I finally finished, and uploaded, the new and vastly improved “Orientation for Continuing Beginners 1: Alignment Overview.” The new version is just a new edit of the old video, but now it is fully captioned (off to the side, where the titles don’t obscure the feet at the bottom of the screen), and it also has a nice cover image and title card. At least for me, captions make a night-and-day difference in my ability to focus on and retain the presented information. I hope it helps to make the information more useful for you too. And, for you super-optimized self-actualized types, the download with the program will unlock a way to watch the video at double speed. (This replaces the old “Extreme Knowledge Blast” version.) Yes, I am giving you the option to watch the 24-minute program in only 12 minutes, so that you may recoup 12 minutes of your day for other endeavors. Imagine the possibilities! You could use the time to:

• crochet that unfinished baby blanket for your niece who is actually now in her sophomore year at Bowdoin but will still probably appreciate the effort;
• try to better understand German declension;
• read the Wikipedia article on Cuir Bouilli (highlight: “armour based on hide has the unique advantage that it can, in extremis, provide some nutrition”, when actually boiled. Josephus records that the Jewish defenders in the Siege of Jerusalem in AD 70 were reduced to eating their shields and other leather kit, as was the Spanish expedition of Tristan de Luna in 1559.)
• Or?…

Next, I’m taking a moment to add an email list signup functionality to this site. Then, after that, part 2 of the Orientation for Continuing Beginners series, Footwork Overview, will get the same treatment. Footwork overview is 37 minutes long, which means you could have another 18.5 minute windfall in your future.

I am currently re-editing previously-published content in the “Orientation for Continuing Beginners” course. (The old versions are still around, but the new ones will be much more user-friendly, particularly for those of you who do not speak English as a first language.)

After that, there are new classes in the queue. These titles–previously unpublished content in the “Orientation for Continuing Beginners course–have already filmed:

• Music Overview
• Arms Overview
• Arms Practice
• Arms Final Quiz

And, after that, the plan is to wrap up the series:

• Swinging Tilts Overview
• Swinging Tilts Practice
• Horizontal Plane and Hip Lift Front Overvie
• Horizontal Plane and Hip Lift Front Practice
• Shoulders Overview and Practice

After that? LMK! Based on feedback, it sounds like people want shorter programs at a continuing beginner level, but I am happy to make you whatever programs you need.

When you have an organized understanding of principles and build on a rock-solid foundation, not only do you get better faster and with less effort, but you have more fun in class and take more satisfaction from your practice. So let’s make sure your ducks are in a row! This course takes a detailed inventory of every Absolute Beginner vocabulary element and concept, and is designed both as a review and refresher for students who have completed Autumn’s Absolute Beginner Course, and as a quick catch-up preparation for continuing beginner students who are coming from classes taught by other teachers. Use this course to discover and fill in any gaps in your expertise, take full ownership of the material you have learned, and move on to Continuing Beginner training from a place of optimal preparation.

Class steps through breakdowns and definitions for: hip rotation; pointing the feet; the 9 landmarks that define stance; basic stance; staggered stance; staying centered and balanced with unequal weight distribution; spiraled stance variations; heel lifts; heel drops as a unit of dance vocabulary; knee bends; the concept of weighted and unweighted movement; and the concept of pushing and lifting.

This program is fully captioned and bookmarked, and replaces an earlier version that was not. Please download the attached PDF for a full transcript, instructions on how to speed up playback, and a hack that might give you subtitles in languages other than English.

Bookmarks for this program:

:19 Locating the hip joints
1:10 Hip Joint Articulations
3:35 Foot Articulation
5:28 9 Landmarks of Stance
6:18 Basic Parallel Stance
8:56 Weight Distribution
10:25 Stage Directions
11:10 Weighted Hip Rotation
12:09 Unweighted Hip Rotation
12:36 Centered Alignment
12:48 Staggered Stance
15:58 Spiraling
18:14 Heel Lifts
20:13 Knee Bends
21:28 Weighted and Unweighted Movement
22:05 Push and Lift
22:36 Review

After a short warmup and long technique flow, this class teaches and practices a lyrical sequence set to music adapted from Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherezade,” specially arranged for Oriental Dance. Lyrical Fantasy is designed for students at or above an intermediate level, and runs just an hour.

Bookmarks for Lyrical Fantasy:

0:46 Warmup
4:54 Technique Flow
31:30 Demo with back to camera
32:25 Step-by step
39:27 Practice lead R
43:18 Step-by-Step Lead L
46:18 Practice lead L
49:44 About “Scheherezade”

Music used in this program:

1:09 “Scheherezade’s Love Duet” from the album Oriental Fantasy Vol. 14-Raks Horacio
3:08 “Lessa Faker” from the album Oriental Fantasy Vol. 1– Ala Nar by Beata and Horacio Cifuentes
11:20 “Ciftetelli Takasim 2” from the album Bellydance New York by Amir Naoum Chehade and Elias Sarkar
16:30 “Bir Demet Yasemin” from the album Bellydance New York by Amir Naoum Chehade and Elias Sarkar
23:15 “Inta Omri” from the album Oriental Fantasy Vol. 2 – Inta Omri by Beata and Horacio Cifuentes
27:46 “Enta Wa Bass Instrumental”from the album Oriental Fantasy 08 – Ahabek Ya Amar by Beata and Horacio Cifuentes

Once you’ve reached an advanced level, you have a good technical command of most belly dance vocabulary, but is your instinct for transitions equally developed? In this class, we’ll learn and practice an intricate sequence of detailed isolations, finding new pathways between moves, and putting those pathways into your muscle memory. And because our steps are carefully mapped to melody, our sequence today also acts as an exercise in music interpretation. We begin with a short warmup and long technique flow, then learn and practice a choreography excerpt set to Beata and Horacio Cifentes’ Oriental dance arrangement of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherezade.” Today’s class is the second of two classes using this music. While both classes are designed to stand on their own, for those who are taking these classes in order, we’ll conclude by briefly revisiting the sequence we learned in part one and running it together with the sequence we’re practicing today.

