jill parker

I took my first lesson of Tribal Fusion Bellydance today at ODC Commons Studio with Jill Parker.

Yes, THE Jill Parker of Ultra Gypsy.

THE Jill Parker I used to only see in Youtube and other videos.

THE Jill Parker who taught Rachel Brice and Sharon Kihara.

THE Jill Parker Sharon Kihara said had the strongest and most graceful arms.

Okay. I'd better stop there.

Anyway, the first one started at 1 PM for about an hour. We began with a yoga-based stretch and moved on to warm-ups. Jill didn't take too much time explaining or breaking things down, but when we asked, she would so meticulously put things into perspective.

She showed a very good way of making sure your body is in natural position by imagining you are holding a bowl of water inside your stomach. If you are tilting either way, the water will spill. So you have to make sure that the water doesn't spill.

The way the class works is that after warm-up, Jill asks what things we'd like to drill on for the day. Today, we practised on hips on the down and ups, three-quarter shimmies, omis, and more shimmies. I'm telling you, my shimmies had never felt so perfect. Of course when I got back to the hostel and tried to re-shimmy, I sucked. I was just too tired.

After the Beginner class ended, Jill said that anyone who'd like to stay for the Intermediate class were welcomed. So I stayed. I mean, the Beginner class was very nice and I could follow everything, but I also needed a challenge. The Intermediate class turned out to be quite challenging and I loved it. We even began with the Suhaila glute exercice (I hate it so much), but I could feel the squeezes greatly improving after the initial contact with glute exercicse with Sharon Kihara last year in the Bellydance Evolution workshop in Bali.

Nearing the end of the Intermediate level class, the students rehearsed a very complex choreography with Jazz fusion and there was another newbie in the class so the two of us just followed along. I'm telling you, it was a work-out. I am not at all familiar with Jazz so there are just so many things I need to work on, including layering a bodywave with a shimmy.

At the end of the class, I introduced myself to Jill. She congratulated me on doing a great job following the choreography (well, a bit), and I apologized if I had disrupted the class's atmosphere, but she said it was fine and she enjoyed seeing men dancing.

I was so glad.

Well, I can't wait for next week!

Oh, and like the cool girls from Unmata, Jill also appears to not shave her underarms. It was noticeable at first, but like, after 30 seconds later, I wasn't even aware of it. Here's a thread on Tribe about hair on underarms.

so much drama

I finally got to see Black Swan this evening, and I have tell you: it was intense. The last time I came out of the theatre feeling the adrenaline rush was after Matrix: Reloaded. It is so... in your face. Almost everything is in a close-up and it gives the feeling of being there with the characters.

The movie is filled with so many female erotic scenes and a lesbian scene and I didn't feel a thing. I'm. Just. That. Gay.

But again, the movie drained me. It took me on a roller-coaster ride and I greatly enjoyed it. It's not just a dance movie. And I don't think it's a dance movie. I mean, yeah you get to see some moves here and there, but not too many. Still, it's a gorgeous movie.

Black Swan is a story about a ballerina who becomes so obsessed about playing the most important role in the world (Swan Queen in Swan Lake). She gets the part but is still very protective and competitive about it. Nearing the end, she gets more and more insane, but the ending is just... perfect. In so many ways.

What I really want to blog about is how exciting the whole thing is. Okay, please excuse me if that previous sentence sounds so vague. I'm typing at 2 words per hour and I'm so sleepy but I also have to finish downloading something.

But seriously: it is not just a dance. It is everything. I know how ballerinas work, they take it as a full time job because when you are young and agile (and thin), you have to work your ass of to reach the pinnacle of their career really quick because as you put on age, you're out of the business. Well, not quite. You can still teach and maybe own your own school or dance company, but that's it. It's like air-hostesses, athletes, and to some extent, models.

Ah, athletes. I think that's one more reason to really compare dancers and athletes. After all, real dancers must pass rigorous training in the discipline(s) of their choice to reach a paragon.

The character, Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) loses her mind getting into the character.

One can argue that if it's how it's going to be, so be it. After all, the show is the most important thing.

