How wonderful to read what someone thinks of my work. It is an affirmation that I am doing the right thing when someone enjoys the work, does the dance, and takes the time to actually write about it! And when they really like the work, then I am thrilled. Here dancer Deirdre from Scotland, wrote 2 reviews for Mosaic Magazine, a British bellydance magazine… and then sent me copies to read… and here you go… and don’t forget to check out Mosaic
And I am also thrilled that I will be dancing with Deirdre and another dancer SunFyre, along with GC dancer Cinzia from Italy, when I am in England next month teaching at the JOY festival, and also conducting my dance intensives- Collective Soul and Teacher Training! Special indeed…
DVD Reviews
BY DEIRDRE CLITHEROE AKA HIPSWITHATTITUDE
TRIBAL TECHNIQUE N09 – TRIBAL GROOVES AND COMBOS FOR INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED DANCERS BY PAULETTE REES-DENIS
Sometimes you wait for a few years for the next DVD in a series then two come along in succession, and a No 11 due out soon! Paulette’s two new latest DVDs are the start of her recording on DVD her journey to Taking Tribal Global and both DVDs have a different feel about them- this one is filmed in Italy and features Cinzia DiCioccio of Les Soeurs Tribale, who is also a member of Gypsy Caravan Dance Co International.
The DVD starts with a thorough warm-up with a clear focus on different parts of your body and on looking after your body, then gets on to Technique with ten new moves. These reflect what I feel is a renewed energy around Gypsy Caravan and an injection of fun and funky-iness without compromising on the essence of sharing this great non-verbal dance language. There is also a practice session with other members of Les Soeurs, a discussion and a slideshow.
The moves and combinations are varied in their complexity, some appear on first viewing (and not doing) fairly straightforward and others ·more tricky but funky, however getting into the practice and then linking them when improvising takes a lot of practice. There is a lot here to add to any tribal bellydancers repertoire. The moves are done with Cinzia and Paulette and then Paulette breaks off to describe the moves in more detail as they are being danced. Moves and combinations are done using the left and the right side, so just when you think you have it on your ‘best’ side, there’s more to be done!
What I enjoy about Paulette’s DVDs are the practice sessions where dancers are shown improvising facing you and then from behind to follow along – very important when you are really trying to ‘get’ a new move and sequence it in. You do feel part of the session.
A nice touch to the DVD is the discussion at the end with Paulette and Cinzia about Taking Tribal Global and what it takes to make tribal improvisation the powerful dance it can be. It’s nice to get these personal touches and insights to a DVD.
TRIBAL TECHNIQUE N010-
SNAPPY INTERMEDIATE COMBOS, TURNS AND PARTNERING IDEAS
This DVD comes hot on the heels of the No9 and from a different continent, Australia. This variation on settings adds to the Taking Tribal Global message and does have a different feel with Nina Martinez (a member of Gypsy Caravan Dance Co International) and guest Sienna emphasis the message that this truly is a global dance language. Again a full warm-up starts the DVD off, which is good to do and get ideas for your own teaching, and then into the moves.
Some of the moves and partnering ideas Paulette has taught previously in workshops so it is good to recap these and correct some of the detail, and have them on film. And again both sides of the body are used for the brain-body challenge! Nina does a lot of the work here as Paulette dances then stops to point out the details.
There are also some moves and combinations that change a little as dancers get more advanced so it’s good to look out for these. I have been studying with Gypsy Caravan for 10 years now and still felt the DVD offered me updates, new combinations and I particularly loved the partnering ideas including the new Shimmy Around.
With a practice session with an additional dancer again the facing/facing away route is shown and very helpful. I particularly enjoyed this one as other Gypsy Caravan moves are introduced in the session and the dancers improv is impressive.
The discussion and slideshow at the end of the DVD again reinforces Paulette’s style of tribal, taking care of yourself as a dancer and the power in this dance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks Deirde, for your thoughtful writing…
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