Tips on Arabic music interpretation for belly dance – Part 2
Below I have listed a few more tips on interpreting Arabic music for bellydance, which follow from part one.
- Mark most accents with sharp movements, i.e. shoulder taks or hip lifts, but not necessarily every single accent. Choose to skip a couple of accents, otherwise the dance will not look natural.
- Do not forget your facial expressions. Smile whenever possible, unless the lyrics of the song or the music are sad and dramatic.
- You can choose to follow either the rhythm and perform percussive movements (i.e. hip drops) or follow the melody and perform flowing movements (i.e. snake arms), when a piece of music has both melody and a defined rhythmic pattern at the same time. However, make sure you do not always follow only either the rhythm or the melody throughout the song. Vary and follow a different layer every now and then.
- Many pieces of Arabic music (just like non Arabic music) are played with different instruments. Every time, you can choose not only if you are going to dance to the rhythm or the melody, but also which instrument you will be dancing to. Also, you can choose to follow the singer’s voice, if the music is sung to.
- In general, listen to Arabic music of different styles, as much as you ca and not only when dancing. The more familiar you are with a certain type of music, the easier it will be to interpret it.
- Feel the music - what mood does the music convey? Is it sad, dramatic, happy, playful? Reflect with your body’s movements the emotions and moods that come from the music.
Go to Part 1 - tips on interpreting Arabic music.
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