My Blog

Muse-Ensemble (troupe of which I'm a member)

Nuria — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:46:24 GMT

This is our troupe, under the guidance of Yaminah. We have a clip with interviews, a lot of it being in English due to our talkative Scottish troupe member plus a short glimpse of a short show we did a few days ago. I'd love some feedback, for it's kind of vanguardy stuff.

The "loose woman"

Nuria — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:16:51 GMT

Hi everybody, and hi to all loose women! I want to invite everybody on a cheerful conversation about the topic, of course bearing in mind controversial issues bellydancers generally bear in mind and being inspired by the actual discussion in the videoclips tribe. Feel free to be controversial. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWGECU-7C9M http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO0h190oboE

100% Arabica

Nuria — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 21:29:56 GMT

What a nice film! Cheb Khaled and Cheb Mami. Ok that film isn't brand new, eleven years old, but the fact that I only encountered it in the french-language section of the dvds in our public libraries says it can't be too well known, well maybe it is in France but not in my country. It's such an enjoyable comedy and also says a lot about lives of immigrants and the birth of rai. The sense of humour is absolutely great and the whole film is so fresh, I'd recommend it anytime. Music scenes, but the first in concert isn't there, pity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6VfGafhbeY&feature=related hahaha! pauvre gars!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6tv6Kk--cc&feature=related

Saida Workshop yes or no

Nuria — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:53:00 GMT

Oh tomorrow I have to leave for my Saida-Workshops. I paid all the four of them already. Well last night Liva got sick, she has temperature so I don't know how she'll be tomorrow. Her dad can take care of her, still, there are moments when you want to be there as a mother or later you might say to yourself you should've been there, not because I think sth. dangerous might happen but because I don't want to underestimate a weakened kids need for the mother. On the other hand: am I overrating myself as a mother? Shit! What a choice to make!

Thanksgiving-Victims?

Nuria — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 14:58:10 GMT

Hi choreography-fellows! Have you recovered from your feast? Here today we celebrate the 1st of Advent so Christmas season has started. Soon there is going to be even more feasting, so - what should we do? Take a break or else continue? (bellydance fits wonderfully into christmas time in my opinion). Do you want to know how I continue? Can you deal with the clip or should I count out the steps with left and right (which for me is the most difficult to sort out when learning after videomaterial). I can present what I did so far, where you can make alternative suggestions, as I said, suggestions for the nay-taqsim are very welcome but then again, it is a thing each of us must feel. I find nay hard to interprete as I said, because it's so airy and lightweight as maybe only my hands could be...don't know... I don't want to push you. It is nice if you have time to develop your own ideas because that was the original idea...so, say sth. I will adapt myself to it.

Nasmaaaaa -----------------

Nuria — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:56:33 GMT

so sorry. I can't help but keep choreographing. Once it starts, it's kind of rolling... I'm not done yet - the nay taqsim I'm not sure how to do it. It sounds like a little playful little bird who sings on top of a tree, mocking me, the heavy sticky dumpling that's glued to the ground...so should I interprete that with my dumpling-belly? I thought about arms, hands, but I don't like when those get too restless? So there I need help. The malfouf is just the closure that has to take up maybe the intro stuff? (this is my inspiration for the intro, well without the belly of course: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOSon5SXNGo The rest is basically there...

