About

New Course on Wednesdays @ CityLit

Introduction to Belly Dancing

Date: 22/02/12 – 28/03/12

Time: 16.25-17.20

Place: City Lit, Keeley Street, Covent Garden London WC2B 4BA

Switchboard: 020 7492 2600Enrolments: 020 7831 7831
Please, call CityLit on 020 7831 7831 or visit website www.citylit.ac.uk

May 24, 2011 3rd Dec Sat, 7.30 pm “Stories of Eve”

3rd Dec Sat, 7.30 pm “Stories of Eve”

DVD available http://www.bellydanceartist.co.uk/shop.html

April 26, 2011 Expression in dance through arms and hands workshop with Michael Popper

This article would have been published in the Nafoura magazine:

Michael Popper workshop “Expression in dance through arms & hands”

Saturday, 21^stMay 2011 in New Malden organised by Eva Green

I was intrigued to find information about a workshop entitled “Expression in Dance through Arms and Hands”. The workshop was with a dance artist called Michael Popper, and had nothing to do with belly dancing. I like to try different dance forms believing it will help develop my own dancing skills, it was organised by Eva Green, a belly dance teacher in the New Malden area. So I signed up without hesitation.

On researching Michael Popper, my eye skimmed over an impressive list of his achievements…. dancer, singer, actor, choreographer and director. He was Assistant Director for Scottish Dance Theatre 2004-2007, he choreographed and directed for a number of companies including The Royal National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Welsh National Opera, and The Lyceum in Edinburgh. Then there was work outside UK too, from Ankara to Germany and Iceland. He trained with the Royal Ballet School and then followed a path in contemporary dance.

The workshop had no set choreography. He wanted to show us how to channel energy and intent into our dance.

Some exercises he gave us were so simple, however they were outside our belly dancing comfort zone, so it was an odd feeling, and as it turned out…not so easy. We simply had to walk across the room, bent/soft knees and moving in one solid flowing line. We had to take a few steps facing forward, and continuing in the same direction, step sideways, turn again to walk backwards, step sideways and then stepping forward again. The energy had to be the same in all the angles, especially when we had our backs to the imagined audience.

Another exercise was with a partner, facing each other and touching palms, then later with our hands apart, and we had to push and pull our partner in a mirror image, each of us spontaneously taking the lead and using as much movement as our upper body would allow. This was encouraging us to use our imagination.

In the last exercise Michael gave us 5 short hand and arm movements. We had to repeat these, at first flowing, then using an abrupt freeze in any position. Then we had to walk around the room in a similar way as the first exercise, flowing and turning and freezing. That felt very difficult, it reminded me of a workshop I attended with Kay Taylor called ‘The Power of the Pause’. Just stopping, or pausing, is not easy.

Some people may not be interested in this kind of workshop. I think belly dancing is a journey of self-discovery, when you are dancing, your personality shows, I believe that exploring other dance forms can bring confidence, colour and experience to a belly dancer. Michael Popper’s workshop made me think about creating energy, purpose and imagination in my movements, and learning from a male dancer encourages me to be more powerful and direct.

Michael himself said “his world” as a contemporary dancer is so different from the belly dancing world. I was flattered that he should take time out from his busy, high level schedule to come and teach a group of ordinary, unprofessional dancers, addicted to belly dancing, in New Malden….much respect to him! He doesn’t discriminate between professional and amateur dancers. He was charming, kind and sympathetic. Eva Green organised this workshop as an experiment and she is planning to do more with Michael. I can recommend them to anyone; we have a lot to learn from this talented man.

April 26, 2011