Bookmarks for Intricate Isolations:

0:00 Warmup
5:06 Technique Flow
25:28 Demo with back to camera
28:12 Count the Music
29:53 Step-by-Step 2^nd half
38:21 Step-by-Step 2^nd half other side
42:33 Slow Speed Practice 2^nd half
43:48 Regular Speed practice 2^nd half
47:19 Step-by-Step 1^st half
54:31 Slow Practice 1^st half
55:37 Regular Speed practice 1^st half
56:40 Full Choreography excerpt practice
57:50 Full Choreography Excerpt Practice Other Side
59:32 Step-by-Step Review from Class 1
1:01:02 Step-by-Step Class 1 Other Side
1:02:14 Class 1 + 2 Practice
1:04:11 Class 1 + 2 Practice Other Side

Other music used in this program:

2:25 “Azzuri” from the album Lavender by Middle Earth Ensemble
16:13 “Inta Omri” from the album Oriental Fantasy Vol. 2 – Inta Omri by Beata and Horacio Cifuentes
20:44 “Enta Wa Bass Instrumental” from the album Oriental Fantasy 08 – Ahabek Ya Amar by Beata and Horacio Cifuentes

We prepare with a short warmup and technique flow, then learn and practice a detailed 32-count combo. Our vocabulary today includes undulations and circles, and our sequence emphasizes elastic phrasing, drawing out the timing of preparations then “snapping” back in.

Elastic Fantastic is a quick 35-minute class for dancers at or above a low intermediate level. The music is “To Morocco With the Stars” from the album My House is the Sky by Mundi, starting at about the one-minute mark. This program is part of a series using the “To Morocco” music, but each class in the series is designed to stand on its own, and the classes need not be taken in order.

Other music used in this program:

1:34 “The Fire Circle” from the album Sea Spirits by Jesse Manno
4:49 “Ra Returns” from the album Beautiful Earth by Bella Gaia8:53 “Azzuri” from the album Lavender by Middle Earth Ensemble

Bookmarks for Elastic Fantastic

0:00 Intro
1:09 Demo
1:33 Warmup
8:52 Technique Flow
22:40 Step-by-Step
26:19 Slow Speed Practice
28:20 Slow Speed Practice other side
30:26 Medium Speed Practice
32:37 Medium Speed Practice other side
35:59 Full Speed Practice
38:22 Full Speed Practice other side

In this quickie 35-minute class for intermediates, we dance through a 32-count combo with pivots, full-body undulations, and fast double drops, Our music is “To Morocco With the Stars” from the album My House is the Sky by Mundi, starting at about the 1:13 mark. Textured Flow is part of a series using the “To Morocco” music, but each program in the series is designed to stand on its own, and the classes need not be taken in order.

Other music used in this program:
0:00 “Karuna” from the album Star Of The Sea by Stellamara

Bookmarks for Textured Flow:

0:00 Warmup
5:25 Technique Flow
24:11 Step-by-Step
28:19 Slow practice
29:49 Slow Practice Start Other Side
31:15 Full Speed Practice
33:14 Full Speed Practice Lead Other Side

After a short warmup and technique flow, learn and practice a little over a minute of easy-paced choreography with three distinct sections: gliding travel steps and turns; an earthy shimmy; and slow sinuous vertical-plane up figure-8s. This 48-minute class is suggested for dancers at or above a low intermediate level. Our music is “To Morocco With the Stars” from the album My House is the Sky by Mundi, starting at the 1:51 mark. Glide-Anchor-Pull is part of a series using the “To Morocco” music, but each program in the series is designed to stand on its own, and the classes need not be taken in order.

Bookmarks for Glide-Anchor-Pull:

0:00 Warmup
4:31 Technique Flow
12:04 Demo, back to camera
12:05 Music: “To Morocco With the Stars” by Mundi
13:20 Step-by-Step Combo 3
16:51 Style notes Combo 3
21:12 Practice Combo 3
23:17 Step-by-Step Combo 2
27:18 Style notes Combo 2
28:06 Practice Combo 2
30:17 Footwork Flow
37: 30 Step-by-Step Combo 1
41:40 Practice Combo 1
44:24 Practice Full Choreography Excerpt

Other music used in this program:

0:01 “Lessa Faker” from the album Oriental Fantasy Vol. 1– Ala Nar by Beata and Horacio Cifuentes
8:13 “Ciftetelli Takasim 2” from the album Bellydance New York by Amir Naoum Chehade and Elias Sarkar
30:18 “Ganil Hawa” from the album Oriental Fantasy Vol. 2 – Inta Omri by Beata and Horacio Cifuentes

A tutorial on the Middle-Eastern 2-handed snap or “Persian” snap, followed by tips on how to incorporate the snap into belly dance presented in cultural context.

Use this follow-along nonstop flow to build or maintain clean precise placement for arms. We reinforce muscle memory with repetition through seven basic paths, sequence basic paths into longer compound paths, then finish with repetitions of perfectly-mapped transitions between the basic positions that are commonly used to frame hipwork.

Music: “Sonnet Du Coeur,” from the album Beautiful Earth by Bella Gaia