And one more thing before I faint: I just love the story behind it. It's not just one piece of choreography thrown in one after another. There's a change of set, of decoration, of mood, all following a plot and a story, so beautifully crafted to fit a set of songs. There's a sense of continuity and flow and a story.

I think that's my ideal dance recital. But of course, in an ideal dance recital, money wouldn't be a problem.

Here's one video by my all-time favorite comediennes: French & Saunders, talking about ballet.

tribal pilgrimage

The walk to the BART Civic Center was filled with perils and dangers, but I survived!

And it so happens that the way to FatChance BellyDance and ODC Commons Studio is just one station away from the BART Civic Center, that's USD 3.50 for round-trip.

The first studio that I tracked was FCBD's. When I found the door, it was probably like when Alice discovered The Hole. I pressed on the buzzer, the door got unlocked, and I went it. It was so warm and agreeable but since I could only be there in a flash, I didn't take off my jacket and overcoat. And so I almost got cooked alive.

Ms. Kristine Adams, my contact for FCBD wasn't there. I had tried e-mailing her yesterday (or was it two days ago), informing her that I'd arrived in SF and I wished to visit the studio, but she didn't respond. So I just gathered all my guts and went.

I was greeted by Ms. Suzanne Elliott, whom I know by face (and I was very proud about that), and she told me to write my e-mail and name and she'd forward it to Ms. Adams. So I did. I wrote a note, actually. I guess that kind of confused Ms. Elliott. But anyway, let's just hope everything would be fine and I could start the sessions very soon.

I took a peek inside the studio and I found people dancing. I should've anticipated from the hypnotic sounds of zills that I'd heard from way downstairs when I was climbing up. What I saw was very beautiful.

After leaving the studio, I realized that I hadn't drawn a map of the location of ODC Commons. And I also didn't take note of their address. It was somewhere there in the Mission District. I just remembered that it was on a street parallel to FCBD. I saw a streetsign that said "Shotwell". That rang a bell. So I took chances and just walked down the road on the direction back to the 16th Street/Mission BART station. If I didn't see the place, then I'd still have to go back to the station anyway.

And there it was. ODC Commons Studio. It looked so small on the outside, but when I came in, it was so huge. It was so big.

I kind of got the front-desk girl confused because, well... I was freezing, and English, despite what everyone says, is not my first language.

When I asked her if Jill Parker (Ultra Gypsy, former member of FCBD) Tribal Bellydance class had any gender restrictions, she said definitely no and that ODC Commons made sure that all the instructors there didn't have that issue either. So I was so glad. She told me I could get the first class for free. Yay!

For Tribal Bellydance, it's a drop-in only class and each session is USD 12. The next session will be on Wednesday. I can't wait.

The front-desk girl encouraged me to look around so I did. And oh my God. The place is huge! There are at least four dance studios on the first floor and two more on the second.

She also told me that in Suhaila's school, there's no gender restriction. Maybe I should check the place. Nigma told me that I should definitely try to take classes from Suhaila. Well... I think I'll start with FCBD and Jill Parker.

an award? for this blog? really???

I'm an underachiever. I know that and I fully embrace that fact.

I don't have a mantle full of trophies (I only have one little trophy) or a wall full of winning certificates or medals or badges (none of those, even).

That's why I take complements seriously (I've blogged about this) because they're all I have to remind myself that I'm on the right path in life by following my passion.

So when I opened my Feedjit Live report this morning, I was surprised to see that I'm getting visitors from a link that says "Best Belly Dancing Blogs".

I surfed to the website and found out that this very sanctuary of my thoughts and rants and egomaniacal wisdom (???) is actually chosen as one of the Top Five of Bellydancing Blogs by GuidetoArtSchools.com.

Although the description somewhat cements my reputation as being a clown (crashing into a glass, anyone?), I am very much proud of myself (something that I very rarely feel).

What a great way to start the new year. I hope this good luck will not fade too soon.

So thank you, good people at GuidetoArtSchools.com!

