not made up your mind, here you will find a list with the most common questions from beginners with its corresponding answers that would hopefully help you make a decision.
Q: I have tried Belly dance before but gave up because I thought I was not making any progress and felt a bit intimidated by some techniques and moves that seemed effortless on my teacher but impossible to get when I tried myself…
Barcelona Bellydance: Apart from being one of the world’s most ancestral dances ever known, belly dance is a joyful dance, full of energy. If we want to enjoy it to its full extent, we need to forget about prejudices and be ready to try it out without any embarrassment feeling that might arise when we do not get a movement right the first time we try it or do not look as graceful as the dancers we all know and admire.. We need to forget about any “psychological blockage” and simply enjoy dancing to the music.
Perseverance is key and we all have been beginners once, even all those great dancers we praise and admire. They got to the place in which they are now, by learning every day and working hard.
Q: Are there different belly dance styles and techniques?
Barcelona Bellydance: Yes, there are a lot, actually. What we know nowadays as “belly dance” is actually what Egyptians labeled as Racks Al Shark, or Middle Eastern dance.
Belly dance was born in Egypt, and expanded from here towards other regions in Northern Africa and the Middle East. Belly dance in its multiple variations and forms is known at present in all countries across the globe. Apart from the classic Egyptian style, other well-known variations are Turkish-style belly dance, Lebanese, Greek, and the more contemporary Tribal style.
Q: Which is the most appropriate belly dancing attire to wear when taking lessons?
Barcelona Bellydance: Comfortable clothing is essential. A long skirt or loose trousers are always good options, although it is also very recommendable, when taking beginners lessons, to wear leggings, which shows the knee area, on which it is important to focus in the beginning. A top – not too loose – and a hip scarf are also good options.
Q: Do you need to have a certain fitness level or are there any other prerequisites or conditions to start taking belly dance lessons?
Barcelona Bellydance: There are no prerequisites whatsoever. The only thing you need is the desire and eagerness to dance and enjoy. Women of all ages can belly dance, no matter the age, fitness condition, height, weight… It is a very democratic dance!
Q: I would like to read more about Belly dance: its origins and evolution throughout the years. ¿Could you recommend any interesting titles?
Barcelona Bellydance: There are an awful lot of interesting books and audio books focused on Belly dance. We will recommend a few:
La Danza Oriental by Debora Korek, (one of the few books about Belly dance published in Spanish language)
The range of titles published in English is much wider. To name a few of them:
Bellydance: A Guide to Middle Eastern Dance, Its Music, Its Culture and Costume by Keti Sharif (Paperback - Feb. 1, 2005)
The Rough Guide to Bellydance Cafe by Nili Belkind (Audio CD - May 8, 2007) – Audiobook
Turkish Bellydance:Secret of My Heart (Audio CD - Feb. 1999)
We hope we have helped you clear your doubts. Please send across your questions, comments or suggestions to Barcelona.Bellydance@gmail.com.
We look forward to hearing from you!
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to try Belly dance, if you have not done it yet. If you are still reluctant and have not made up your mind, here you will find a list with the most common questions from beginners with its corresponding answers that would hopefully help you make a decision.
Q: I have tried Belly dance before but gave up because I thought I was not making any progress and felt a bit intimidated by some techniques and moves that seemed effortless on my teacher but impossible to get when I tried myself…
Barcelona Bellydance: Apart from being one of the world’s most ancestral dances ever known, belly dance is a joyful dance, full of energy. If we want to enjoy it to its full extent, we need to forget about prejudices and be ready to try it out without any embarrassment feeling that might arise when we do not get a movement right the first time we try it or do not look as graceful as the dancers we all know and admire.. We need to forget about any “psychological blockage” and simply enjoy dancing to the music.
Perseverance is key and we all have been beginners once, even all those great dancers we praise and admire. They got to the place in which they are now, by learning every day and working hard.
Q: Are there different belly dance styles and techniques?
Barcelona Bellydance: Yes, there are a lot, actually. What we know nowadays as “belly dance” is actually what Egyptians labeled as Racks Al Shark, or Middle Eastern dance.
Belly dance was born in Egypt, and expanded from here towards other regions in Northern Africa and the Middle East. Belly dance in its multiple variations and forms is known at present in all countries across the globe. Apart from the classic Egyptian style, other well-known variations are Turkish-style belly dance, Lebanese, Greek, and the more contemporary Tribal style.
Q: Which is the most appropriate belly dancing attire to wear when taking lessons?
Barcelona Bellydance: Comfortable clothing is essential. A long skirt or loose trousers are always good options, although it is also very recommendable, when taking beginners lessons, to wear leggings, which shows the knee area, on which it is important to focus in the beginning. A top – not too loose – and a hip scarf are also good options.
Q: Do you need to have a certain fitness level or are there any other prerequisites or conditions to start taking belly dance lessons?
Barcelona Bellydance: There are no prerequisites whatsoever. The only thing you need is the desire and eagerness to dance and enjoy. Women of all ages can belly dance, no matter the age, fitness condition, height, weight… It is a very democratic dance!
Q: I would like to read more about Belly dance: its origins and evolution throughout the years. ¿Could you recommend any interesting titles?
