How do you dance?

TENTH WEEK

04.30.2012

This post is more a reflective post on the attan dance we had the chance to learn more about last week and to practice. In continuing to do some background research on the dance, I hoped to learn more about the different settings in which the dance is used, how it is used, and what different movements are practiced. YouTube has been an excellent source of visuals from the past several years, and has a great array of different attan dances in various settings, some choreographed, some spontaneous, some celebratory, some in preparation for difficult war situations, some performed by women, some by men, some by both, some that use scarves as props, some that don't, some that take place to the beat of the tabla, some that are accompanied by song... the list can certainly continue at some length with each contributing an interesting element to the language of the attan. 

Attan dance (credit to artist "Somer" for the artwork)

My first thought was to post some samples of the different kinds of attan dances, but to select some simply wouldn't do the others justice! I urge you thus to take an adventure to www.YouTube.com and explore the diversity of dance yourselves. The picture to the right is an attempt to portray different elements of different attan dances.

My concluding thought on this post is this: Like any language, dance can be used in different ways and can be motivated with many different intentions. It is thus our universal responsibility as movers (every person moves in some way or another) to exercise consciousness in our movement choices and the way we use movement 

to communicate ourselves to others, and the subsequent impact we have on those we communicate with. Of course, this idea can extend to any type of communication or interpersonal relation, and I thus encourage you to think about how this might apply to both your movement choices (hand gestures, facial expressions, dances, etc.) and other aspects of the way you go about communicating with others (words, actions, thoughts, etc.). 

For example, you (and I!) might begin by thinking about one moment earlier today in which you (or I) shook hands with someone and how that person reacted. Did the strength of your handshake influence the way the other person saw you? Did he or she seem to draw a conclusion about your person based on that handshake? Maybe not. Similarly, we could begin by thinking about a moment in which we have felt particularly angry or frustrated with another person. How did we say the words that we used? Did the words we used with that person effectively get across what we hoped to say? Maybe, maybe not.

As always, I welcome your thoughts. 

Dancing in New Ways and Spaces

NINTH WEEK


04.24.2012


What an adventure! This week was the first time we all got the chance to meet the owners of Zamani Gallery and practice the dance in the space they were kind enough to provide. We also had the chance to practice with one of the owners who is a phenomenal tabla player and instructor. Following our rehearsal at the Gallery on Tuesday, we had the opportunity to sit for a while and learn more about Afghan culture and music from both owners. They shared three songs from Kabul, Afghanistan with us and explained that there was once a street in the city renowned for its plentitude of musicians that would have practiced all day long and competed for customers that would go searching for music for weddings and other celebrations to that same street. We also learned a lot more about the attan dance, about the importance of its rhythm, and about its origins. Where we understood that it had originally been a war dance, even before it became a war dance, it was practiced in Athens, Greece (hence the name "attan" or "Athens" in Farsi - آتن). It was a delight to learn so much more about different elements of Afghan culture. Thank you to those who made it possible to learn more!


04.28.2012


Our usual Saturday rehearsal took place today. Today was particularly exhilarating as we discussed ideas that had been brought up on Tuesday, as we rehearsed for different spaces, and we played with new movements. We enjoyed thinking about the potentials of the dance and how it could grow and change to fit new venues and purposes. The two videos below detail both parts of the dance, the composite dance of the Punjabi, Indian, North American, South American, Pakistani, Afghan, and German movements that stemmed from discussion about "American dance" we held several weeks ago, and the attan section we experimented and explored further this week. Both are in rough form but act as helpful tools to understand the structure and movements of the dance. Enjoy!

Section I of the dance (composite section).

Section II of the dance (attan section).

Feel free to share you're thoughts with us! We always welcome your perspectives and we thank you for your continued interest!

NOTE: Change in Performance Date

CHANGE IN PERFORMANCE

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the date of the performance will be changed to a later date (likely one of the following weekends). I apologize for any inconvenience, and hope that you will still be able to join us for the performance. We will keep you posted on the date as soon as it's set!

Finding a Venue

EIGHTH WEEK:

04.14.2012

This weekend’s rehearsal came after the excellent news on Thursday that a venue and a performance date have been set! The performance will be held at the Zamani Gallery in Georgetown (3145 Dumbarton Street NW, Washington DC). The Zamani Gallery features a wide selection of different pieces of Afghan artwork and craftsmanship from many parts of Afghanistan (http://www.zamanicollections.com/index.html), and we very much look forward to working with the Zamani Team who have been very kind to offer Afghan dresses and live music to accompany the dance the evening of the performance. After having the opportunity to visit the gallery yesterday (Friday), I am very much excited to begin rehearsing in the space!

The official performance information is as follows:

Date: April 29, 2012

Time: 5:00pm-7:00pm

Location: Zamani Gallery,

    3145 Dumbarton Street NW

    Washington, DC

    20007

We look forward to seeing you there if you are able to attend!

By way of rehearsal, this week we worked on thinking about how to rearrange the dance some to fit the space we will be performing in. Below, please find a brief video detailing the basic format and structure of the dance. Not all dancers are present in this video and the video serves as an informative video diary more than as a video displaying final performance material.

Video from rehearsal (rough format).

We, as always, welcome any thoughts or perspectives you may be willing to share!

