Autumn Ward: I’ve tried to show the enormous sophistication that can be present in our art form

The first thing that struck me and several other belly dance friends when we saw the excellent and detailed preview of your upcoming DVD, was that this didn’t look like it was for the absolute beginner.  The movements are so finessed. Who is it really aimed at?
I created “Beautiful Technique” for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of how bellydance works.  It’s absolutely an accessible program for someone with no prior experience, but I focus as much on concepts and methods as on movement vocabulary, so it’s also a useful tool for anyone who needs more information on how to bridge the gap between drilling and dancing.  Dancers at what might be considered a more “advanced” technical level may have already worked with the vocabulary I demonstrate in the dance-along segments, but may gain insight from the theoretical information I’ve included in the tutorials.  I hope that the video will also be seen by dance teachers, dance critics, and dancers and artists from other disciplines – I’ve tried to show the enormous sophistication that can be present in our art form, and I believe that “Beautiful Technique” will go a long way in advancing the wider recognition of bellydance as a serious and skilled performing arts discipline, within and beyond the realm of ethnic dance.

But Autumn, there are a ton of basics instructional videos out there today. What compelled you to make another and how do you think it’s going to be different?
In addition to 50 minutes of dance-along material and two performances, “Beautiful Technique” contains two hours of step-by-step breakdowns that essentially function as a reference guide or users’ manual.  I start at the absolute beginning, defining terms (like, weighted/unweighted, stage right/stage left); I walk you through essential foundation skills and concepts such as balance, alignment, and posture;  then I take just a few simple isolations and explain/demonstrate how they evolve into progressively more sophisticated movements.  For instance, I build a progression from a simple side-to-side tilt into a double-side-to-side, a traveling double-side-to-side, a shimmy, a hip drop, a double drop, and finally a triplet shimmy (the traveling step also known as the “3/4 shimmy.”)  As reference material, “Beautiful Technique” will be especially valuable to independent learners and to teachers setting up a curriculum. My breakdowns include “troubleshooting” tips that will make it easy to spot and correct common misinterpretations; information on the way the look and feel of movements changes as one gains experience;  and I’ve also included some theoretical context that I hope will give students a clearer sense of how to present and combine movements, whether in choreography or improvisation.I’m also planning to offer some supplemental materials (notes, outlines, a glossary, indexing for the very dense “technique” section) that will offer even greater value to really serious users.

Do you infuse much of your own signature style into this video? You move with so much natural flow — where does that come from?
I began as a relatively traditional Oriental dancer, but I never really felt at home in the “Las Vegas” aesthetic that reflects the commercial realities of most nightclub work.  So, I spent several years trying to find a better fit in folklore.  Studying ethnic dance proved to be an invaluable source of enrichment, but still didn’t have the feeling of a vocation; I’ve never found a way to fully express myself through the dances of cultures which are not my own.   Eventually I realized that my talents are best-suited to artistic expression outside of a traditional nightclub or pure ethnic dance context, and that if no genre existed, I would simply have to create it.

I describe my work to this end as “Artistic Bellydance.”  Most of my performances happen in formal theatrical settings (where the goal is something different than creating the atmosphere of celebration that is a top priority at a party or nightclub), incorporate creative ideas, and need to stand up to repeated review on video.  My “signature style” is a reflection of this context:  I tightly choreograph with an eye for variety and dynamic range, and use movements that read well from a proscenium stage:  large isolations; small isolations amplified with echoing arm technique; turns and traveling steps; and clean lines.  I use a fair number of “tricks” (backbends, splits, spins, props), but try not to let them dominate my work; I’d like audiences to come away with a primary impression of nuance and sophistication.

I love pretty dances that are soft and sweet, but I also think theatrical work often benefits from some narrative context.  In particular, I’m looking forward to the video release of “Atlantis!”; this tongue-in-cheek “one-act bellydance ballet,” is one of two performances that I contributed to the forthcoming “Fantasy Belly Dance” collection from WDNY.

My second performance on this video, “Raqs Europa,” is a sepia-tinged 1930s-style bellydance from a time and place that “wasn’t.”

Other examples of artistic work are “Rose of Damascus,”, “At the Palace of Variety,” and the “Enchantress’ featured on “Magic: Fantasy Belly Dance Instructional Series.”

You use your arms strongly and beautifully when you dance. Do you give any special guidance on that in “Beautiful Technique”?
“Beautiful Technique” contains a 4.5-minute dance-along segment devoted exclusively to arms, and about 15 minutes of lecture/tutorial on basic positions and pathways.  Arms are also fully integrated into all the dance-along segments.

Tell me something about the choreography. Is it a complete one without a whole lot of repetition?
I am delighted to say that it is a full-fledged composition!  I don’t like to arbitrarily place prefab combinations on top of music with a strong melody line.  All of the dance-along segments are strongly informed by the music.  The practice flow segments feature more repetition, but still have a complete integration between movement and music.  The practice choreography exemplifies the ideal of Oriental dance as a visual expression of music.  In terms of level, the choreography is probably (forgive the expression) “Advanced Begintermediate”; stylistically, it is very soft and very sweet.  (To get a sense of the mood, check out the music:  ”Azure” by Solace.)  I also show the choreography as one of two costumed performances.  (On the trailer, the first clip from the practice choreography performance shows up at 1:45; the “princess costume” clips are from the 2nd performance, a dance from my theatrical repertoire that I don’t teach on this video.)

What music are you using on the video?
Warmup:
“Rust Metal” (The Magic Veil/Anatolian Kanoun)
“Spellbound” (Mosavo/Serpent’s Garden)
Arms:
“Lonely Star by the Sea” (Mosavo/Serpent’s Garden)
Dance-along “flows”:
“Move your Belly” (Electric Oasis)
“Gift from Sinai” (Mohamed Ali Ensemble/Desert Passage)
“Tea in Marrakech” (Electric Oasis 2)
“Sapurey’s Mantra”  (Mosavo/Serpent’s Garden)
“Early Morning” (Rimarah/Eyes of the Desert)
“Layali” (Setrak Sarkissian/Masters of Bellydance Music)
“Khamsin” (Tim Rayborn/Rihla)
Practice Choreography:
“Azure” (Solace/Iman)
Performance:
“Visitors from Mt Ararat” (Mosavo/Sensual Goddess)

I really hope you have a more advanced DVD planned very very soon?
Soon, yes.  Very very soon, maybe not…  I am worn out!  But, yes, I do have much more information to share. Despite the enormous amount of content in “Beautiful Technique,” there simply wasn’t room on the disk for everything, so a few families of movements (shoulders, upper body, vertical-plane 8s, weighted tilts) didn’t make it onto the DVD at all.   I decided that I didn’t want to sacrifice any detail, and it was better to leave these topics for a [drum roll]… future release. I’ve also been asked over and over again about a video for hands and arms, and I would like a chance to focus just on this topic. (Mala falls off chair in delight)

When will Beautiful Technique be available to an eagerly waiting world!
January 27!

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For everything Autumn, visit her website .