Dear Shira:
From Plateau to Next Level

"Dear Shira" is an advice column for belly dancers. City names and other details are changed to protect the privacy of the people involved.

Dear Shira,

I've been dancing for about three years and have hit a plateau. I feel I'm not getting any better, I still can't choreograph my own dances without it looking like a bellydance "sampler" and I'm getting pathetically slow at picking up new stuff (I'm in my late 40's). I'm slim, fit, and have a long history of ballet and costume design. I'm performing soon in a beginner level duet and I'm feeling grumpy and frustrated with myself - I should be doing a more complicated solo by now! What to do? Can the old dog learn new tricks or should I just pack it in and content myself with doing serged roll-hems for all the other dancers? I need a boost! Help!

--Catbelly in Canada

Dear Catbelly,

I think everybody hits a plateau now and then, even long-time professional dancers. Some people are content at their plateaus, while others become frustrated and look for new directions. It sounds like you're one of those people who is ready for new inspiration.

Plateaus can be caused by different things. Maybe you're becoming bored with your current teacher, the music she uses, and the material that she covers in class. Even if she's an excellent instructor, it's possible that her taste in music and dance style simply don't match yours. Maybe your job or home life are rocky right now, leaving you too drained to feel creative. Look for ways to solve that, and perhaps your dance enthusiasm will return.

Maybe you've hit a plateau because you need something to change in your dance environment. No matter how much you love your current teacher, maybe your own dance-related tastes are different from hers. For example, if you don't share her passion for Egyptian-style music and dance, then you won't feel much motivation to learn her latest Egyptian-style choreography. Maybe one of these ideas will reignite your enthusiasm:

Buy a video to inspire you into new directions. A performance video that features a variety of different dancers may offer new costume ideas, spark your interest in another style, draw your attention to a prop that you might enjoy learning to use, or feature some step combinations that you want to incorporate into your own dance. You might see something on the video that wakes you up and makes you think, "I'd love to learn that!"
Sometimes a change of music will spark your enthusiasm into new directions. Look for music that is entirely different from what you have been using. For example, if your teacher has been using Egyptian classics when she teaches, try Turkish pop music. If you've been using a variety of nightclub-style music, try some traditional folk songs with a folkloric costume.
Sign up for classes with a new teacher, preferably someone whose own style is completely different from your current one. You don't need to discontinue your current teacher if you enjoy her classes - you can try two classes per week for a while. Sampling a new teacher will expose you to different kinds of music, different step combinations, different classmates, and different dance experiences. If there's not another teacher in your community, try an instructional video as a new source of input.
Attend a seminar taught by a visiting dancer.
Attend a weeklong retreat taught by someone whose style or dance philosophy you admire.
If you're used to performing only choreography, try improvising when you practice at home. If you normally improvise, try learning some choreography. Improvisation and doing memorized choreography are two entirely different skills which use different parts of your brain.

Many belly dancers fall into the habit of constructing dances based on a series of specific step combinations that they learned in their classes. This is particularly tempting for people who come from a background of doing dance forms such as ballet that stick closely to choreography. Although step combinations are useful, you need to be careful not to limit yourself to a memorized collection of them. Try this exercise to feel the music deep inside your soul: Put some wonderful music that makes you feel like belly dancing on your sound system, close your eyes, and just listen to it. With your eyes still closed, imagine yourself dancing to it. Lose yourself in the music. Do not ask yourself, "Which combination would work with this?" Ask yourself, "What movement does this music make me feel like doing?" With your eyes still closed, move just one arm and hand in time to the music. Gradually add your hips, standing in place. Focus on the music, what you're hearing, and what it tells you to do. Bit by bit, allow more of your body to participate, and open your eyes once you truly feel immersed in the music.

You may find it helpful to use a journal to explore your feelings toward belly dancing and other topics. If you've never done a journal before, don't be intimidated. Just sit down at your computer keyboard, open your favorite word processing program, and start typing what you feel. Or, if you're more comfortable with pencil and paper, curl up in a comfortable chair and start scribbling. To get started, try jotting down answers to these questions:

What do you enjoy most about belly dancing in general?
What do you like best about your current belly dancing class and the person who teaches it?
What do you find frustrating about your current belly dancing class?
If you could make five changes to your belly dancing teacher and how she runs her class, what would they be?
Which belly dancing songs and musicians are your favorites and why? Which of these does your teacher use in class? Which did you find from other sources?
How do you feel about the music your instructor uses and the steps she teaches? Do they inspire you?
Which belly dance performer do you most enjoy watching? Why?
How would you compare belly dancing against other dance or exercise forms that you've done in the past (such as ballet)?

When you come home from your dance class, write about what occurred in the class. Did it start on time? Who was there? What did you enjoy most about class? What frustrated you? What made you laugh? What bored you? What annoyed you? What did you learn, and did you enjoy learning it? Why or why not?

In between dance classes, write in your journal about other things that are on your mind. They don't need to be dance-related. Write about what you liked about your day at work. Write about the stress you're feeling from your current assignment.

Sometimes the things in your life that are not related to dance are the things that prevent you from growing as a dancer. Look for ways to fix things about your life that you find annoying, frustrating, stressful, painful, depressing, or angering. Negative emotions can be parasites that consume all our energy and prevent us from concentrating on the things we enjoy. After a few weeks, review your journal and look for patterns. If you spot a pattern of something - a certain type of music, perhaps - that consistently seems to spark your enthusiasm, maybe pursuing more of that will inspire you to growth. If you spot a pattern of something that annoys you or bores you, maybe reducing that will remove the block.

Look for people you can talk to about your feelings. Maybe you have a sympathetic classmate who is willing to be your sounding board. A fellow dancer can help you crystallize your thoughts because she understands dancer-type issues.

Don't expect to emerge from your plateau overnight. Human beings are complicated. Set easy-to-reach short-term goals for yourself that you think you'll enjoy meeting. For example, if you've had your eye on a great belly dance video for a while, set a goal to buy it and watch it within the next 4 weeks. Then set a goal to buy a new CD that's significantly different from what you're used to using, and spend time practicing with it. When you've done that, set your next goal and work toward that. Choose goals that will guide you in the path you want to go.

Finally, look for ways to stimulate your inner creativity. These don't necessarily need to be tied to dance, although they can be. For example, write poetry, draw pictures, or design a wonderful new costume. For creativity exercises specifically tied to belly dancing, you might explore the book Grandmother's Secrets by Rosina-Fawzia Al-Rawi or attend a retreat organized by Delilah from Seattle, Washington.

--Shira

Dear Shira: From Plateau to Next Level

Dear Shira:
From Plateau to Next Level