Seasonal Affective Disorder and Dance

Posted on September 21, 2011 by

Hi there!

The fall is pretty much upon us now, and I hope your summer was great! I actually love the coziness of the fall, but I like to balance out the cold and greyness of the cold seasons with Latin music. Latin music is very summery and fiery, and it’s also very happy, helping the many people that suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, or just the plain old grey sky blues :)

 

Now, enjoy the very famous Hermanos Rosario! La Duena Del Swing!
La Duena Del Swing – Los Hermanos Rosario

 

And find us on Facebook!  Soul Blossom Dance

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To Zumba or not to Zumba, that is today’s article

Posted on September 9, 2011 by

Yesterday, a good friend of mine and I were talking about Zumba, about classes, benefits, dvds, a bunch of random stuff. To be honest, I have a bit of a rebellious streak and I tend to go against the flow when a big trend hits. For example, I have still never seen the movie “Titanic”, and I still don’t own an iPod.

I decided to look up Zumba class videos on YouTube. I was a bit surprised and not surprised – at the same time. I really thought it was going to be something much more different than a regular aerobics class. Although, it did come across to me as more different, but it wasn’t different enough to warrant such hype, in my humblest of opinions.

I won’t say I hated what I saw, but I was definitely not impressed. I think the only thing good about Zumba is the use of a bunch of different kinds of dance. When I was watching the intro on one of the videos when they were saying there would be Merengue, Salsa, Reggaeton, Cumbia, and African music I was THRILLED. I thought “oh my God, this is the best thing ever! I’m gonna do this everyday!” Then I saw the actual routines, it’s just same old aerobics stuff from the 80′s, with different music in the background.

Don’t get me wrong! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with aerobics, but I think Zumba marketing has us believe that we’re going to be dancing some awesome Salsa moves and African combinations and whatnot, but the routine seems to be, like I said, mostly aerobics with just a bit of an ethnic twist. Definitely not enough of a twist for me. And the FORMAT, more importantly, is extremely aerobic – meaning: you do one  move many times…over and over again, until you go on to the next move that you do many times over and over. I don’t care how rowdy it looks, that kind of stuff always bores me after 5 minutes.

In conclusion (finally), I’m going to suggest Zumba to those that like workout routines that don’t have much frills, that are pretty basic, and repetitive. The moves seem all really simple, the music is great. So, if you like that sort of thing go to Zumba’s website to find a class!

However, if you’re looking for something a little bit more unpredictable (which is more exciting for your brain AND your muscles), join us for belly dancing! One of the reasons I fell in love with belly dance was because there was so much room for individual and unique expression. I’ve been Belly Dancing for about nine years, and it always feels new because it’s always going to be different.

Join us on Facebook to catch up with us and to get class times and all that good stuff!!

 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Soul-Blossom-Dance/161292333930337

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Soul Blossom Belly Dance

Posted on July 4, 2011 by

You’ve probably taken dance classes where you felt overwhelmed and unable to do the moves, or uncomfortable because the atmosphere and instructor were too rigid and serious, or just extremely bored when you thought you were going to be having fun.

That’s why I created this dance program. I’ve taken many dance classes over the years and I saw that not a lot of the participants stayed for the duration of the program, mostly because of the reasons I listed.

In this class you will learn how to Belly Dance the way people who have grown up in the Middle East learned – by seeing it and being immersed in it.

I’ve been Belly Dancing for 8 years, and teaching for the past 2. All of my students doubted their ability to do the moves I proposed because they had taken Belly Dance classes before that were too complicated, too hard, and they were too overwhelmed. However, with the teaching method I’ve developed, they were all doing very sophisticated Belly Dance moves by the end of the first class. I’ve seen it happen many times!  And the best part was they had fun the whole time!

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“Rita is a wonderful teacher, very patient, always encouraging and making sure that everybody has fun . This class is perfect to release any stress after a long week at work!” – Marie Quanquin, The Path, Redondo Beach

“Rita’s Belly Dancing Class is wonderful, relaxing, fun and freeing…I can not wait to go to class again!” – Jennifer Lawson, Los Angeles

“Fun! A great way to break out of your routine and learn something new.” – Anna Pianalto, Loan Officer, Hermosa Beach

“I had a great time. Rita is fun and energetic!” – Isela London, Carson

“Can’t wait to attend again.” – Amber Friend, Homemaker, Carson

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Why do you need to dance? Here’s a very short list of benefits you will be experiencing:

  • Reduced stress
  • Improved condition of the heart and lungs
  • Stronger bones and reduced risk of osteoporosis
  • Improved mental functioning
  • Better social skills
  • Greater self-confidence and self-esteem
  • Improved posture and balance
  • Increased stamina and flexibility

And the most important reasons – it’s fun and relaxing!

