Quote of the Day:

[dancerjodi]

"Baby look at me and tell me what you see. You aint seen the best of me yet. Give me time, I'll make you forget the rest." - Irene Cara

****

This year's focus in dance class will be developing our own dance, being creative and opening up to being in front of people.


Its really weird that I've been on stage since I was two years old and yet find it difficult to bellydance in front of people. Its just not second nature yet. Put me on a stage in tap, jazz or ballet shoes though and I get the style, the expressions - the subtle nuances that you can't really teach in a dance class but that just develops over time. Rocking out in my car to old CDs that we used to use at the studio for warming up, doing leaps down the floor and in routines reminds me that despite the hoakey traditionalness of it, despite the fact that it doesn't lead to professional greatness I will end up at a community dance studio taking jazz and tap classes again. God do I miss it!

In this class session we'll each need to pick a goddess and choreograph her story in a dance to perform alone for our class. I'm having a really hard time thinking of which one to use. I have a great affinity for Artemis for some reason that I can't totally explain. How to dance Artemis/Diana - I have no clue. I can identify with her affinity to animals and her role in protecting/providing (sometimes very forcefully). I'm also not the most traditionally female of people so her athletic 'running around in the woods and not focusing on appearance' thing appeals to me too. I need to do some more reading about her . . .


What kind of goddess would YOU peg me to be like?

In the next term we are actually going to be choreographing our own autobiographical dances; *that* will be a challenge! :)

Comments

[nazier.livejournal.com]

Artemis is good. I think with her I would make my movements slow, steady a hunter stalking the night. Arm movements like you are drawing a bow, then quick light steps as you spring in for the kill.

Large circles to draw in the moon.

Not just being her but invoking her.

But that is just me.

[nepenthedreams]

Before I read your cut post, I would have pegged you as a Demeter-type - nurturing people sometimes to the point where you forget to nurture yourself, taking charge of a 'flock of chicks' to organize things (think netgoth in the past), creating a beautiful home and loving to welcome people into it.

But Artemis is cool too - that's definitely what I would pick.

Re:

[dancer.livejournal.com]

"Before I read your cut post, I would have pegged you as a Demeter-type - nurturing people sometimes to the point where you forget to nurture yourself, taking charge of a 'flock of chicks' to organize things (think netgoth in the past), creating a beautiful home and loving to welcome people into it."

I think I can identify with parts of both goddesses. I am very maternal in the Demeter aspect (though Artemis also brings another kind of protection). On the other side though, I tend to do the 'tough love' thing with friends sometimes where after giving what I thought I could I just had to walk away and let them screw things up and figure them out for themselves . . . I'm not sure if that approach would be very Demeter-like. Demeter also has a very dark aspect (making winter when her daugther is away). I'm not always the most positive of people and there are benefits gained from darkness, I'm just not sure if that's "me" or not.

I'm not really sold on anyone 100% which was why I was looking for people's ideas, thank you!

Interestingly enough, Kathy says that Artemis is her goddess. I never would have pegged us as being very similar but the longer I know her the more I can see it. Monday's class was much more talking and meditation and much less dancing, it was nice but also very odd. I'm now getting to know my classmates very well which is nice - I've missed having a close connection to the women I dance with :)

Congrats on this weekend's news, by the way! :)