Your First Solo

9/13/2024

If you've been dancing for a little while, and have some movements you feel comfortable doing, it's time to start making your own dances!

Combinations in class are like sample sentences in a new language. They let you practice how words (movements) fit together, and get a hang for the sentence structure of a new language. In the case of dance, that is analogous to how the technique is used to translate the music into movement.

Raqs sharki is always the music made visual, but it also highly values the artist's feeling in the moment. That is something you can't get from performing your teacher's choreography. In fact, when responding to how the music makes you feel in the moment, improvisation is best (plus, you don't need to worry about forgetting what comes next if it's meant to be improvised!). Improvisation is also the way to one of most empowering aspects of the dance: having agency over your own expression.

You can choose to make a choreography while you're still learning to trust yourself, or you can work with a song and make a structured improvisation.

Pick a song from the options below that speaks to you. It can be any version of the song. Listen to it a lot. Free dance to it. Google it to see if it has a version with lyrics and if it does, read the translation if you don't speak the language it is in. After you have danced to it many times, you might start to notice you want to do similar things each time certain parts of the song come up. Use this to map the song out and create a loose framework for what you'd like to do when, but be flexible if you get to that part of the music and your weight isn't right or something else pulls you from your plan.

You can bring what you're working on to class and get feedback on what is working and what to improve. If you feel nervous about sharing something that comes out differently each time, you can write a choreography for it, but remember that choreographies are a stepping stone to gaining the ability to REALLY dance.

In addition to these "must know songs", feel free to bring any songs you have come across that you might like to use instead to your teacher and ask their opinion. They might say it's a great idea! They might suggest something else if the song has a lot of complicated references that you haven't had a chance to learn yet, or if it doesn't have enough MENAHT influence to make bellydancing to it make sense. This list also doesn't include modern artists, which you might find a connection to and who are important to keep up with, you're just as encouraged to pick something current as something from the list below.