Today in L3 Drills and Improv, we addressed the Moroccan Six zil pattern and the feeling of circles in the music.
The song we used was Sadats by Cheb i Sabah (see playlist below.) We tried to match the feeling of the music with circular steps:
Arm circles with floreos - vertical circles [arms] with little spinners [hands]
Barrel Turn - vertical circle
Pulse Turn - vertical circle
Wrap Around Turn - horizontal circle upper body
Circle Step - horizontal circle lower body
I wanted the students to understand that American Tribal Style® is not meant to be a historically accurate representation of the North African cultures, but rather a way of bringing the feeling of the cultures to the audience via the dance. We talked a bit about the Gnawa and Griots. I recommended reading Paul Bowles, especially Their Heads are Green and Their Hands Are Blue, where he mentions that Egyptian music sounds like a square and Moroccan music sounds like a circle.
We looked at some videos of Gnawa trance music and ritual, to give the students a visual to apply when playing the zils like gargabas and the circular nature of the pulse in the music.
2 comments:
Thanks!!!:)
I 'm lookink for music!!
Kisses from Spain!!
How to transfer the feeing from the music through dancing - My long term goal is to switch off the thinking brain, or to run it behind the action brain. With the homework and practice you gave me, I’ve started to feel that way when I dance, but still the thinking brain takes over too many times... The L3 class last Sat was really helpful. That was a different approach to my brain. I know its going to happen slowly, but I am positive something can happen. I’d like to take that class again!
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