Level 4
Level 4 – The Advanced Performer.
This will be one of the highest artistic and technical belly dance performances you have seen. It is the cultivation of many years of hard work, sacrifice, blood, sweat and tears (and I mean tears)! It is a night of pure dedication to the certification program and its demands. It is the ADVANCED PERFORMER TEST….. LEVEL 4.
The performance/exam will be in three parts. The first part is the performance of set choreographies that the dancers have had to learn and master in order to develop their skills in my format. There are four level 4 choreographies that are different in sentiment ranging from emotional lyrical, to high energy jazz fusion, to powerhouse lyrical with finger cymbals, and the bear of all choreographies, the Level 4 Finger Cymbal Drum Solo. Not only must these dancers have to execute these four choreographies, but also they will have to perform the three choreographies that they had to master to pass their Level 3 exam. The dances have been in development through the last year with many rehearsals being sent to me through YouTube so that I may give feedback and comments for improvement. The costuming will be minimal (black dance pants, black dance top and light hip scarf) so the focus will be on the dancers ability and strength. Each of the dancers live in different States (New York, Texas, and California) so the movements have to be exact and precise in order to look like there is one heart beat.
The second part of the performance/exam is the personal choreography requirement. This choreography has been documented in stages and sent to me for approval and direction. The dancers are pushed to really create from an emotional perspective making the experience one that can challenge the soul as well as the body. Each year I assign a genre of music to choose from and allow the student to submit three music candidates. I listen to all the testers’ choices, making my final decision based on how the show will weave. This years’ genre is Western Classical music. The dancers are given a series of ten movements they have to include in their choreography in order to achieve the requirements for this section. It is very much like a gymnastics choreography where each gymnast is given a set of moves they have to include in their personal dance. With this element we can see each dancer’s personal ability to interpret music using the vocabulary of belly dance as taught in my format. Using a special genre of music which is not predictable in belly dance pushes each artist to reach beyond what feels safe and go deep inside and just dance/choreograph from the heart. They must “physicalize the music with how their body knows to respond”. Each of the dancers must also design and create their own costume (themselves or with a costume maker). Choreography and costuming skills begin to be cultivated in Level 3 and the development of this skill is now personalized during this performance.
The third part of the performance/exam is the live music (Arabic Band) improvisational section. This is the most anticipated and nerve racking part of the exam since they are not allowed to rehearse or even know the music they will be expected to dance to. I work with the musicians closely to design a set for each of the dancers that will show the multi levels of ability that they have cultivated during the last year in the Level 4 process. They bring three costumes for me to choose from and the only instruction they will receive is (for example) they need to come out with a veil in song #1, have cymbals ready for song #3 and for song #2 I must see a vibration with at least three layers. Or maybe I might say double veil in song #2, cymbals in song #1 and follow the proper movement vocabulary for song #3 (which might mean if it is Khaligy they better dance with that stylization). Now mind you it has taken years to make sure these dancers can pull this off. Not only am I confident that they can do anything from what is “normal” in the belly dance world to creating outside the box, but I also have to make sure they can rock out with a Live Arabic Band making the full rounded ADVANCED PERFORMER title accurate. The dancers have to be ready to perform this set for 15-20 minutes each ending with a drum solo as well.
On December 5 we will have 3 women testing for this title of Advanced Performer in the Suhaila Salimpour Certification Program. Stacey Lizette, Angelique Hanesworth, and Nadia Ashjaee. I am extremely proud of these women and until the second they go on stage they will be working on their skills. This evening will also be graced with the performance of my Level 5 certified dancer, Gina Bruno as well as my daughter Isabella Salimpour. Please join me in celebrating the cultivation of years of hard work by these women. It’s a celebration not just for their accomplishments, but also their ability to raise the level in this dance form.
Pictures!
