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.
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One Response to “Level 4”
I look forward to the day when I as a dancer can handle such a defining moment! What an exciting evening for everyone
Break a leg ladies!!