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The event is put on by Ziah of Awalim (www.awalim.com) and she puts a great deal of effort into making this such a well run event. The teachers are from all over the US and she runs a complete music track as well as a dance track. On Sunday, she holds open discussions with all of the teachers and it gives you dedicated time to ask those questions that go beyond technique and stage presence (such as - how to manage a troop, where do they see the new trend going, what neat things are they seeing/experiencing as they travel around the US, etc). Friday night is an awesome open music performance and hafla with the music instructors and local folks who join in after the hafla starts - some of the most amazing live music is played and we all get to dance! This year everything was seen - poi, hula hoops, solo noodling, traditional folk line dancing led by one of the music teachers (Dennys) and a well known local restaurant owner (Niccola), and large circle ATS. It was awesome!
That is followed by an amazing show that has performance styles that run the gamut of Tribal Belly Dance. This year was no exception. The show ran smoothly and the performances were again wonderful. I always tell my students that if they can't afford anything else - GO TO THE SHOW! It is a wonderful teaching tool and the following week in class we spend time discussing what they've seen and how they feel about it. All of my students say it's a wonderful experience and this year I had a student offer to sponsor a beginning student to attend the show next year! That act speaks for itself - she felt it important enough that she wants to pay for a total stranger to attend next year! Way to go Ziah!
The meat of the weekend is the classes. Each year a variety of teachers come to share their knowledge and wisdom with us. I count on this conference each year to learn new concepts, and to inspire and refresh my own dance. I attend as many other workshops as possible during the year - but so far none have compared to this one. This year the line up was amazing and while all of the classes were good and I learned something from them all - my two personal favorites were Mira Betz and Donna Mejia. These two ladies taught some amazing things this weekend and I came away with so much information and experience to process that I had trouble speaking coherently for a couple of days! Any chance to take class with them is worth the money and the travel - don't miss it!
I've taken workshops with Mira Betz last year at Tribalcon and what was wonderful is that she covered many of the same truly important concepts in a new and different way! She considered the concept that many of us may have taken workshops with her before and crafted a workshop that was good for both the student who had not taken previous workshops and those who had. Prepare to be worked hard in dance technique and combos that challenge. I'm not personally a fan of the trend in workshops that offer a yoga or exercise class. While it is often interesting to take those types of classes with workshop teachers - I'm more interested in dance technique and combos or in finishing and polishing work. So I love the fact that Mira Betz's workshops are filled with technique drills, some technique strengthening work, combos and finishing pointers. I'm always dripping in sweat when I finish and happy to be exhausted - but I'm never so overworked that I've actually damaged myself. A fine line to walk with a room full of varying levels and abilities.
Donna Mejia was a new to Tribalcon instructor this year and WOW - did we get our money's worth and more! She started the weekend with a lecture class on the ethics of fusion. At the end she handed out a reading list that ran the gamut from women's spirituality, dance history, cultural studies, dance and body health, to artistic inspiration! Awesome starting point for anyone wanting to take their dance knowledge and understanding to new levels. I was pleased to note that I'd read many of the books, owned a few and most of the others were on my own personal need to read list. I was very happy to add the new ones to the list. The lecture was well thought out and presented some tough challenges to a field of dance that is just beginning to look outside itself and consider what we're doing in relationship to the larger dance world. Then her next class truly opened some eyes (at least it did mine) to how much one can actually pack into one workshop class! I've taken university level dance classes before, but Donna Mejia's workshop surpassed any of those and left them in the dust. She had an extensive warm-up that really and truly worked every muscle in the body and touched the spirit of the artist as well with visuals to complement the mind body connection. She started with breath and ended with breath and along the way imparted many safety concerns for dancers who want to stay healthy and still be dancing when they are 80! Since I have some physical limitations, this was much appreciated as she said things like "If this challenges your knees, we'll meet you on the floor" so those of us who knew better didn't feel the need to push past safety into a danger zone. Awesome! She also made it a point to visit other teacher's workshops so she knew what we'd been working hard on all weekend and then made choices which still worked us but allowed us to rest some of our bodies that were really stressing - like my arms. The last workshop she taught was slower and more focused on alignment, posture, and muscle usage - really nice to know that I had my concepts correct! I also learned some really nice exercises to approach the concept from a different direction than I usually do. So the teacher side of me was much nourished by Ms. Mehia! The class ended with some dynamic movement across the entire ballroom floor as by then many attendees had left the conference and the class was smaller.
Combining both Mira Betz's class and Donna Mejia's on Sunday was a serious challenge to my endurance, especially since lunch didn't really happen for me, so I was physically tired, mentally exhausted and my blood sugar was dropping - but I was happier than I'd been in a really long time! Way to go ladies!
Oh yeah, and somewhere in there I shopped! Tribalcon always has the most wonderful vendors who bring a wide variety of goods to purchase. I went home with a basket, lace gloves, a hair nubbin, the FCBD Devotion dvd, and a new rose hips topper for class! A great weekend!
For those who had to miss - PUT IT ON YOUR CALENDAR! It usually happens towards the end of February each year and start saving money - registration usually opens in the fall.
Happy Dancing!
Halleyah
