MIRROR, MIRROR, ON THE WALL
Reflecting on the pros & cons of watching ourselves dance
By Meagan Mayada Hesham
Reprinted from Yallah Magazine - Summer 2013
mirror / `mire / n. & v. · n. a polished surface, esp. of amalgam-coated glass or metal, which reflects an image. · v.tr. reflect as in a mirror
To go just by the definition in the Oxford Dictionary, “mirror” seems an everyday word, a simple concept. But mirrors play a large part in the life of a dancer; let’s reflect a bit on the roles they play…
WHEN YOU’RE PERFORMING:
When I first started performing, Yasmina Ramzy was putting on a monthly show called Dancenet that featured all different styles of dance artists. She had a stage built in her studio, the stage faced the mirrors of the studio, and the audience was seated on chairs with their backs to the mirrors. It was surprising to see how many performers (including myself until my mom pointed it out to me) stared at themselves in those mirrors either throughout their whole show, or intermittently every now and then, instead of projecting all their energy and stage presence out to the audience. You might think that if you performed in any other venue (without big studio mirrors) you wouldn’t have this temptation… but I’ve seen many soloists obsessed with catching their own reflection in any mirrored area (a mirrored pillar in the middle of a banquet hall, a decorative framed mirror in a restaurant, etc.) Whether your impulse is to admire your snakey dance moves or check your hairstyle or costume – resist the urge and focus your energy on your audience! Look at your audience, not yourself! Hey, everybody’s there to look at you – you don’t need to. Remember, if you are doing private lessons with a teacher and working on performing and choreographies you plan to perform – don’t get into the habit of looking past your teacher to the mirror – try to look at or in the direction of the person/people watching you – it can be difficult if it’s a one-on-one session, but it will make it infinitely easier to look out at a whole roomful of happy, clapping party-people if you can confidently look out at your instructor who’s watching for proper technique and fine-tuning elements of style. And the more you’re focusing on your own image, the less you’re giving yourself over to the music and letting your body move to magically interpret its rhythms!
WHEN YOU’RE TEACHING
When teaching a class, avoid the urge to check your own moves out in the mirror. Hopefully if you’re a teacher, you’re at a level that you can trust your body to execute the moves you’re teaching well without always checking your own technique in the mirror. Students are paying you to teach, correct, and keep your eyes on them, not to admire yourself! Sometimes teachers don’t even realize they’re spending more time watching themselves than their students. The real wake-up call for me was a few years ago when I started teaching in an office building for workers’ lunch-hour in a board room … with no mirrors. I faced my students for most of the class, so they were the only thing I could see – I wasn’t distracted by checking my own hair, clothes, or moves out in the mirror. I ended up seeing a lot more of my students – not only their technique (what I was used to looking at), but also their body language and facial expressions – such important cues for gauging their level of involvement, enjoyment, and understanding.
WHEN YOU’RE LEARNING:
Mirrors can help students a lot; the mirror can be your friend and teacher. What you want to do is take advantage of all the benefits of working in front of a mirror, while avoiding the pitfalls. Watching yourself perform movements, seeing how your various body parts work to reproduce movement, how one step or section of a dance flows into the next, how your arms or hands or hips may need a bit of extra attention in this spot or that – this is all valuable feedback the mirror can provide. And it’s possible to reach a headspace where you can study your reflected image in an almost objective fashion, so it’s like watching someone else, over there. Achieving this ‘distance’, this objectivity, will allow your good inner critic to identify what may need tweaking, correction, more practice.
Students always ask me, “Should I be looking at the teacher, or watching what I do in the mirror?” Of course, at the beginning, lots of your focus will be on the teacher, on how she’s moving, what she’s demonstrating, etc. Then, as you become more familiar and comfortable with whatever move or combination is being taught, there’ll be a natural shift of focus while you study the instant feedback the mirror can give you on your progress. Check in visually on the teacher from then on, allowing your focus to go back and forth.
One caution: don’t let mirrors get you down! Stop comparing your every move to other students, or worse yet – the teacher. Beginner students are always asking me why my vertical drops or undulations look so much better than theirs … now, it’s great to have goals and strive for greatness, but I really hope that after bellydancing seriously for over twelve years, I would be able to pull off an undulation that looked a little smoother than someone who had taken only two classes! Keep in mind that in most cases your instructor (hopefully) is a lot more skilled at bellydance technique than you are; if they aren’t, why are you going to them? I always assure my students that I too looked like a goof when I first attempted all these bellydance moves. Certainly, your teacher’s moves inspire you, to keep you working hard and practising your technique, but don’t directly compare your moves to hers. As for comparing yourself to other students in class – not such a good idea either. Everyone is different, so even if your classmate has a hot bodywave and you’re still struggling – be assured that some steps come more naturally to some people. And who knows, she may have been practising that step intensely for weeks at home. People have different learning styles and learn at different rates as well, and just because you’re the last person in class to get a move, doesn’t mean it’ll be any less wonderful once you finally own it.