Jamila L1 Weeklong
New Jersey L1 Sept 09
New Jersey L2 Sept 09
L2 Mothership Oct 09
Italy workshop 09
American Idiot
American Idiot premiered at the Berkeley Theater right in my home town. It was the music from Green Day’s American Idiot (one of my favorite’s by the way) and turned into a Rock Opera directed by Michael Mayer and produced by Tom Hulce. Tickets went fast and I was quick to snap up 2 for a “mother / daughter date” that I knew would put a smile on Isabella’s face since Green Day is one of her favorite bands.
I find Rock Opera’s fascinating since I remember back in the 80’s the concept being very difficult to sell. Pete Townshend’s nine minute suite of songs called “A Quick One While He’s Away” is widely considered to be the original foray into this territory, appearing in 1966 on The Who’s sophomore release, A Quick One. The Pretty Things’ 1968 album S.F. Sorrow claimed the title of first full length rock opera. Both of these pieces heavily influenced The Who’s 1969 Tommy. The 1970’s celebrated they heyday of rock opera; The Kinks, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Jefferson Airplane’s Paul Kantner, Queen (my favorite), and Genesis offered their own spins on the idea. Then their was Pink Floyd’s revolutionary album The Wall. Full Album story lines fell out of fashion in the 1980’s until recently with the 2004 release of Green Day’s “American Idiot” which was the return of a new chapter in punk rock operas in a fresh perspective to a legacy of rock and roll storytelling.
This Opera was so perfect for this generation. Even though I was not surprised to see a new face of theater goer with torn jeans and black eye make up (on the men by the way), I was surprised to see the more mature crowd of audience that looked like they got lost looking for the ballet performance they thought this was to be. The theater was filled with such a wide range of age that it was the first time I felt that it was more of a celebration and acceptance of a youth that seems so misunderstood today. The set was simple, the performance was 90 minutes with no intermission (perfect for the texting generation…. who has time for long theater these days), and the costumes were something out of my high school wardrobe (which is back in style now I might add). There were T.V’s stuck in the walls all different sizes with images of 2 second spots depicting our sensationalized society. I saw quick glimses of Brittney Spears with no hair, OJ Simpson being chased in the white bronco, President Bush, Brad & Angelina, Lindsey Lohan, moments of the war in Iraq, etc etc etc. I was reminded within seconds that I forgot to shut my cell phone off and felt embarrassed that my life revolved around it.
The Opera was perfect for Isabella since she was able to sing along with every song. We loved the story line and I found myself having to explain a few things as they came up. “Well that’s a bong honey…. and I’ll explain later”. But she could tell it was not something good since the character seemed to be a real loser. The Opera had three stories going at once since one wouldn’t be enough in these times of being able to text, chat, and email all at the same time (and maybe to the same person). Three stories about very current issues of our time. Will, whose girlfriend Heather is pregnant, stays in Suburbia and becomes the victim of himself. Tunny has a television induced mystical revelation that moves him to enlist in the military, bringing him face to face with his mortality in a senseless war in the Middle East. And Johnny, a wanna be rock star that moves to the big city and gets hooked on drugs. Bottom line is that all these characters all end up back home again faced with having to deal with the society they live in and what they made of it.
I was truly inspired when leaving the Theater. It is an Opera for our times and one that is critical to understanding our current predicament. I was angry, hopeful and exhausted all at the same time. I guess that was the point – and of course what also inspired a band called Sweet Children (now known as Green Day) to begin their band playing in a club at 924 Gilman Street in 1988 in Berkeley California (5 minutes from my house I might add). Great art is born out of dreams and fueled by strong community roots and its ties to a vital history. Here in Berkeley we are fortunate to have an abundance of both with Berkeley Rep, Green Day’s debut of American Idiot and the Salimpour School of Dance 
Amy Sigil DVD Promo
Quick Promo featuring AMy Sigil’s and UNMATA’S new DVD
new online class offering – how to apply stage make-up
http://www.suhailaonlineclasses.com/amember/signup13.php?price_group=-13
Only $4.99 !!!!