Saturday, August 30, 2014

Travel Steps Study Guide 4.2: Reference Notes, Egyptian Folklore



Egyptian Folklore (Theatricalized Style)

Hold, Step, Step, Step


Hold
Step
Step
Step
26:08
1
·         front extension (parallel variation)
·         rotation over the standing leg
walk
26:18
2
·         front extension (parallel variation)
walk
In this sequence, the initial hold, layered with a front extension, creates a floating transition into the steps that follow.  In the first variation (shown three times), I begin facing downstage, but rotate my torso over my standing leg, creating turnout in the standing leg’s hip.  Put another way, my extension points to the “side” relative to the audience, but it is a forward extension relative to my body.

Step, Step, Step-Hold


Step
Step
Step
Hold
26:30
3
forward
together

back
·         bent-knee touch front
·         Egyptian hip drop, twist forward
This sequence is sometimes called a “belly dance pas de bourrĂ©e,” and the hold is usually layered with unweighted hipwork and danced with the body facing side so that the working hip is downstage.  The footwork is a simple step sequence, layered with subtle rotation that changes the dancer’s orientation 180 degrees while she crosses the stage.  Most sequences don’t use any pivoting footwork; the change in the body’s orientation is created by rotating the body over the standing leg, in the hip, using the technique shown in this section’s opening combo..



Step
Step
Step
Hold
26:54
4
across in back
side
across in front
·         Straight-leg touch side
·         Hip twist
With the body facing in the same direction throughout the sequence, this combination is a true grapevine.  Taking the initial step back gives a relaxed impression of falling or melting in to the combination. 

Hold, Step


Hold
Step
27:06
5
·         pivot to close
·         front extension
·         leg sweep
across in back
27:17
6
·         pivot open
·         arabesque extension
·         leg sweep
across in front
This section illustrates a 2-count component used in longer combinations. Many folklore combinations contain 2-count hold-step sequences with the arm and leg layering variations shown here.


8-Count Combo 1


Step
Hold
Step
Hold
Step
Hold
Hold
Hold
27:30
7
across front
·         straight-leg touch side
·         hip lift
·         rotate over the standing leg
front
·         pivot open
·         straight-leg touch side
·         hip lift
side
·         pivot to close
·         straight-leg touch side
·         hip lift
wait
wait
This is a turning step-lift combo.   The turning component of this combination comes primarily from pivots, but the dancer also helps the turn along by reorienting her body over the standing leg.  After the first hip lift, the dancer rotates into a turned-out position on her standing leg in preparation for a step forward on count 3.  

8-Count Combo 2


Step
Step
Step
Hold
Step
Step
Step
Step
27:41
8
ball-change
·         full shift side
·         arm undulation
across front
·         arabesque
·         leg sweep
across front
side
ball change back
·         undulation, back on “7”
The steps in the second half of the combo turn the dancer using the same technique as belly dance pas de bourrĂ©e.  In preparation for the step on count 7, the dancer rotates her body over her standing leg, creating turn-out in the standing leg’s hip and transitioning into a side-facing orientation for the undulation on counts 7 and 8.

16-Count Combo 


Step
Step
Step
Hold
Step
Step
Step
step
28:14
9
walk
·         arabesque
·         leg sweep
across front
In place
across back
In place

(9 cont.)
Hold
Hold
Hold
Hold
Step
Hold
Step
Hold
hip circle
side
·         Pivot open
·         Straight-leg touch side
·         Hip lift
side
·         Pivot to close
·         Straight-leg touch side
·         Hip lift
Counts 5 – 8 use a grapevine step.  Unlike the cross-in-back variation shown in combination 4, this grapevine is led by a step across in front.  The hip circle in counts 9 -12 transfers weight around the front to the free foot, then around the back, returning weight to the same foot as when the circle started.  Counts 13-16 use steps from combo 7, turning step-lifts.

→ Next in the Travel Steps Study Guide: Reference Notes for Layered Footwork Combinations with Style Variations - Saidi (Theatricalized Women’s Style)

← Previous: Reference Notes for Layered Footwork Combinations with Style Variations - Modern Egyptian Oriental


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