Nasma Intro 2

Nuria — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:26:35 GMT

I invite you to sit down and have a tea, grab a cushion and be patient because this is not so short :-). -The youtube thing works now, that's fine. Cooperation - I don't know should I post PMs each time to alert people that there is the next step in the blog? My idea was the participants would check themselves. Also, I don't mean to KEEP it in my blog, I thought that next thing we'd move on to someone other's blog whoseever turn it shall be. -Another thing: if you disagree on some moves that's fine. For me it also helps if I can see that a suggestion doesn't fit my way of hearing the music. When I feel: no, I'd rather do it like that - that already helps me to get closer to a move I am looking for. So maybe a proposal might help you as a contrast, great. If you agree, great too! There is a clip on youtube of a Brazilian woman, Luciana Norad? or similar that dances to Nasma. Three moments I like very much in her interpretation (a shoulder roll with snake arms, a breastcage-shimmy and a hip shimmy), the rest I'd feel I'd want to change. Now, I have already some alternative for my own intro. After the dums and the turn, there is the following scheme: ab ab ab ab (a is the 8count that opens, b the 8count that closes the musical phrase). All the a's I finish with arabesque (1.+4. on right leg left leg in the air, 2.+3. on left leg, right leg in the air). first b will be three step turn to the left, third is three step turns to the right. I wanted to do only one three step turn here, because on the end of 2b and 4b there is two spins, which are an optical highlight and I didn't want 1b+3b look the same as 2b and 4b. But as you might see I'm having a hard time running to the side until I can turn back (because of lack of space), so on 1b and 3b I thought, you might also link two 3step turns instead. The phrase afterwards I am not happy with. The move with the step, a bit Suheir-Zaki step with shimmy I like, but I'm not sure about the way I travel. Also I'd probably rather finish with a barrel turn than with that turn forward. Here is my general map of the song: It's divided into: mosalas-taqsim-ayoub-malfouf -Next to what I did there is violin, violin is emphatical, there could be turning like I did at the end - too early. -then comes qanun: for my feel there we should stay on one spot and shimmy+hipwork -violin again, (travel, hipmoves) -Then there is a temperamental transitional part with accents (turns and marked accents) -I believe then there is the silence and the nay-taqsim starts. I love nay, it's so airy. Now, you can't choreograph a taqsim fully but suggestions would be nice. Arms, a bit of belly, breastcage, hips...? -ayoub starts, very nice. But it doesn't really feel like head throwing trancey stuff to me, it's too light and no crescendo. I love the tek-tek-tek-tek-tek and the roll - I know exactly what I want to do here! Malfouf: now here is the temperamental part (the mosalas is lyrical, ayoub the mysterious, malfouf now is more fiery). you have cymbals marking temperamental accents. I think of the pregnant Maiada and her turns with head accents here. Musically, it picks up the theme from the beginning, this is a temperamental closure of the song. Do we have Malfouf-experts here? I'd really like Rebekkah and Lissa to join... So, try to take down ideas on moments you like. Are there parts where you feel you know better or you know less? Yame, do you like the taqsim? I can imagine you doing it - but then that's just a suggestion... I love the song, most of all because of the ayoub part...Balaha is a fabulous drummer, so no wonder he did sth. interesting, rhythmwise.

Nasma, Intro

Nuria — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 22:53:00 GMT

Hey, I choreographed the intro. Today I meant a friend to tape me at home, space or not, but I noticed that I somehow took it down wrong and it didn't work out. Now I have it worked out buttttt no more taping today possible... So I got from 0:30 (twice three dums) until 1:05 + the first two phrases after that, that is until 1:21... Only I suck at veil. I can drag it behind me and make it float, but any special trick...like what I'd like at the end of the intro there are two turns over the left shoulder and, what my teacher does really gracefully is in the second turn she lifts up both arms above her head and with a wrist circle gathers the veil together in order to drop it to the side in which she is not going to dance next, which, in our case, would be the left side. Well I make a mess of that! But who says that I should be able to dance what I choreograph? Ah, maybe tomorrow my teacher can tape me? If she'd be willing to let me upload her own space into the internet - ok friends only, even though- maybe tomorrow you will be able to see it - I wouldn't have written but I didn't want to make you think I'd forgotten...

Nasma: Call for cards!

Nuria — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:39:50 GMT

Souzan, Yame, Rebecca, Lissa (never heard of you again), Radhiya - are you there? We can start next week with choreographing if you like. First, maybe a little talk about the music. http://www.sayed-balaha.com/ It's by Sayed Balaha, Egyptian master drummer, living in Germany since 1988. What do you feel like when you here it? Nasma is a female name, I believe, so I guess he dedicated this piece to a dancer? Well, let's talk about the music. I guess you've listened to it, maybe already divided it into parts with different moods/accents? Anything that comes to your head...

Shimmy and me

Nuria — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:44:59 GMT

I'll some day write a book: the long way to my shimmy, in the style of Joschka Fischer's "the long run to myself"... I thought I had it nailed, well and was taught better. Anyway, I want to share how the riddle looks like right now. While I thought the vibration was basically IT, seeing that it could become also bigger when you do it for quite a while and your hips and everything loosens up and your legs start to move along with it, I have to recognize that that neat and beautiful up and down of the hips requires the other approach. And the thing is, it isn't a leg driven shimmy. The hips still do the movement but the main problem is the legs have to be soft and strong at the same time to let the impulse pass, bend and straighten fast and evenly (no locking!). The knees have to move along with it and be soft like butter and it's very tough for the muscles there. I noticed by trying it standing on one leg, that my left leg, which is weaker but also more flexible than the right one, is the slow one that tends to block and get nervous and overreact while the right one could go faster...So it is actually all a matter of a lot of training, looseness especially in the knees. Maria Shashkova does this shimmy, Randa does, and they look great. And a lot of the times when the knees push forward too hard this means that they were about to block and the dancer tried to counter by pushing them. But it only looks good in the moment when you can see that it's the hips driving it. Seeing that it needs so much training to look great, a beautiful shimmy is a luxury item!