Now, why don't they make a TOP FIVE BAAAADGE?????? *narcissistic streak*

farewell

Let me tell you a secret: I hate goodbyes. I hate to leave someone or something because of inevitable priorities. I am someone who's attached to the past and when I love someone or something, unless there's a turn of events, I'll stick to that someone or something until the death.

That explains why I almost invariably order vegetarian fried rice and either mineral water, iced tea, or iced lemon tea whenever possible.

When I resigned from my *ahem* 9 to 5 job of three and a half years in early 2009, I cried so hard at the end of the 15th year anniversary party of the company I worked for. The last event I helped organized.

I left my job to prepare my *ahem* studies abroad. During the preparation, I got so engrossed with dancing and the first The Dance Within that I missed the admittance deadline.

But this year, I was prepared. Or... rather *ahem* more prepared. I'm leaving for San Francisco on January 5th, 2011. It will either be for six months or more. I'll definitely be home for Christmas if everything goes well.

Going away for such a long time means leaving dear friends, colleagues, and students I've come to grow with over the past years. It's been such a privilege to be able to also learn from them.

When I return, I will not see some of them ever again. Some of my students are foreigners and they will have to come back to their respective countries when I'm gone. And one of my colleagues is getting married and staying abroad to settle down with her husband.

I have resigned from the studios I worked at, teaching Oriental dance. My last class will be on Thursday, 30 December 2010.

A little Christmas gift and several farewell presents, and that... that really makes me sad.

But somehow, though I feel emotionally down, there is also a hint of hope that I will come back and teach again. And there's also this little budding feeling that everything is on its perfect timing. I'm on that path, the path that will lead me to the place I want.

In San Francisco, I will become a full-time student. There's a zilch chance of me joining a troupe (student visa only, lack of time management skill, and most probably lack of talent).

And then, there's always another goodbye there. And hello again Jakarta, some time after.

And that... that hello makes me smile.

room for improvement and the midas touch

I love dance and I love the stage. That's why I always try my best to watch dance performances.

And yes, that includes dance performances and events from other dance schools and institutions. There are always things that can be noted to be applied or avoided. Second-hand experiences are sometimes just as good and even better than first-hand.

First, the factors that are not related to the dancers: building (location, facilities such as toilets, parking, climate control), stage (stage floor, curtains, lightings, sound and sound system). Surveying a place is one thing (going to the backstage to see if the backstage capacity is enough to accommodate the cast and crew), but looking at the place in action is another.

Then the dancers: costumes, music, stylization, blocking, mood, stage presence.

I've only been dancing for three years. I still consider myself a baby dancer. And I learn from anything and everything. Youtube. DVDs... But a stage show is something that I always crave and covet. It's an opportunity to learn from someone else. To take the positive things and leave the negative things.

I had a chat the other day with Monique. Some of the things that we talked about included taking lessons from other teachers and seeing the shows. Monique has tons of dancing experiences, that's why she "had the nerve" to open a dance school along with Misya and Mifta. They have been dancing for years and decided to give it a go and created Dancewave Center.

But Dancewave Center is not the only dance institution in Jakarta. And the Western dance scene (Hip Hop, Jazz, Ballet) is also flourishing in big cities such as Palembang (West Sumatra), Bandung (West Java), and Surabaya (East Java). And so, it is really exciting to have dancers from other cities dancing with us, even as students.

These places offer dances and some are the same with Dancewave Center (Hip Hop, Burlesque, Bollywood, Oriental and Tribal Fusion bellydance). So why not also learn from those places as well? We encourage our students to always learn from anywhere.

And they do. They enthusiastically gobble up Youtube videos. They go to dance workshops. They attend dance recitals. They note down things that appeal to them and things that don't and they share them with their classmates and teachers.

When I was in school, our teachers also said the same thing: Do not just learn from books at school, but expand your horizons, learn from sources that are not given to you, seek your own sources of information.

Of course I didn't do that because I was not interested very much in learning things at school. I was always an average student.

But in dance, it suddenly makes sense.

