Monday 21 May 2012

Finding first gear

My belly dance life seems to be in neutral at the moment!

I still haven't finished the beading on my baladi dress- I can only manage about seven strands before my attention wanders and I realise the last two strands were seven and fortyseven beads long, respectively. Not a good look.

Shamefully, I haven't even begun work on the silver bedlah, despite having all the ingredients on hand.

I'm behind on my practice too. I was away in Scotland for a well-earned holiday, and dancing went by the wayside in favour of long walks on the beach, birdwatching and obscene quantities of shortbread.

I was due to go to a dance intensive on Sunday, but I slipped on a sea cliff last week while hunting puffins (with binoculars) and twisted my knee. It was totally worth it because I saw loads of them, but it does mean I am woefully out of practice.

My troupe mate C has kindly kept me informed of what I've missed in class while I was away, so my usual practice list (arms, tucked pelvis, camels) has now had 'walking sideways rib circles', walking in full relevé and the 'Intuflow' routine my teacher has begun incorporating into the the warm up.

Incidentally, I can highly recommend that for dancers wanting a gentle way to improve their flexibility and joint mobility. It's worked wonders on my crunchy shoulder, and as soon as the swelling has gone down I shall get back to it to try and strengthen my poor knee.