El baladi yokal!

Nuria — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:30:46 GMT

Baladi rules, baladi wins! I so want to know about baladi, everything. I have found a teacher that won't oblige me to extra workshops to teach me the secret (you wanna know my SEECKRET? - Ray McCooney, Little Britain). I have found out, yes, I have heard this but I verified it on myself just there, that the baladi needs strong and heavy hips. F.e. you can't do a Modern Egyptian shimmy on it, it so needs these heavy rocking hips Dandash has f.e.. You need strong internal muscles (pelvic floor and so). The music really tells it, I love the older stuff. F.e. I have Ala hisb widad by Abdel Halim. I can have that shimmy but I have to concentrate not to switch to the thigh shimmy. Have to train those internal muscles, so the hips become so expressive. Well then you just stand there and shimmy and make accents and it's cool!

Workshop

Nuria — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:41:55 GMT

hehe very nice. Basbousa by Bassem Yazbek. One of my teachers as choreographer+ teacher (the sweetie, she did well! And very professional in timing and teaching!) and the other of my teachers as participants, hehe, that was funny. I did well and I love the song. Darling Shammadan delivered a translation and i adore the line: granny is the best granny is the best...

Finaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaleee!!!!!!

Nuria — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:39:45 GMT

Saidi dress

Nuria — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:20:19 GMT

I had a saidi dress done for me because I didn't like the ones on sale, I'm not a walking christmas tree. Or am I now? I picked the things together and I like it. It is so different from the raks sharqi stuff. It is for my kindergarden performance...

Ilaniowear!

Nuria — Mon, 26 May 2008 07:28:51 GMT

I keep looking at these ads. I don't understand! That is techno-wear from the nineties. Who the hell will recycle that style?

Reading a book

Nuria — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:11:49 GMT

Thanks to Emily's hint I got myself an antiquarian book. From Marta: Fit and graceful through bellydance, because there is obviously good theoretical input. Haha, I am dancing for more than ten years and NEVER ever read anything about it. So this will be my ultimate theoretical arms build-up (looked that up in the dictionary)....

The KINGDOM

Nuria — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:42:07 GMT

Haha, this is not bellydance, not even remotely, although it might be inspiring to the fans of gothic bellydance and so. Lars von Trier, black magician among today's filmmakers, I deem him a genius but find him deeply ambiguous - dangerous... Well he did a series I have watched numerous times because it is so outrageously funny (yes, funny, for most of the times he is not really funny), but only the first part of it. I am looking forward to see the second half. In the meantime I want to draw your attention to a small masterpiece, mixing the genres hospital series with horror movie and slapstick and mystery-thriller...My favourite character (oh there are a few), let's say the bosses' son and definitely Dr. Helmer from Sweden. So please ladies and gentlemen, here comes The Kingdom by Lars von Trier: http://youtube.com/watch?v=pBJBTD3cPXQ

Maqsoum

Nuria — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:07:47 GMT

Dum tek, tek dum, tek dum tek, tek dum, tek, dum tek, tek dum, tek Love it! I've always been a rhythm-addict and now that I am developping a feeling for the character of the rich arab rhythms, hmm. I got a slowed down maqsoum piece where the second tek is almost played like a dum so I was wondering that there was almost a saidi feel to it, anyway this heavy thing to it that I love so much. There is also a slow piece called Gamil Gamal the beat of which sounds like a saidi but the feeling is rather of maqsoum! I love it! I'm becoming sort of an invalide from bellydance. Not apt for anything else anymore! I love especially maqsoum, saidi, masmoudi saghir!

Oum Khaltoum

Nuria — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:09:41 GMT

I am so under her spell. I don't understand arab, but what I understand is she is like a prophet. She says something that matters. She is like a seer that says to you: Now you listen and I tell you what I have seen. Because I have been far away and up high and deep down and know things that matter and I know what is going to happen, so you listen to me! And I close my eyes and she tells me the story and it is like she shows me a different world and we are travelling through this story for a long time and when it comes to an end I feel like I have been somewhere else and things are different now. So magical! It is not like emotions that come and go like with easier songs, it is deep, life-long and transcending. So I feel a freeze when she starts because I know what comes now matters really. I so understand people had dropped everything, stopped doing anything and went into a sort of mesmerized trance when she sang.