Barcelona Bellydance: There are an awful lot of interesting books and audio books focused on Belly dance. We will recommend a few:
La Danza Oriental by Debora Korek, (one of the few books about Belly dance published in Spanish language)
The range of titles published in English is much wider. To name a few of them:
Bellydance: A Guide to Middle Eastern Dance, Its Music, Its Culture and Costume by Keti Sharif (Paperback - Feb. 1, 2005)
The Rough Guide to Bellydance Cafe by Nili Belkind (Audio CD - May 8, 2007) – Audiobook
Turkish Bellydance:Secret of My Heart (Audio CD - Feb. 1999)
We hope we have helped you clear your doubts. Please send across your questions, comments or suggestions to Barcelona.Bellydance@gmail.com.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
5 Preguntas con Respuesta sobre Danza del Vientre
Seguramente en más de una ocasión, habréis leído u oído acerca de los beneficios que aporta a nuestra salud la práctica de la danza oriental: mejora nuestra postura, nuestra forma física y nuestro estado de ánimo, fomenta la capacidad de concentración y aumenta nuestra autoestima. Sus movimientos sensuales, delicados y a la vez llenos de energía contribuyen a reducir los niveles de estrés, y está comprobado clínicamente que la práctica habitual y regular de este tipo de danza ayuda a prevenir los dolores y cólicos menstruales.
Como podéis ver, hay todo un abanico de potentes razones para iniciarse en la práctica de esta danza, ¡si es que aún no lo habéis hecho!. Para las que todavía se muestran reticentes y no han despejado del todo sus dudas, a continuación respondemos a las preguntas más comunes entre las principiantes.
P: He probado alguna clase de danza oriental pero desistí porque sentía que no podía avanzar y ciertas técnicas y movimientos me intimidaban…
Barcelona Bellydance: La danza del vientre, además de ser una de las más femeninas y ancestrales que existe, es una danza jovial, llena de vitalidad, energía y misticismo. Si queremos disfrutarla, debemos de partir de la siguiente premisa: tendremos que despojarnos del sentido del ridículo, vergüenza, o bloqueo mental…Sólo así podremos avanzar y disfrutar bailándola.
Es un aprendizaje continuo y es importarte no dejarse llevar por la frustración que muchas veces nos causa no entender una técnica o un movimiento la primera vez que lo intentamos. La perseverancia es clave, y la práctica también. Todas – incluso las grandes maestras y bailarinas – han pasado por ahí y lo que las ha llevado al lugar que ahora ocupan es su afán de superación y su esfuerzo continuo.
P: ¿Existen diferentes modalidades y estilos de la danza oriental?
Barcelona Bellydance: Sí, existen, y muchos. Lo que se conoce como danza oriental es en realidad el Racks Al Shark, o danza del Oriente. La danza oriental clásica tuvo como cuna Egipto, aunque existen diferentes estilos y variaciones que nacieron en otros países del norte de África y Oriente Medio: todas habréis oído hablar de la danza turca, el estilo libanés, el estilo griego oriental y el Tribal Fusión, que es más contemporáneo.
P: ¿Qué tipo de ropa debo llevar a clase?
Barcelona Bellydance: Ante todo, ropa holgada con la que te sientas cómoda. Una falda o pantalón ancho, son buenas opciones, aunque también se recomiendan los leggings o cualquier otra prenda que deje al descubierto las rodillas, ya que es importante prestar atención a esta zona cuando comenzamos a practicar danza de vientre. Los pañuelos de cadera no son obligatorios pero sí recomendables, ya que hacen que prestemos más atención a esta zona, clave en esta danza, ¡que moveremos mucho, sea cual sea el nivel que alcancemos!
P: ¿Existe algún tipo de condición física determinada u otros requisitos para iniciarse en la danza del vientre?
Barcelona Bellydance: En absoluto. Mujeres de cualquier edad, estatura, peso o condición física pueden iniciarse en la danza del vientre, no existe ningún otro requisito. ¡Como veis una danza muy democrática!
P: Me gustaría documentarme sobre la danza del vientre: sus orígenes y cómo ha evolucionado a diferentes estilos, ¿qué lecturas recomendáis?
Barcelona Bellydance: Existen un sinfín de títulos de lectura muy interesante. A continuación, te proponemos algunos:
La Danza Oriental por Debora Korek, uno de los pocos títulos publicados en lengua castellana.
De los publicados en inglés, destacamos:
SBellydance: A Guide to Middle Eastern Dance, Its Music, Its Culture and Costume by Keti Sharif (Paperback - Feb. 1, 2005)
The Rough Guide to Bellydance Cafe by Nili Belkind (Audio CD - May 8, 2007) – Audiobook
Turkish Bellydance:Secret of My Heart (Audio CD - Feb. 1999)ek, D. (2005) Danza del vientre Barcelona: Ed. Océano
Esperamos haber aclarado vuestras dudas. Podéis enviar vuestras preguntas, comentarios y sugerencias a Barcelona.Bellydance@gmail.com.
¡Os esperamos!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
¡Bienvenidas a Barcelona Bellydance! - Welcome to Barcelona Bellydance!
¡Hola a todas!
Bienvenidas Barcelona Bellydance,
Espero que sea de vuestro interés, ¡hasta el próximo post!
Hi everyone!
Welcome to Barcelona Bellydance, a blog created to supply you with all the information you need to practice this ancient and fascinating dance. Throughout the next posts, we will embark on a virtual journey across the different dancing schools where you can learn bellydance and Bollywood-style dancing in Barcelona, all the shops where you can buy all the material you need to practice your favorite dance and other interesting stuff. We will also chat with dancing teachers, professional bellydancers and bellydancers-to-be and students that have become totally hooked on the exciting Bellydance and Bollywood moves!
I hope you find this blog of your interest. Talk to you on the next post!
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