A "Joy"ous Saturday
by Claire "Shimmychick" Johnson
It's that time of year again ladies! Being a Yorkie Lass, I'm drawn to the Jewel of Yorkshire but more to satisfy my obsession than a calling of my roots! A marathon of belly workshops right on our doorstep that provides a wide variation of classes, fabulous teachers and of course lots of Souks.
Diane, Barbara, Sarah and I went along for the Saturday workshops. As we were only going for the one day, we used the "lets-try-and-cram-as-much-in-as-possible" method to select our workshops. When we booked I was intending to get fit before we went, but as April approached the thought of 7 hours of dancing worried me somewhat….
Never mind, Diane, Barb and I attended Leyla Jauvana's Flamenco Style workshop first. We had done a Flamenco workshop before, but Leyla really explained and demonstrated the passion and tension required for this dance. Lots of energy, skirt swishing and foots stamping = Fun! As always, at these things you bump into old friends and new. Donna and Fay did this class too and looked far more proficient than me at the Fan moves…I'm not a prop person, or maybe just haven't found the right one yet?
Sarah and Connie were doing Anne Kingstons Belly burlesque workshop beneath us (sorry ladies, we must have sounded like elephants!), which she said was cheeky and a great introduction to the dance by the lovely Anne.
Madeline Mitchells "Shake and Bake" for me next. A simple North African choreo that could be done spontaneously at a Hafla if there are enough of you. Meanwhile the others went to "Dark side Tribal" with the lovely Heike Humphreys. Scary moves to help along with a gothic style or just to add something to the Halloween Haflas. This contained head banging (yes that's right!) of which I received a demo in the car on the way back..(Wayne's World springs to mind). All in all, I was a tad envious as it sounded such a laugh. Think Di and I have convinced Barb to do something other than "Thriller" now anyway.
Shopping, shopping, and more shopping… Virtual anyway (costs nothing to look!) whilst grabbing a bite to eat and catching up with friends. Onwards and upwards to Chris Ogden's "Troupe Movements". Chris is a fantastic teacher. I always get so much out of her workshops and its good to have drumming provided by Woody.. There were no new moves here, but we did come away with some great methods for getting from one formation to another, pairs, lines, chevrons, circles that sort of thing, that could work for any dance style and looks great with a large group. Meanwhile, Di was being put through the paces at Dawn O'Brien's Body conditioning. A great way to work on your dancer's posture and strengthen up muscles we have forgotten about.
So, we made it to the last workshop of the day. Barbara and Diane saved the most energetic class to the end and went off the Michelle Penders Gypo class. Michelle is such an energetic teacher and we have a lot to thank her for from the moves we have borrowed / modified / incorporated into our dances. Sarah and I attended Heike's Tribal and Indian Styling which was HARD!. Well, the sideways ribcage figure of 8 was anyway. I think it was a sign that my body had had enough, (or maybe I'm just getting old, should have watched less telly and done more exercise)…She's a fun teacher but still is a stickler for technique. She incorporated some lovely turns and Mudras, and nice ideas to add into any type of dance.
We decided not to stay for the hafla this time (What did we miss?!...review required please!) And judging by our weariness maybe that was the right thing to do. However as we left Barb announced "ladies, I picked up the forms for October!"…
Note to Self :Better start saving and jogging now then Claire…
by Claire "Shimmychick" Johnson
It's that time of year again ladies! Being a Yorkie Lass, I'm drawn to the Jewel of Yorkshire but more to satisfy my obsession than a calling of my roots! A marathon of belly workshops right on our doorstep that provides a wide variation of classes, fabulous teachers and of course lots of Souks.
Diane, Barbara, Sarah and I went along for the Saturday workshops. As we were only going for the one day, we used the "lets-try-and-cram-as-much-in-as-possible" method to select our workshops. When we booked I was intending to get fit before we went, but as April approached the thought of 7 hours of dancing worried me somewhat….
Never mind, Diane, Barb and I attended Leyla Jauvana's Flamenco Style workshop first. We had done a Flamenco workshop before, but Leyla really explained and demonstrated the passion and tension required for this dance. Lots of energy, skirt swishing and foots stamping = Fun! As always, at these things you bump into old friends and new. Donna and Fay did this class too and looked far more proficient than me at the Fan moves…I'm not a prop person, or maybe just haven't found the right one yet?
Sarah and Connie were doing Anne Kingstons Belly burlesque workshop beneath us (sorry ladies, we must have sounded like elephants!), which she said was cheeky and a great introduction to the dance by the lovely Anne.
Madeline Mitchells "Shake and Bake" for me next. A simple North African choreo that could be done spontaneously at a Hafla if there are enough of you. Meanwhile the others went to "Dark side Tribal" with the lovely Heike Humphreys. Scary moves to help along with a gothic style or just to add something to the Halloween Haflas. This contained head banging (yes that's right!) of which I received a demo in the car on the way back..(Wayne's World springs to mind). All in all, I was a tad envious as it sounded such a laugh. Think Di and I have convinced Barb to do something other than "Thriller" now anyway.
Shopping, shopping, and more shopping… Virtual anyway (costs nothing to look!) whilst grabbing a bite to eat and catching up with friends. Onwards and upwards to Chris Ogden's "Troupe Movements". Chris is a fantastic teacher. I always get so much out of her workshops and its good to have drumming provided by Woody.. There were no new moves here, but we did come away with some great methods for getting from one formation to another, pairs, lines, chevrons, circles that sort of thing, that could work for any dance style and looks great with a large group. Meanwhile, Di was being put through the paces at Dawn O'Brien's Body conditioning. A great way to work on your dancer's posture and strengthen up muscles we have forgotten about.
So, we made it to the last workshop of the day. Barbara and Diane saved the most energetic class to the end and went off the Michelle Penders Gypo class. Michelle is such an energetic teacher and we have a lot to thank her for from the moves we have borrowed / modified / incorporated into our dances. Sarah and I attended Heike's Tribal and Indian Styling which was HARD!. Well, the sideways ribcage figure of 8 was anyway. I think it was a sign that my body had had enough, (or maybe I'm just getting old, should have watched less telly and done more exercise)…She's a fun teacher but still is a stickler for technique. She incorporated some lovely turns and Mudras, and nice ideas to add into any type of dance.
We decided not to stay for the hafla this time (What did we miss?!...review required please!) And judging by our weariness maybe that was the right thing to do. However as we left Barb announced "ladies, I picked up the forms for October!"…
Note to Self :Better start saving and jogging now then Claire…