Jewel of Yorkshire - part 1

Wow! I had a great weekend! I learnt so much, my head is just buzzing with dance inspiration.

We headed off on the Friday night - it took about 8 hours to get there. That was including stopping off for a meal, and getting lost in Bradford. Apparantly the people I was going with get lost every year, and I can see why. It's really easy to turn off into the city centre, and once you do, it's really hard to get back out again.

On the Saturday, I had 3 classes. One 2 hour class on Pharonic dancing (it was supposed to be taken by Seetha, but she got held up in Amsterdam, so Djamila took the class. We did a short routine, with lots of pharonic type moves in it, and I'd definitely be interested in doing this type of dance again. During the class, I was thinking the routine would look nice with candles. Djamila said she normally performs it with a candle tray balanced on her head, but I think it would look nice with tea lights held in the hands as well, because the hands are very straight in pharonic dance (think Walk Like An Egyptian).

Then I did a class in hip movements to drum solos. To be honest, I think this one was a bit basic for me as regards the moves, but the teacher did give me some advice that my hip movements are too soft for drum solos, and I should sharpen them a bit. I hadn't really even thought of that before, so I'll have to get to work sharpening my hip movements. I get a bit scared that if I try to sharpen them, then the technique will just disappear, and it'll just be me throwing my hips about all over the place! But thinking about it, I can see she was right. It's fine when I'm doing a softer, slower dance, but I definitely need to work on those hips for faster dances!

Then I did a class on Isis wings. I'd been looking forward to this for ages! I can't really describe Isis wings that well - they tie round your neck, and there's the two wingy parts that hang down, with a stick in each end to hold onto and manipulate them. You'd probably be better lookng them up on google if you want to know what they're like. Anyway, this class was just a basic introduction to Isis wings, and I was really doing it to see if I liked them before I bought a set. And I did like them (and bought some)! I've got a song planned already, I just need to book time in the local hall to practice cos my ceilings are too low!

So I was finished my classes by about 2 o'clock. I did some shopping at the souk in the main hall. When I went I honestly didn't mean to spend much money. I'd saved up just in case though, and of course I ended up spending most of it. I bought a new costume, Isis wings, some DVDs and some CDs. I'll try put pics up later. I just want to get this up first since it has been nearly a week since I went.

Next post - the hafla at night, and my Sunday classes.