Sarah talks about the ‘Artistry of Slow Moves’

Sarah Skinner has not only been wrapping up the Luscious sequel “Love Potion” and earlier the Fantasy Bellydance performances video but also working on another DVD on deliciously slow moves, “Opulent Motion”. That, of course, is totally my kind of thing and I’m a huge admirer of Sarah’s after I saw her chiftitelli performance on the I Love Turkish video. Slowed down, Sarah is lyrical expressive, emotive, and decorates moves beautifully.

Her Seven Veils is also romantic and sensual. So, obviously, I was quite totally delighted to know that she will be teaching slow moves in her upcoming release.

I’m wondering how you managed to recover enough from Fantasy Bellydance and Love Potion enough to work on Opulent Motion…
Actually the Opulent Motion DVD has been in the oven for a long time. I was slowly gathering thoughts and ideas.

I had music created specifically for this dvd, music that I felt passionately about and with musicians that I have worked with in live performances, so we really were in tune with each others art. I also picked a few pieces of music that were already recorded. Finding slow music that speaks to you is always an important challenge.

The slow part of a performance is such a deeply emotional and individual experience it was really important to come up with a dvd that each person could walk away with something that was valuable to them specifically.
I needed to take my time mentally crafting such a delicious topic. Love Potion is a straightforward party! We drilled almost every day- what a blast! And I miss working on it with the girls now. Working on the two products at the same time satisfied both sides – the thoughtful and the party girl.

So, tell me about Opulent Motion. Is it a little like Autumn Ward’s
video? Does it have a lot of technique and basics?
OM Is approachable for many different skill levels.
There is a section dedicated to the ABCs of bellydance. So a beginner can approach it and have all the ingredients. But if you already know the basics you don’t have to sit through it to get the the meat you need, you can just right to the combos.

The next section is full of combinations!!!
Some combos focus on beautiful lines and shapes with simple shapes that everyone can grab on to. Some combos focus on accentuating the rhythm , some tell a story, some are simple and streamlined making it beautiful yet accessible to all levels, others are more challenging with layering and many moves. I wanted to provide an entire chocolate box of delicious candies that a dancer could pick out the movements that best suited their personality

Then I took all those lovely combination’s and put them into practice flows. So that the dancer could practice these moves and record them into their muscle memory allowing for easy recall during an improv performance with out having to think hard. There is a practice flow to each rhythm covered in the dvd.

What level of learner is this video aimed at?
Every time I see a dancer perform to slow music, her own personality and style comes out. From advanced to beginner no two dancers are the same when dancing slowly- it accesses something deep and personal. It is really quite magical.

This dvd has things accessible for the beginner and challenges them as they grow. It also has things for the more advanced dancer, and makes it easy for them to skip over the simpler things they already know. It also provides practice flows for those who just want to keep toned and dance along with another dancer without having to sit through instructions just to practice the movements- Jump in and start dancing!

Do you teach a choreography on this video?
I intentionally did not teach a choreography. I want each dancer to find their own inner voice with slow performance. I included some of my improv performances that show me drawing from the movements I taught. This allows for the concept of creating a structured improv and allowing the emotion of the moment to guide a dancer without proscribing something fixed.

I was very taken witht he beautiful chiftitelli you performed on your Turkish DVD. How do you engage your emotions so that they come through so strongly in the dance?
Music that inspires is a must. after that it is nice to have a concept that you then act out- so hear the music- see what visual story it is telling then act out that story.

Do you cover arm work in OM? The arms and hands need to be so eloquent in with slow dancing…
Yes- “poses” are covered- the entire body line and breath of that pose. picture perfect moments are always so memorable to the audience.