Oh, and about seeing the shows from other dance schools, it doesn't matter if you're the owner or creative director or general manager or CEO or whatever from a dance institution or company, by attending a dance show, aside from the fact that you can learn a lot of things, it also shows your support to dance.

You see, it's not about competition. It's not about personal feelings or pride. It's about something bigger than that.

It's about dance.

If you want dance to be respected, you need to appreciate and support it. Do this by attending the show. Especially if you have nothing better to do.

If you're really creative and gifted, you can even take some of the negativity from the performance and turn it into something gold. Like Midas.

I know I still have a lot of things to improve. One of them being my posture. Balancing something on my head does great things to it, but years of slouching can only be fixed with making good posture a habit.

And I had a most unfortunate wardrobe malfunction. I have a love/hate relationship with safety pins. I know some great dancers do not endorse safety pins, but sometimes they greatly help.

And in dance, it's all about the posture, the stage presence, the PERSONA: Posture, Energy, Refinement, Stamina, Ornamentation, Nerve, and Attitude.

a note to videographers and photographers

Dear Photographers and Videographers of dance recitals (or any event),

You are the last threshold of all dancers, cast and crew. It is your work that will be used as THE ONLY remembrance of that moment under the spotlight.

If the performance is only once, then it's not you that's screwed. It's the dancers. But if we're going down, we're taking you with us.

That great moment under the spotlight is shared by all dancers on stage: fat or thin, curvy or twiggy, male or female, physically blessed or challenged.

Everyone deserves to be photographed. Imagine if you are one of the dancers and there is no photo of you. And yet, you are the choreographer of the piece, or worse: you are the dancer who always shows up on every single, painful rehearsal without excuses.

If you are unsure about what kind of photos the other photographers take, ASK! It's more than irritating to see that all the photographs are taken from the same angle, and all close-ups. No full-frontal group shots. Or vice versa.

Show up during rehearsals. It's the best time to actually find out which moments are the best photo-moments. It will make your portfolio more interesting. Dance is the art of movements. And it gets better with props. It's one of the most challenging things to take picture of. So use it to enhance your photography skills. That's if you're serious. This is also applicable to videographers.

Videographers of dance... Ah, your skill is the most crucial as you will capture the motion itself and immortalize it for the dancers and everyone else interested in seeing the recording for whatever reason.

This is the ONLY RULE IN VIDEOTAPING DANCE: TAKE A FULL BODY SHOT. Dancers are interested in seeing everything to learn from mistakes (if any). To re-learn intricate steps and correct posture and body alignments (if wrong).

If there happens to be another video camera, then you can play around, WITH THE CONSENT OF THE CLIENT. I had the most unfortunate video where I had Lilith balanced snugly ON TOP OF MY HEAD and only MY FEET were shown.

And when you are combining footage from multiple cameras, please, DO NOT BE GENEROUS WITH THE COMBINATIONS. It is okay if the three minutes from a three-minute-thirty-second song is only from one angle, one camera. It might be boring for you, but YOU ARE NOT A DANCER. If you happen to be a dancer, you will know what I'm talking about.

If you don't, well this is why: Dancers are interested in seeing everything to learn from mistakes (if any). To re-learn intricate steps and correct posture and body alignments (if wrong).

Sounds familiar? Of course. It is cut and pasted from a paragraph a little before this.

That being said, I'm glad the photographers and videographers for this year's The Dance Within 2: Beyond the Dream are so much better and well-informed than last year. Well, especially the videographers.

Monique and I just learned why editing could be so costly today. We edited the two-hour show (and more, whatwith backstage preparation and the aftershow mingle shots) in eight hours. It is a very painful and tedious experience, but Mr. Wawan from OneStudio Jakarta was so very patient with all our whims and wishes (and downright madness).

20 pieces of chocolate biscuits. 10 digital video tapes. 9 hours of footage. 10 hours of nonstop editing. two crazy bitches. one depressed video-editor. one computer.

One final masterpiece umm... thing that we can really be proud of.

The DVD of "The Dance Within 2: Beyond the Dream" will be released soon right before Christmas 2010.