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So, what ARE some of the things people say
about Jamilee Abir's Workshops???? Read on.... (blush!)
From
Regina, Saskatchewan:
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A Review of Jamilee Abir’s
Workshop in Regina, Sk.
Hosted by RAMED (Regina Association of
Middle Eastern Dancers
Article By Roxanne Rogowski
On Saturday, March 5, 2005, RAMED
hosted a workshop by Jamilee Abir.
There were plenty of laughs at this workshop. Sometimes you
even forgot that you were learning....
Jamilee started the morning with a exercise that let everyone
get to know each other. We then moved on to the basic
movements of the Oriental Style. We reviewed head slides,
shoulder rolls, torso movements, all the basic hip movements,
shimmies and so much more. Jamilee gives wonderful
explanations of the movements as well demonstrating both
good and bad examples of a move. The bad examples result in
fits of laughter from the workshop participants, but more
important she makes her point clear.
We continued the afternoon with a
discussion of professional entrances
and exits in both a restaurant/casual setting and a stage. All the
information is summarized in a handout that I
will retain for future reference. What was her most important point?
If your audience can see you, you are performing
regardless if you just walking on or off the stage. Maintain good
posture and a positive attitude at all times.
The workshop was ended with a lively introduction to Hagallah. “The
folkloric dance of celebration known as the
hagallah is performed by the settled Bedouin (bedu) of Mersa Matruh
in Western Egypt and is often performed during the
date harvest, which is the wedding season in that area.
Hagallah is also known in areas of
neighboring Libya and is related
to kaf (clapping) dances in other regions of the Middle East. The word "hagallah"
is believed to derive from an Arabic
word hag'l, meaning to skip or jump. Hagallah is performed at weddings
(leading the zeffa or wedding
procession), for honoured visitors and at engagement
celebrations. 'Hagallah' refers to the dancer, the music and
dance itself.” (see the following WEB site:
http://www.home.aone.net.au/aziza/Hagallah.html)
Jamilee taught us a fun choreography by
Denise Enan.
This was a great workshop for
beginners and intermediate dancers
in any style. The basics are an important foundation that each style
starts from. Jamilee sets everyone at ease and is
easy to understand and follow. For teachers and advanced dances,
there is always something more to learn. Perhaps it’s a
different way to explain something or that combination that you never
thought of before. So what did I
learn? How to get rid of chicken wings! Ask me
the next time you see me. I’ll demo.
J
Oriental
Entrances with Jamilee Abir
Hosted
by RAMED (Regina Association of Middle Eastern Dancers
Article By
Azura
The RAMED workshop on
March 1, 2003 featured Rosa-Mirijello Haynes, a professional
performer and instructor of East Indian Kathak dance, and belly dance
artist Jamilee Abir (Kim-Diane Munro) from Calgary who is well known in
Western Canada for dramatic entrances that engage the audience. With about
45 participants, the workshop had an unusually large number of beginners.
Teaching Kathak dance
in the morning, Rosa Mirijello-Haynes began with the rhythms that are
the foundation of any dance form. Everyone chanted, “ek, do, tin, char,
panch, che…”, counting Hindi numbers while trying to follow patterns with
the hands and feet. Rosa taught combinations with a sixteen beat cycle,
emphasizing flat-footed stomping steps and graceful hand movements. Later
in the morning, Rosa explained the symbolism behind each hand and head
movement as we sat on the floor and followed her. Kathak and classical
Hindi dance draw on a rich symbolism that has been lost in North American
belly dance; every motion Rosa demonstrated related to a legend about a god
or goddess. Finally, Rosa taught stick dancing, which uses a rocking motion
while banging two short sticks in time to the music.
Jamilee Abir taught
entrances and exits, which is perhaps the most neglected aspect of belly
dance performance. Explaining that most entrances start in a malfuf or a
fast 2/4 ayub rhythm, Jamilee suggested that the entrance is the dancer’s
chance to greet the audience, “to let them look at your gorgeous costume,
and warm them up for when you REALLY start to dance”.
The way she described the structure of a
performance is like the plot of a novel: the entrance is an introduction,
after which the dance should build toward a climax, while the exit completes
the piece and says good-bye to the audience. Rather than rushing out to do
your best moves at the beginning, it’s better to save those for later in
the performance. Jamilee also suggested taking a few minutes before going
on stage to “warm up” facial muscles so you’re ready to smile. Another
useful tip is to know your rhythms so that you can tell a live band what you
want them to play, rather than having to improvise to whatever the band
picks.
Perhaps most importantly, Jamilee demonstrated why posture and
expression are vital to a beautiful performance. With her usual warmth and
humor, she showed how a slumped chest, rigid shoulders and poor expression
look to the audience. We spent much of the afternoon trying to walk
gracefully on the balls of our feet, using hand and arm movements to welcome
the audience while smiling. As with most things in belly dancing, we found
that doing those three things together is not very easy. As Jamilee puts it,
“Breath. Be aware of what your face is telling the
audience, as well as your body. Fall in love with your audience as
soon as you walk out…Let them know with your facial expression that you are
truly happy to dance for them, you think they are all special, you catch
their eyes so they know they are special, and you look like you are
having a ball when the music dictates it.”
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From
Calgary, Alberta:
Jamilee's A
B C's of Professional Performance
April 12, 2006-Hosted by Leila Ghazaal of
www.dancetoenhance.ca
Mail:
Hi Jamilee!
Thank you so much for the workshop last night. This is my first year
bellydancing and have done two student shows already. It is a little insane
(but also exciting) how many opportunities there are to perform in this type
of dance. All of your advice and tips last night were extremely
informative! And the drills while extremely challenging (especially facial
awareness I think) - so important. I will have to practice those a lot!
Cheers!
Michelle
PS: I was even inspired by your thoughts on the community at the end (and
the importance of loving Everyone!) It is so common in so many performing
communities to have that negativity and I will try really hard to follow
your advice - that advice about 'loving'. (Loving the audience was a
really beautiful way of looking at it for me too.) Thank you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello Jamilee
How are you? I am terribly late, but I took your performance workshop
two weeks ago and want to thank you for a great class. I was a little sick
that day but really wanted to attend. I notice you teach at Silver
Springs and the Crowfoot Y. Do you have any advanced classes I may attend
or drop in?
Talk to you soon,
Catherine
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jamilee's
Big Technique Workshops
Run twice a year Hi
Jamilee,
Just thought I would drop you a quick note to let you
know how much I enjoyed the workshops you've held this fall. Besides the
fact that I've been able to work on "perfecting" my technique as well as
learning new one's, I've had a blast. They are so much fun! Thank you very
much! Can't wait for the next set of workshops to start as well as our new
classes in January.
Sue McIntosh |
From Winnipeg, Manitoba:
May
6, 2006-Mini
Workshop Series: Steppin' With the Stars
Hosted by
Shazaam Productions
Excerpt from article by Barbara Tomporowski - July 2006
Jamilee Abir taught a dynamite drum solo
featuring small accents and frequent changes of level and direction. While the
routine opened with arabesques like an Oriental choreography, it exploded into
traveling and standing shimmies. Constant layering made this an advanced
choreography; the simplest layering involved choo-choo steps and
flat-ball-ball-ball steps in figure eight patterns, but the routine also
included shimmies with downward traveling hip locks (the Soheir Zaki step) and
tiny hip drops combined with ummies. The resulting choreography is challenging,
energetic, and exciting.
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There's More, I am still working on this page......
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each page as things change all the time!!!