I'm Egyptian!

Nuria — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:59:34 GMT

Haha! Not so much that I have to apply for citizenship yet, but maybe more than I thought! We had a teacher replacement today we were eagerly awaiting, because our dear one is really lazy when it comes to teaching technique and new moves (but she lets us be creative and do free dancing, that is great, too), so we were expecting eagerly one of the best and longestbeingprofessional(urgh)-teachers of our town and a lot of new input: and she was soooo amazingly AmCab and if felt sooo alien! So which will be the conclusion? I'm not her! Ok that is very minimalistic. Read above the maximalism. The reality should be somewhere in between, haha!

I love her!

Nuria — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:25:13 GMT

I think I found someone whom I want to learn from. Reyhan. And she is even German, lives in Germany. But learned in Egypt. Well it is obvious. Look at her the style it is so perfect,so gentle and relaxed and sophisticated. http://youtube.com/watch?v=vhXYeifKejs

Me at Ning

Nuria — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:45:33 GMT

I loved this little peacock. It is knitted. Not by me. It is my icon at ning. I opened up a profile just in case. I'll mainly stay on tribe though.

Merry Christmas!

Nuria — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 11:17:47 GMT

I'll be leaving for cz on friday. We are going to celebrate at the grandparents and I have to get packed. So this is the last hello in 2007! I had a great year on tribe with all of you! Well I'm taking the computer. I mean to pack my data because it's got to move to the new harddisk. So I'll be online, anyway. I wish you'll have all a good time! Maybe some great dancing over those days! I chose the picture because I thought about cosy Christmas in an oasis, below a sky full of stars...and I liked the blue of the sky. Ya leili ya leiliiiii...

I LOVE RANDA!

Nuria — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:46:43 GMT

I really like her! Not only did I go to her workshop, but I got to see her at the gala, thanks to a friend, Tarik, who was one of the musicians that got to play for her. I loved the way she overthrew the cliché of a bellydancer, which was so much fulfilled by the woman opening the gala. She is amazingly strong and intense on stage. Her way of moving stresses strength, ok, her abrupt moves around shoulders and arms sometimes I don't know if I like, they are hard to imitate anyhow. Her shimmy is something I haven't seen before. She performed a modern routine, a saidi with cane and a beautiful Enta Omri sung by Tarik. I enjoyed it, it was intense like a great flamenco performance. Now about her workshop, it was a shaabi-like sounding pop-song, great fun, a modern style Randa bellydance choreography. I could follow it actually, otherwise I'd be really frustrated. Luckily there was lots of reptition if not I'd have trouble to remember within two hours because after all it is 4 minutes long. The point is to get to Randas movement style which requires swiftness, amazing strength and more flexibility than any of us had. I enjoyed to hear her voice, it sounds great, and she is really good looking and has a wonderful body. She is nice and good humoured, although when she shouted "dow" we didn't understand that it meant "DO" = practise the move I just showed you-, but in general it was always clear what she meant. The only thing is that the cd she sold with the workshop is of such miserable sound quality that you couldn't use it for serious performance... Bad thing for me that during the workshop I infected a tiny wound on my foot - I always dance barefoot. I had to get up at 5 a.m., ran for my mobile phone because the alarm was so loud and hit the sole of my left foot of the handle of my suitcase. It hurt but I didn't know it was cut. After the Randa workshop I had to stay in Berlin, a few days after I was going to work at a fair, I couldn't walk well when I arrived to help setting up the thing, the next day I barely managed to stuff my foot into my business shoe and in the evening I had to go to hospital with a swollen foot in pain. I just got away with a minor blood poisoning and left the next day on crutches, accompanied and fetched by friends, like a veteran. I won't be able to attend my Aziza-Workshop at Leyla Jouvana's this weekend :-( now I have a heavy head from antibiotics and am bored from lying there, foot up high. But I do have an idea now what that is, a Cairo star! Love Randa! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HFbiAkbft4&search=Randa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB75nuELOq0

RANDA RANDA RANDA

Nuria — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 10:21:07 GMT

tomorrow! Randa-alarm! I decided not to regard the "pro-only" sign at the entrance...just in case it'll be the only time she'll be as near as Berlin... what shall I do? Wear some horrible pants to draw her attention on me? I thought about that already...