How to Have Clarity in Dance (it’s all about the feeling ;)

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A while back, I went through an entire year where I could barely plan the next day, let alone the next month, or six months away. It was strange and rather disconcerting. I was in a dense fog and couldn’t see which way to go.

And then something happened–the planets shifted or goodness knows what–and the entire next year unrolled before me, with perfect clarity–Boom.

Ready to begin
The entire year, all planned out

It can be like that with our dance–we wander around not sure where to put our focus or what we want to say, until something comes along to help us find Clarity.

Last week, we talked about Fluency, Clarity, and Correctness as an assessment method in dance. Fluency means that we own our vocabulary and can easily move with the music. This week, we’ll look at Clarity. In this case, Clarity means we have something to say, and we make our point clearly. 

Wait, what? Something to say? 

Yep. In Oriental dance, the dancer shows her feeling from the music through movement. This feeling is what she has to say. Maybe it is the joy of the present moment. A dance performer’s classic task is to share joy with their guests. Maybe it is the complex wealth of emotional timbres inherent in tarab music. Maybe it is a theatrical piece. Whatever it is, we share it, and we want our guests to understand what we express. If we are homestyle dancers, we still have things to express–for our family and friends or just for ourselves. 

This means that all of our body works together to convey our feeling. This is soul. This is personal style. This is where we go beyond simple movement and into embodiment. It is part of our art. Oriental dancers are interactive. 


Clarity is a benchmark

Can the student move fluently? Great. Are they having fun, are they sharing their joy? No? Then that’s where we put our focus. 

Many times, dancers don’t know what to feel from the music. Like my year of fog, they get anxious, wondering what the right answer is. The right answer is what YOU feel from the music. Making space to just listen, to be engaged with the music, to let it move you–clarity comes from here. And soon enough. you will know which way to go. 

Next week? Correctness!

With love,
Alia