Reflecting on the pros & cons of watching ourselves dance
By Meagan Mayada Hesham
Reprinted from Yallah Magazine - Summer 2013
mirror / `mire / n. & v. · n. a polished surface, esp. of amalgam-coated glass or metal, which reflects an image. · v.tr. reflect as in a mirror
To go just by the definition in the Oxford Dictionary, “mirror” seems an everyday word, a simple concept. But mirrors play a large part in the life of a dancer; let’s reflect a bit on the roles they play…
WHEN YOU’RE PERFORMING:
When I first started performing, Yasmina Ramzy was putting on a monthly show called Dancenet that featured all different styles of dance artists. She had a stage built in her studio, the stage faced the mirrors of the studio, and the audience was seated on chairs with their backs to the mirrors. It was surprising to see how many performers (including myself until my mom pointed it out to me) stared at themselves in those mirrors either throughout their whole show, or intermittently every now and then, instead of projecting all their energy and stage presence out to the audience. You might think that if you performed in any other venue (without big studio mirrors) you wouldn’t have this temptation… but I’ve seen many soloists obsessed with catching their own reflection in any mirrored area (a mirrored pillar in the middle of a banquet hall, a decorative framed mirror in a restaurant, etc.) Whether your impulse is to admire your snakey dance moves or check your hairstyle or costume – resist the urge and focus your energy on your audience! Look at your audience, not yourself! Hey, everybody’s there to look at you – you don’t need to. Remember, if you are doing private lessons with a teacher and working on performing and choreographies you plan to perform – don’t get into the habit of looking past your teacher to the mirror – try to look at or in the direction of the person/people watching you – it can be difficult if it’s a one-on-one session, but it will make it infinitely easier to look out at a whole roomful of happy, clapping party-people if you can confidently look out at your instructor who’s watching for proper technique and fine-tuning elements of style. And the more you’re focusing on your own image, the less you’re giving yourself over to the music and letting your body move to magically interpret its rhythms!
WHEN YOU’RE TEACHING
When teaching a class, avoid the urge to check your own moves out in the mirror. Hopefully if you’re a teacher, you’re at a level that you can trust your body to execute the moves you’re teaching well without always checking your own technique in the mirror. Students are paying you to teach, correct, and keep your eyes on them, not to admire yourself! Sometimes teachers don’t even realize they’re spending more time watching themselves than their students. The real wake-up call for me was a few years ago when I started teaching in an office building for workers’ lunch-hour in a board room … with no mirrors. I faced my students for most of the class, so they were the only thing I could see – I wasn’t distracted by checking my own hair, clothes, or moves out in the mirror. I ended up seeing a lot more of my students – not only their technique (what I was used to looking at), but also their body language and facial expressions – such important cues for gauging their level of involvement, enjoyment, and understanding.
WHEN YOU’RE LEARNING:
Mirrors can help students a lot; the mirror can be your friend and teacher. What you want to do is take advantage of all the benefits of working in front of a mirror, while avoiding the pitfalls. Watching yourself perform movements, seeing how your various body parts work to reproduce movement, how one step or section of a dance flows into the next, how your arms or hands or hips may need a bit of extra attention in this spot or that – this is all valuable feedback the mirror can provide. And it’s possible to reach a headspace where you can study your reflected image in an almost objective fashion, so it’s like watching someone else, over there. Achieving this ‘distance’, this objectivity, will allow your good inner critic to identify what may need tweaking, correction, more practice.
Students always ask me, “Should I be looking at the teacher, or watching what I do in the mirror?” Of course, at the beginning, lots of your focus will be on the teacher, on how she’s moving, what she’s demonstrating, etc. Then, as you become more familiar and comfortable with whatever move or combination is being taught, there’ll be a natural shift of focus while you study the instant feedback the mirror can give you on your progress. Check in visually on the teacher from then on, allowing your focus to go back and forth.
One caution: don’t let mirrors get you down! Stop comparing your every move to other students, or worse yet – the teacher. Beginner students are always asking me why my vertical drops or undulations look so much better than theirs … now, it’s great to have goals and strive for greatness, but I really hope that after bellydancing seriously for over twelve years, I would be able to pull off an undulation that looked a little smoother than someone who had taken only two classes! Keep in mind that in most cases your instructor (hopefully) is a lot more skilled at bellydance technique than you are; if they aren’t, why are you going to them? I always assure my students that I too looked like a goof when I first attempted all these bellydance moves. Certainly, your teacher’s moves inspire you, to keep you working hard and practising your technique, but don’t directly compare your moves to hers. As for comparing yourself to other students in class – not such a good idea either. Everyone is different, so even if your classmate has a hot bodywave and you’re still struggling – be assured that some steps come more naturally to some people. And who knows, she may have been practising that step intensely for weeks at home. People have different learning styles and learn at different rates as well, and just because you’re the last person in class to get a move, doesn’t mean it’ll be any less wonderful once you finally own it.
Checking technique out in a mirror at a class at Mayada's studio
