Bellydance by Anthea: How To Create Dance Combinations

Section C:
Ideas for Taqasim, & Creating Your Own Combinations

SECTION A: Medium tempo (Masmoudi, Beledi)
SECTION B: Slow tempo (Chifti-telli)
SECTION C: (this page)
SECTION D: Structured Group 'Improv'

-For info on rhythms, see the links on
my homepage under "Music & Rhythm"

GLOSSARY of abbreviations

B=Back
Ct(s).=Count(s)
CCW=CounterClockWise
CW=ClockWise
F=Forward or Front
fl=Flat foot

L=Left
LOD=Line of Dance
o=Ball of the foot
o/h=OverHead
(p)=Pause
P=palm(s)

pl=PLace
R=Right
S=Step
t=Touch (not a 'weighted' step)
X=Cross

SECTION C Taqasim (pl. instrumental solos; sing."taqsim") (Some dancers suggest not 'outshining' the musician when he takes a solo, so keep that in mind when you're dancing to a live band.)
Pick your favorite one to try out these ideas...
1. Think circles:
~create circular movements with different parts of your body
~use different sizes; circles within circles; layer with a shimmy; change your body position & focus
2. Move on to figure-8's, waves, undulations, and other arcs.
3. Use a specific arm postition to trigger movement ideas from your repertoire.

Always follow the tempo of the melody with your movements, and 'rest' when the musician 'rests,'
even for a second.

CREATING YOUR OWN COMBINATIONS
(from Kawakib's Dance Tips: "Structure & Aesthetics in Oriental Dance")

Explore some ways to make up combinations (or improvise)!
Think of the various moves you know how to do, and mentally categorize them as either:
1. In-place moves or Travelling steps (turns can be either)
2. Round, smooth moves (like figure-8's, rolls, circles, etc.) or Straight, sharp moves (like lifts, drops,
thrusts, shimmies, etc.)
Those are the basic categories of our dance's movements.
Now let's take an 8-ct. segment and break it up into 2 sections of 4 cts. & 4 cts. Here's some ways to build your combination:

Use two different moves from your categories above for each 4 counts, making sure the transition is smooth and your pose or arms look nice.
Use the same move, but with a variation on the second 4-ct. section. That's called "Motif & Variation."

Here are just a few of the ways you can vary the move (or 'motif'):

direction (forward, backward, sideways, diagonal, up, down, clockwise, counterclockwise)
embellishment (overlaid with another movement - see Sequence #11, Section A)
size (large, medium, small)
staging (what the rest of the body is doing, how it's posing, or where it is in space)(See Sequence #3, Section B): this was a travelling 'rolling hip' move that just used different body positions)
tempo (slow, fast, rhythmic, even)

Now take the 8-ct. segment and break it up into 2 sections of 6 cts. & 2 cts.; or 4 & 2 & 2. Have fun!

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