Melaya Lef

I have never done the Melaya Lef form of Belly Dancing but was asked the other day to share the insight of what it exactly is. So for those who are unsure or who may not have ever heard or seen of this dance, you might find the following information useful and who knows, might incorporate it into your own dance routine.

There is a type of character dance done by Egypt's folk troupes known as melaya lef which uses a shawl-type of garment known as a melaya as a prop.

In the melaya lef folkloric dance, the dancer plays the role of a mischievous young woman who flirtatiously plays a "conceal and reveal" game with her wrap.

Beledi music is used specifically for the Melaya Leff (pronounced “ME-LIE-AH LEF”). The dance itself is from Alexandria, Egypt. A melaya itself is a large, black shawl made of nylon or silk, in which the women wrap themselves completely from head to toe. It is a modesty garment for when they leave the house.

For the stage, the melaya is trimmed with gold or silver pailettes. The word leff simply means “to wrap”.

Under the melaya, the dancer wears a form-fitting dress that is short, ruffled and bright in color. She dons open-toed slippers with high heels called ship-ship, and on her head she ties a small scarf decorated with pompons or flowers. Also worn is a crocheted face-veil known as a burr’oh. The melaya is draped upon the body, and during the dance it slips off and is re-wrapped time and again.

As Alexandria is a port city, the dance scene is between the fishermen and the women who are looking to profit by sharing their liberties. The men sit on the street beside a café, drinking and smoking their water pipes. The women compete for attention by flirting. Eventually, the men and women dance together. The men’s costuming is that of the typical fisherman, including a black trouser, a sweater, a multi-colored waistcoat and a white fisherman’s hat.

In Egypt, an Oriental dancer might use the melaya lef dance for the folkloric part of her show, but she doesn't do so wearing her Oriental costume.

In the U.S., since most Americans doing Egyptian style dances don't have the opportunity to do a costume change after the Oriental set and come back out in folkloric costume, they rarely use the melaya lef in their Oriental performances.

A great example of Melaya Lef Performer below.

Secrets for Memorizing Choreography

One of the most important skills for a new dancer is being able to learn the steps of a dance routine. Not many people realize how much brain and memory ability is required for becoming a successful dancer. Not only must a dancer be able to execute several dance steps, he or she must also be able to remember the steps in a set order.

The following tips will help you learn how to quickly memorize dance routines.

1. Know Your Steps

Every dance routine can be broken down into a series of familiar steps and combinations. Good dance instructors make an effort to instill core skills in introductory classes, urging students to learn both the step as well as the name of the step.

2. Watch Your Dance Instructor Closely

Choreography is generally taught in series of step combinations. Watch your dance instructor closely as she demonstrates the steps. Good dance teachers will stand in front of the class and demonstrate each step slowly.

Wait until the teacher has completely finished demonstrating before trying the steps yourself. Some dancers follow right along with the instructor, mimicking the steps as they are demonstrated. If you fail to watch first, you risk missing part of the step. It is better to watch first and then try.

3. Understand the Music

Dance usually combines movements with music. When a choreographer creates a dance routine, the chosen music selection is vital to the success of the dance. A piece of music is often selected because it possesses certain beats and tempo changes.

Listen closely to the music. Try to mentally associate certain steps with strong beats or lyrics of the song. Remember that step combinations are often repeated each time the chorus of a song is played. Get a copy of the music from your instructor so that you can practice your routine at home.

4. Take Notes

Some instructors will give you written notes. Some won't. If yours gives you notes, keep them with you while she is teaching, and consult them to see what words she used to describe each move that she teaches. Then add your own comments to explain the move in words that you will understand. Draw stick figures if necessary.

Don't just passively accept the notes and put them away. The act of describing the move in your own words will force your brain to analyze it, and that will help you remember it.

5. Know yourself enough to understand how you learn

Different people learn in different ways. Some of us learn best by absorbing information by watching while some of us learn by paying attention to what we are hearing and some of us learn best by using physical movement. Assess yourself – and decide which learning style works best for you?

Now that you know which way you learn best, think about how you can use that knowledge to learn choreography more easily.

So if you learn best by seeing take the written notes given to you for the choreography and consult them as you learn. If she doesn't give you written notes, write your own and in an explanation you will understand.

If you learn best by hearing, ask the instructor for permission to record what she says during class. Focus on listening to what she says, and listening to what the music is doing as you practice it.

If you learn best by using physical movement, focus on how to do the transition from one move to the next.

You may have additional ideas on how to draw upon your preferred learning techniques to memorize choreography. Experiment with them, and explore what works best for you.

6. Practice

As with any new skill, practice makes perfect. Don't be too hard on yourself if it seems to take you a little longer than others to learn the choreography of a dance routine.

Your ability to learn routines quickly will improve over time, as your mind will grow accustomed to forming associations. Practice will bring about improvements in all areas of your dancing, which will make it easier to learn complicated step combinations.

The more comfortable you are with the steps, the easier it will be to link them together in your mind.

I hope this article has given you insight and useful advice on learning choreography. Implement these ideas and you are on your way to be a dancing star in your class choreographies.

Politics in a Profession

I have always felt that in order to expand your knowledge and become more proficient in a field in which you work, there is no such thing as 'I know it all'. You can never possibly know everything there is to know about belly dancing as it is a dance form that many have created into a art form and have formed many new aspects and their own style into the dance.

So my question is: Why do belly dance teachers (not all but some) feel threatened by you when they find out you are a teacher yourself and don't feel that they want to share their knowledge with you in a class environment?

And it not only happens within your area in which you live but everywhere.

I am not downing any one in any way but I feel in order to learn, you must be able to feel free to go and attend classes from another professional teacher and not feel you have to hide the fact that you teach.

Yes, stick to teacher confidentiality and don't go out your way to try take her students away and go for the intention you have persued, to learn...

I have had many teachers come to me to learn new things to add into their cirriculum and have found myself happy to share this knowledge with them so that they may grow as well...

Tina Kapp from http://www.orientalfire.blogspot.com/ had an interesting blog post on networking amongst belly dancers which I found to be very insightful and agree with it 100%.

Have a sister network going and help grow yourself with others in the same field as you. It can only show how professional belly dancing as a dance form, not how catty the industry can be.



                                     "Just savor the moment and dance like no one is watching"