For Everyone Who's Been Asking About Somatic Bellydance

This weekend's somatic belly dance class was amazing! I knew a lot of my somatics work dovetailed beautifully with belly dance, but not until seasoned professionals started making major movement breakthroughs did I realize how valuable this stuff is to us.

During class, we did a floor warm-up, aiming to bring our minds and bodies into alignment. Then we physically realigned our bodies with detailed deep tissue work in the hip area, freeing up the muscles and increasing our range of motion, releasing deep muscles (yes, psoas fans, you can get there from here!) and more superficial muscles directly involved in belly dancing hip work.

The really crazy stuff happened once we got deeper. Quite literally.

As part of my somatic training, we study Body-Mind Centering, which has a heavy focus on organs and glands and their role in movement. And when we began bringing our organs into the equation, it was worth ten classes on spinal flexibility! By bringing in the internal organs at the base of the rib cage, we freed up new ease of motion, new nuances of articulation, and a new joy in dancing, thanks to the sheer pleasure of our "new" ability to move. To address the hips, we began to dance from the organs in the pelvis, particularly the reproductive organs, and felt new subtlety and freedom in our movements there as well.

Once we had turned on all the lights in our bodies, it was time to move. I used imagery and metaphor to guide students through some improvisation time, then we finished up with a quick developmental movement series, balancing the glands, and finished up with a bit of qigong to round out the afternoon and bring everything to a close.

It was a great class- I left feeling energized and excited for the next workshop. Watch this space to be the first to know! And trust me- you want to be there.

Here's Autumn's review of the class, with pictures!

Workshop Details: What you need

More details on the workshop Saturday 3/24:

Wear: Something you can roll on the floor in. A hip scarf is fine, but you may need to put it aside for the floorwork portions of the class.

Bring: Any or all of the following:
Kneepads
A mat

Location:
440 Lafayette St, 4th Floor (between Astor Place and 4th St.) Look for Voodoo Sisters on the room listing, though I believe we are in 4G.

Time: Still 1-3, Saturday March 24. Pre-pay to secure your spot; otherwise $35 at the door.

See you then!

Like zombies, we rise again....

Can't keep good loonies down. Yes, we are back, or at least one of us is back. Melissa Voodoo will be teaching a workshop this month that's all about the crazy stuff I'm learning. For those of you who don't know, I'm an anatomy nerd, I've been a personal trainer for close on 10 years, taught Pilates teachers how to be teachers at one of the most technical schools in NYC, and let more professional certifications expire than I know what to do with. And now I'm studying to become a movement therapist. It just keeps getting geekier.

And with everything I study, I keep thinking , "This would be SO GREAT for bellydancers!

So, find out how all this crazy knowledge can benefit YOU! Come to class on March 24th, 1-3. Pre-pay the ridiculously low price of $30 for 2 hours, or pay $35 at the door.

This workshop is sponsored by the wonderful Autumn Ward-- find out more about her detailed dance work at www.naturalbeautybellydance.com.
Sign up for the 24th here, now:

Name: (required, please!)

Here's some more info:

The word "somatics" is derived from "soma", a living body. Proprioception is the sixth sense-- the awareness of where your body is in space. Learn how to use these concepts and more to improve your fluidity, creativity, and ability to dance.

Melissa Voodoo, co-founder of the Voodoo Sisters, personal trainer, Pilates teacher trainer, and student of somatic movement therapy will show you how to get in touch with your body's ability to move in entirely new ways, using Body-Mind Centering, Martha Eddy Technique, Laban Movement Analysis, Bartenieff Fundamentals, and more. As you link your mind and your body more closely together, your dance will become more expressive, more reflective of the emotions running through you and the story you want to tell onstage.

The workshop is Saturday, March 24th, 1-3 at 440 Studios. Cost will be $30 with advance registration with Melissa via Facebook or PayPal; $35 at the door. A class series may follow-- watch this space for full details

Name: (required, please!)

So, do I see you on the 24th?