Countdown to Under a Desert Moon

February 25, 2009 09:14 AM

As mid-semester—and Under a Desert Moon—approaches, I’ve been noticing the little things. The little things like looking forward to out-of-class practices, e-mails from my stage mates about costumes and choreography, the inside jokes and bubbles of laughter that fill the dance studios each week. Little things, like sitting on the plush cushions before class at Central and catching up with the friends I’ve made in LI. Or sharing belly dance book titles with my stage mates in Raqs Caravan Folklore. The stage, the spotlights and visions of an applauding audience attracted me to the performance classes, but it’s the little things I’ve noticed that make preparing for UDM so memorable.

Raqs Caravan Folklore classes are full of laughter. Because many folkloric movements vary from the steps we learn in technique classes like BII and LI, I usually feel silly the first time I attempt a new movement. However, what I love about the women in RCF is how they are able to laugh off any frustrations and try again if they don’t get the move right the first time around. As we learn our choreographies for Under a Desert Moon, we’ve given silly names to steps that are particularly challenging, like “the Whirlwind,” “The Tumbleweed,” and the “Dabkeh Running Man.” This nicknaming makes mastering a new step less intimidating and is one of the little things I look forward to in each RCF class.

Colleen’s Lower Intermediate performance class consists of a diverse group of students. Each Wednesday, women of all ages, backgrounds and professions are drawn together by a common love for belly dancing. Getting to know my fellow stage mates and hearing their stories is part of the learning experience of coming to class. What impresses me the most about this group is how eager the students are to help one another out; whether it’s breaking down the mechanics of the three-quarter shimmy, a piece of the choreography or offering fellow classmates a ride home from the studio.

I also adore the element of fantasy that Colleen is weaving into our class. Because we are performing to a song called Scheherazade, Colleen has picked up a copy of Arabian Nights and Days by Naguib Mahfouz. She encourages us to get into the character of Scheherazade by e-mailing the LI Performance Google group background information about the women and men from Scheherazade’s kingdom. In class we are reminded that while we are performing, we are like Scheherazade and must dance to charm our audience at the Greenberg Theatre.

We may still be weeks away from receiving our costumes or finishing up the choreographies, but it’s the little things in the meantime that make each class exciting. It’s the little things, I’ve realized, that make Sahara Dance the community it is.

-Lauren

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