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These slower combinations are useful for dancing with the Veil, or Sword, or just for contrast and dynamics within your show.
SECTION A: Medium tempo (Masmoudi, Beledi)GLOSSARY or LIST of Abbreviations
| B=Back Ct(s).=Count(s) CCW=Counter Clockwise CW=Clock Wise F=Forward or Front fl=Flat foot |
L=Left LOD=Line of Dance o=Ball of the foot o/h=Over Head (p)=Pause P=palm(s) |
pl=Place R=Right S=Step t=Touch (not a 'weighted' step) X=Cross |
Sequence 1 (snake-like in-place move)
Cts. 1,2: 1 Torso undulation:
to L (arms out at sh. level; L wrist circle)
Cts. 3,4,5: 3 Torso
undulation: to R,L,R
Cts. 6,7,8: 1 Rib
circle starting to L (1 wrist circle on R & L)
Repeat entire
combination on same side, or opp. side.
Sequence 2 (another
snake-like in-place move)
Cts. 1-4: (Arms out
low) 2 Reverse shoulder *rolls (lifting from B to F), letting
your weight shift to the opposite foot when each shoulder comes
to the F.
Cts. 5-12: Repeat 2
times (3 times in all)
Cts. 13-16: 'Rolling
hip' figure-8's as arms cross low in F, move to o/h, separate,
and go back to original position to start sequence from the
beginning.
Details:
*Time your sh. rolls
so that you're at the Front on the downbeat (cts. 1 & 3)
Sequence 3 (side-to-side
move using rolling hips with subtle variations)
Cts. 1-4: 'Rolling
hip' tush push to R (step RLR); focus (as in, your EYES) on L
hip, w/L arm across body Low in F, and R o/h; (p) on ct. 4.
Cts. 5-8: Side-steps
to L (L,RXB,L) w/rolling hip figure-8's, w/ focus (yes, your
EYES) F, and arms out to sides; (p) on ct. 8.
Repeat entire
combination from side to side, and while you're pausing on ct. 4
and ct. 8, let your non-weighted foot swing out in an arc from
the F to the side, preparatory to stepping on ct. 1. (You can
also add a wrist circle, as arms transition to next position.)
Sequence 4 (travel move,
good for sword balancing)
Cts. 1,2: RXF, L t;
(arms at shoulder level, L at chest, R out at side; L wrist
circle on L t)
Cts. 3,4: repeat on
opp. side.
Cts. 5,6,7,8: BS R,L,R
(p) (arms come down out F w/ palms up, to hips)
Repeat entire
combination to opp. side.
Sequence 5 (veil move &
variation)
Cts. 1-4: (veil behind
you, legs slightly apart) Swirl veil to low Left, low Right by
twisting upper body from side to side and holding arms out low
at hip level.
Cts. 5: Swirl to Left
again;
Cts. 6,7,8: 3-S-turn
to Right w/ veil high.
If you repeat this
facing the same direction, you'll keep moving to your Right; you
can change where the 3-S-turn goes and end up in a different
place. I just used this step in a veil dance, and my 3-S-turns
took me around in a square or 'box' floor pattern, so that each
time I repeated the combination, I was facing into the box, but
on a different 'wall'.
Here's the variation:
Cts. 1-4: Same as
above.
Cts. 5,6: Swirl to the
Left again, but take two counts instead of one.
Cts. 7,8: 2-S-turn to
Right w/ veil high.
Now if you repeat this
combination, you'll be starting on the opposite foot, and
turning to your left so it doesn't travel as much. You can also
just turn 1/2 circle to face the Back.
Sequence 6 (traveling veil
move. LOD: large CCW circle)
Cts. 1-2: RS LS, w/veil *swirl towards stepping side (i.e. to
R,L)
Cts. 3+4: R S-tog-S, w/veil swirl toward R
Cts. 5,6,7,8: Walk around in small CCW circle w/L R L R; L arm
holding veil out in F, R trailing behind.
Repeat to the opposite
side (everything reverses), but continuing the CCW LOD.
It's hard to describe this simple but dreamy-feeling travel
step. Try to work it out, and do it four times in all. The
resulting floor pattern will be a large circle, with four
smaller circles (two inside and two outside) spaced out on the
larger circle.
Details:
*Swirl with parallel
arm action, twisting your upper torso in the same direction
Sequence 7 (in-place move
that travels a tiny bit)
Cts. 1-4: S-tog-S t
(R-L-R, L) sideways to stage R, w/pelvic 1&1/2-circle CW (to
the R, with the downbeat (Cts. 1 & 3) in F (arms down,
framing hips)
Cts. 5-8: repeat on
opp. side.
Cts. 1-5: (face the LF
corner) 3 BS (R L R) with torso undulations each step (3 in all)
(L arm up, R down)Ct. 6: (in pose from last step) Pelvic tilt F;
Cts. 7,8: roll up
(reverse undulation).
Now you can repeat the
whole combination on the opposite side.
Sequence 8 (a repeating
step w/turn, travels a little bit. It takes 16 cts., or two
chifti-telli rhythms)
Cts. 1,2: *2-Step turn
to the R (step R,L); arms in low.
Cts. 3,4: R Back-rock,
L pl. (facing F again)
Cts. 5,6,7,8: (going
Forward) RS, L hip lift; LS, R hip lift. Arms up like goalposts.
Cts. 1,2,3,4: (going
Backward) R, L (Obviously, half-time steps! That is, slow.
What's happening on the step is a rolling hip fig.8 while you're
stepping Backwards. "Roll" onto your stepping foot.)
Cts. 5,6,7,8: (still
going Backwards, and still rolling fig.8) RS, LS, RS, (p).
Now you can repeat everything to the opposite side.
*Details:
You could think of the first four counts as a 3-Step Turn with
the 3rd step being a Back-rock
(that's how I think of
it).
Sequence 9 (in-place move)
Cts. 1,2,3,4:
*fl-o-o-o (R flat, L ball, R ball, L ball)
During the flat step
& first ball step, do a small pelvic circle on it (Circle CW
to R then B);
the on the last two
ball steps, layer a torso undulation on top (ribs go F,up,B).
You can slowly turn CW
(small steps!) while doing this combination.
*Details:
The R foot stays a
little bit in front of the L, and the thighs stay close together
throughout the step.
Sequence 10 (easy in-place
veil move)
Cts. 1,2,3,4: Veil
swirl* w/R, L
Cts. 5,6,7,8: Windmill
turn CCW
*Details:
The "veil swirl" is a big swooping circle with one arm - as if
you're describing a large circle
in front of you (R arm goes down, to left, up, and back to
side). To stay in time with the beat,
time the circle so the lowest part hits the downbeat. For the R
arm, that's ct.1; for the L arm,
that's ct.3.
© 1999-2013 Anthea Poole