What Participants Have to Say

SEVENTH WEEK:

04.07.2012

This week we established who would like to and be able to perform at the Nowruz Dance Initiative’s performance in Washington at the end of April. It was determined that four individuals would be able and willing to perform, and that these individuals would be those requested to continue attending rehearsals. For those who preferred not to perform or were not able to, but who still expressed interest in participating in the Initiative, discussion was held as to how this might be best accomplished. It was determined that those participants who still wished to be involved would be welcome to write about their experiences with the Initiative to be shared on the Initiative’s Blog.

One participant hoped to share the following:

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"To preface, I'm not a dancer at all. I never really danced much, and I didn't even go to prom because I wanted to avoid the dancing aspect. However, I have found that the Norwuz Dance Initiative is really invigorating. I think dancing in with an ensemble of people who all decided to create and develop our own dance is fantastic. Moreover, it's great for those people out there with a creative gene that typically remains unexplored and unused. All in all, I think the Norwuz Dance Initiative is a great project, and I'm excited to see how the final product of our efforts will look!"

-       Nowruz Dance Initiative Participant

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Thank you to the above participant for his words, and I look forward to learning more about participants’ experiences and continuing to build the program!

The remainder of the rehearsal was spent in learning the remainder of the compiled dance with one participant having to depart early. We finished learning the piece this week. We look forward to learning from Charity Help International soon which venue has been identified for the fundraising event at which we will perform in honor of AFCECO.

Though not the Afghani national flower, the tulip comes close! In the US, the tulip also has strong symbolic significance as a flower related to Spring and rebirth. A short video clip of tulips outside the dance studio where we rehearse every Saturday!

Rehearsal

SIXTH WEEK


03.31.2012

This week was our second rehearsal learning the compiled Afghan-American dance. We held our rehearsal at a different time than usual (one hour delayed) because I was presenting research on Afghan education systems during our usual rehearsal period. Whether because of the time change of the rehearsal or because of other reasons, only two individuals were able to attend, and one for the duration of the entire two hours, Though admittedly discouraged at first, I was delighted to have had the opportunity to rehearse individually with the participant who was able to stay. We were able to try different things and really focus on the technical aspects of the dance. By the end our legs had certainly gotten a good amount of exercise from all the squatting practice from the Pubjab section of the dance!

As a facilitator, it certainly is a learning experience in coming to realize the challenge in organizing meetings with many people when we all have very different schedules. I look forward to next week’s adventure and continuing to learn from the participants that make this project possible!

Beginning to Rehearse

FOURTH WEEK (continued)

After Monday's adventure of filming the Afghan-American dance we compiled in the short space of 26 hours, we had our first rehearsal!

03.24.2012

This weekend's rehearsal was the first time the rest of the group got a chance to work on learning the compiled Afghan-American dance together. It was the first time we saw each other since returning from a week-long break (many individuals had a school break and were traveling, so no rehearsal was held). Some individuals expressed a desire to perform and some preferred just to participate in learning the dance, but did not feel comfortable with the idea of performing. The activities we worked on were as follows.

1. Warmup Exercises

We began with a short series of warm-up exercise to regain some energy as the group's energy was somewhat low to begin with. We did some stretches and improvisational exercises across the space, including,

• Moving across the floor initiated by different parts of the body (i.e. hand, leg, hips, and head).

The response to this exercise was varied. In moving across the floor with hips and head, participants were encouraged to explore as many different movement possibilities as possible after watching the facilitator demonstrate. A sample demonstration of the exercise included the facilitator falling, rolling, and crawling, exploring movements that are often conceptualized as embarrassing or foolish. Each participant explored the exercise differently and with a mix of perspectives.

2. Rehearsal of the Afghan-American Dance

We worked on learning the first section of the Afghan-American dance, some movements of which the participants knew and recognized from their contributions, and others of which were knew to them. It was interesting to explore blending Afghani dance movements and American dances movements together.

From a choreographer’s perspective, it was an adventure to work with space, different bodies, people who had a lot of dance experience, and people who didn’t have a lot of dance experience. As always, I am learning immensely from all of the participants in the project, and am grateful for their willingness to share themselves and their perspectives.

As we get closer to the date of performance (April 21^st), my principal concern is that a location for the greater celebration has not yet been confirmed, but I look forward to the dancers being able to work in a different space and to the arrangement of a musical piece by a student in Washington who expressed an interest in participating.

FIFTH WEEK

03.31.2012

This week was our second rehearsal learning the compiled Afghan-American dance. We held our rehearsal at a different time than usual (one hour delayed) because I was presenting research on Afghan education systems during our usual rehearsal period. Whether because of the time change of the rehearsal or because of other reasons, only two individuals were able to attend, and one for the duration of the entire two hours, Though admittedly discouraged at first, I was delighted to have had the opportunity to rehearse individually with the participant who was able to stay. We were able to try different things and really focus on the technical aspects of the dance. By the end our legs had certainly gotten a good amount of exercise from all the squatting practice from the Pubjab section of the dance!

As a facilitator, it certainly is a learning experience in coming to realize the challenge in organizing meetings with many people when we all have very different schedules. I look forward to next week’s adventure and continuing to learn from the participants that make this project possible!