The Full Routine Playbook TheImprovisation Full Routine Playbook Strategy for the 6-Part Routine ©2012 Nadira Jamal. All rights reserved. by Nadira Jamal Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................. 2 ABOUT NADIRA ......................................................................................................... 3 ABOUT THE GUIDE ................................................................................................... 4 ABOUT THE FULL ROUTINE .................................................................................. 8 THE INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 9 THE VEIL SECTION .................................................................................................. 13 THE MIDDLE SECTION ........................................................................................... 18 THE CHIFTETELLI .................................................................................................... 23 THE DRUM SOLO ..................................................................................................... 27 THE FINALE ............................................................................................................... 31 SO WHAT NOW? ...................................................................................................... 36 DON’T BE A STRANGER! ....................................................................................... 38 About Nadira Hi, I'm Nadira Jamal! I'm a belly dance performer and teacher based in Boston, Massachusetts. I'm the hostess of Taktaba, the video podcast on dance composition for belly dancers, and the creator of the Improvisation Toolkit DVD series. I'm also the brains behind Be Amazing in the Moment, my 90-day improvisation mentoring program. More importantly, I'm a huge geek. I like nothing better than analyzing complicated systems (like dance), figuring out how they work, and using that information to help you be amazing. I'm also known for telling corny jokes, and for my gratuitous use of parentheses. (I'm hoping to limit it to one set per page.) (Shoot, I blew it already!) The Full Routine Playbook ©2012 Nadira Jamal. All rights reserved. About the Playbook This playbook started out as a lesson plan. It's based on a curriculum that I taught in my Level 2 class over the course of a 15-week semester. I've been including improvisation drills in class for a while, but always in the context of a single song. Performing a full routine is very different. In a full-length show, there are all kinds of other considerations, like pacing, variety, and audience expectations. So my goal for the semester was to bridge the gap. I wanted my students to: 1. Know how to structure a routine 2. Understand the traditional aesthetics of each section 3. Have at least two improvisation strategies for each section With that knowledge, they would be able to improvise each section appropriately, and without getting stuck. Or at least, that was my hunch. So I put it to the test. And in the final class, they improvised to a 16-minute routine. Not flawlessly, and maybe not fearlessly (yet!). But they showed me that they understood each section of the routine, and that they had the tools to be resourceful and creative in the moment. (Can you tell I'm really proud of them?) When my students asked for some notes to help them study, I wrote this guide. And I decided it was too good not to share. So I hope you enjoy it, and that you use what you learn to create some amazing, happy dancing. What's inside Like a football playbook, this guide is a set of strategies that you can draw on in the moment. But instead of sharing football plays, I'm giving you tools for improvising to each section of a 6-part Vintage Orientale (aka American Cabaret) Routine. We'll start with an overview of the 6-part routine. You'll learn how a traditional routine is organized, and the psychology behind this structure. Then we'll take a closer look at each section, including: • Its purpose in the routine • Traditional aesthetics • Strategies for improvising to that section • Common mistakes and "gotchas" • Must-know songs So by the end of this guide, you should understand how a routine is put together, what the audience is expecting in each section, and how to approach it when you improvise. Sound good? What's not inside This is a strategy guide, not a comprehensive textbook. There's a lot you need to know that I'm not covering here. Material If you'd like to start performing full routines, you'll also need a strong background in: • Technique • Zils • Veil work • Stagecraft and composition • Stage presence • Costuming and makeup If you're missing any of these skills, ask your teacher, work with a video, or get some one-on-one coaching. Style These guidelines apply only to the Vintage Orientale routine. Actually, that's not quite true. This routine structure can also be used for Turkish Oryantal too, with some tweaks in music selection. But we'll be focusing on the Vintage Orientale styling. Adapting For Arabic style Many of the same concepts can be applied to an Arabic show, but the structure of the routine and audience's expectations will be different. But don't let that stop you! Play with these ideas, and see how you can adapt them to fit that aesthetic. For more information on Arabic routine structures, I recommend the CD "Dancing with Genies". It includes an excellent Egyptian-style routine, and the accompanying booklet goes into quite a bit of detail. Adapting For Tribal I don't have enough expertise in ATS and Tribal Fusion to make any specific recommendations for those styles. But all the Tribal dancers I know are inventive and resourceful, so you shouldn't have any trouble adapting my advice to suit yourself. Just think of the playbook as a menu: take what works for you, run with it, and leave the rest! How to use the Playbook Everyone learns differently, so there's no right or wrong way to use this guide. That said, there's a lot of material here. It took my students an entire semester to go through it. So don't expect to blow through it all in one day. I recommend tackling it one section at a time. (Get it? Tackling? Because it's like a football playbook!) (I warned you my jokes were corny…) For each part of the routine, here's what I recommend: Learn about that section of the show Read about that section in the guide. Make sure that you understand its aesthetics and its purpose within the routine. If anything is unclear, ask your teacher, or drop me a line. Listen to the recommended songs The better you know the music, the easier it is to improvise. So I recommend becoming familiar with all the must-know songs for each section. Better yet, seek out several different recordings of each song. Brainstorm movements that feel like a good fit There's no such thing as "correct" or "incorrect" movements for any section of the routine. As long as you can adapt it to fit the music, you can use any movement you want. (Except folkloric moves, like the Saidi "horsey kick" - those just look weird when you use them out of context.) That said, the feeling and tempo of each section is different, so you'll find that some moves fit more easily than others. I will recommend movement families to get you started, but don't let that limit you - experiment and decide which moves you like. Practice each improvisation strategy Each of the improvisation strategies is a separate skill. And mastering more than one skill at a time is really frustrating. So I recommend practicing each strategy separately, until you can use it without thinking too hard. Practice the strategies together Once you can use each strategy in isolation, practice using all of the strategies within a single song. That does not mean that you should use all the strategies at the same time. (That is a recipe for scribbling.) Use one strategy for a while, and then switch to another when you run out of ideas or get bored. Practice it in the context of a routine Once you're comfortable using that section's improv strategies in a single song, try practicing them in the context of a full routine. (Or as much of the routine as you know.) I recommend starting from the end and working backwards. (This is how I taught this material in my live classes.) That way, you're always more confident about what's coming next, instead of getting progressively less confident. Under this scenario, you learn about finales and practice them. Then you learn about drum solos, and practice drum solo + finale. Then you learn about the chiftetelli, and practice chiftetelli + drum solo + finale. And so on, until you can do a full routine. Got it? Then let's get started. The Full Routine An emotional roller coaster As a performer, your job is to manipulate the audience. Yes, really. Don't let that make you uncomfortable - we're manipulating them for their own enjoyment. Just like a roller coaster ride, our show takes the audience's emotions from excited highs to intense lows. If we didn't, our show would feel pretty bland. So as you learn about the structure of a routine, remember the roller coaster: All you have to do is alternate ups and downs. Routine structure So let's take a closer look at those ups and downs. The traditional 6-part routine includes six sections (duh): Introduction A high-energy, splashy entrance piece. Veil A slow, lyrical song, danced with a veil. Middle section A medium-to-medium-fast piece, often with a folkloric feeling. Chiftetelli A slow-to-very-slow song with a snaky feeling. This section may include prop balancing or floor work. Drum solo A high-energy duet between the drummer and dancer. Finale A medium-fast to fast section, with a triumphant feeling. Note: in some communities and venues, there may be an additional section for audience participation or tipping, which would make this a 7-part routine. In my area, this is usually rolled into the finale, instead of having its own section. Routine psychology So do you see the roller coaster pattern? We go from fast to slow to medium to really slow to really fast, and then come to an end with medium-fast.