The Making of "The Move Before The Move"
Cheeky Girls Productions Logo
It came and went before I knew it: the filming of my debut instructional DVD with Michelle Joyce of Cheeky Girls Productions! Being featured on my very own DVD was just one of the phenomenal prizes for winning the international online reality series, "Project Belly Dance." The other amazing prizes include being mentored by Aziza while on a workshop tour (specifically the TARAZADE Festival in Istanbul, Turkey!), plus $800 toward travel expenses, and to judge and teach a workshop at The Belly Dance Nationals, to teach a workshop at Bahaia's Cabaret Dance Camp and receive a free custom costume from Maz Couture!
Finishing up hair and makeup for the shoot!
Preparation for this project started a long time ago, primarily with narrowing down the topic that I would be teaching. I took an online poll on Facebook, and it was almost unanimous that "The Move Before The Move: Transitions for Belly Dancers" was the favorite topic from my list of possible ideas. Now I had to get down to organizing the chapters, concepts, dance combinations, choosing the music, choosing cute outfits to wear and more! My chosen topic included so much abstract information that it was a challenge trying to organize it and provide useful visual examples and exercises.
On Sunday March 10, the big day of filming, Michelle set up in a nice dance studio in Mountain View, CA. We started filming in the early evening and went until 1am. I had moments of nailing a shot with absolutely no mistakes, and then I had moments of "brain-fried-ness" where I just could not focus. At these times, we took short breaks and then got into the groove again. Michelle was patient and offered helpful ideas to improve to final product.
Since I have taught on film before (Combination Nation Vol. 2 and 3) I felt that I would be able to blast through the filming process, but those segments in the Combination Nation DVDs were much shorter and less involved. Making my own DVD was a big project and required as much mental stamina as physical. It was a valuable experience in which I learned a lot, and I look forward to any other similar projects I may do in the future!
Since I have taught on film before (Combination Nation Vol. 2 and 3) I felt that I would be able to blast through the filming process, but those segments in the Combination Nation DVDs were much shorter and less involved. Making my own DVD was a big project and required as much mental stamina as physical. It was a valuable experience in which I learned a lot, and I look forward to any other similar projects I may do in the future!
Sa'diyya's DVD is COMING SOON!
In the end, I chose to list 10 key concepts that help to better explain successful transitions in belly dance, 12 "before & after" combinations that present movements strung together without and then with transitions using those before mentioned key concepts. And finally an entire choreography base that students can use as their own jumping-off point to create their own unique dance with smooth and interesting transitions. The title of my new DVD is "The Move Before The Move: Transitions for Belly Dancers with Sa'diyya!" It should be ready early this Summer! I'm really proud of my unique DVD topic and I sincerely hope that it is viewed as a valuable tool for students of belly dance.