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“To dance is to be yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful. This is power on earth and it is yours for the taking.” -Agnes DeMille

“Any problem in the world can be solved by dancing.” -James Brown

“To touch, to move, to inspire. This is the true gift of dance.” -Aubrey Lynch

“While I dance I can not judge, I can not hate, I can not separate myself from life. I can only be joyful and whole. This is why I dance.” -Hans Bos

“Dance is the song of the body. Where ever a dancer stands is holy ground” -Martha Graham

“Thousands of emotions well up inside me through out the day. They are released when I dance.” -Abraham Lincony

“Learning to walk sets you free. Learning to dance gives you the greatest freedom of all: to express with your whole self the person you are.” -Melissa Hayden

“Dance is a little insanity that does us all a lot of good.” -Edward Demby
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Belly Dance has been described as “the complete form of dance expression” by professional dancers. Bellydance is incorrectly described as sensual, although it is, it is also much more than that, and it has a special and very unique ability to be whatever you need it to be, whether it’s relaxing, fun, exciting..the list on!
You’ll be doing advanced dance moves by the end of the first class, and every week your experience in your body will have gotten much more joyous, which in turn will make all that you do in your day to day life more of a joy.

Class will be in Redondo Beach! Sorry gents, ladies only!!!

Find “Soul Blossom Dance” on Facebook to join our family!

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There’s Enough Light to Dance in the Dark

Posted on June 21, 2011 by

One of the hardest things about putting together dance classes is finding the perfect studio. With all the different things to consider like location, size, price, availability, it makes it a very cumbersome and bothersome task. In my situation though, I’ve had to add one more requirement to the list: the studio cannot have any mirrors.

Renting a mirror-less dance studio must sound extremely odd, but it’s actually on top of my list in terms of importance. You’re probably wondering how the heck that happened….

I used to teach Belly Dance somewhere that wasn’t meant for dance. It was a space regularly rented out for classes and demonstrations, but I was probably the first one to teach dance.  There was one full-length mirror that we found, and I’d pull it out of the back room for our class, and people were encouraged to use it if they needed to see themselves.

I very soon started noticing a strange thing; people were dancing without the usual inhibition and timidity that beginning dance students usually have. This was a result of there not being any mirrors in front of them. This is what happens when you’re not concerned with what you look like. Your brain gets taken away from the equation when you’re not looking at something, and usually when we look at ourselves it’s with a very judgemental microscopic lens.

Not looking at yourself gets you out of your head and the only other place for you to go when you’re out of your head (that is, if you’re alive) is your body. People dance much differently, much more freely, without a mirror, and that’s the way we should dance.

With the same intention in mind of getting people out of their heads and into their bodies, I also started dimming the lights. This, not surprisingly, started adding to the effect. Now, not only were people dancing more freely because they weren’t looking at themselves, but also because they felt they weren’t being looked at by others. It also made for a much more cozy and dance-inducing ambiance :)

The reason dancing comfortably and without judgement is important is because that’s the most effective way of silencing the hyper mind and ego. When the ego and mind are silenced, the body unfolds itself with the music, and if that kind of unfolding are experienced on a regular basis, when tension is danced away from the body, then the mind becomes more relaxed, which in turn reverberates through the body again, and this health-creating reverberation goes back and forth from the brain to the body, like a boomerang.

In Soul Blossom classes, you will be in an environment that will be unlike any other dance class.  The atmosphere will be designed for you to completely LET GO and be yourself. In most dance classes, you have to do what the instructor tells you and nothing more, even while the music is playing (I hated that), and at clubs you’re usually being evaluated by a sexually-minded eye. In Soul Blossom dance class, you will be able to let your body exhale.

 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Soul-Blossom-Dance/161292333930337 

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Hips, Hip Scarves, and Everything that Lies in Between

Posted on June 8, 2011 by

Hips, Hip Scarves, and Everything that Lies in Between

By Rita Lazar

 

I started Belly Dancing nine years ago. The music was the first thing to enchant me, to intoxicate and possess my body, but around the same time was when I fell in an equal amount of love with hip scarves.

I became a different person when I put one on. Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak made him unseeable, and my hip scarf turned me into a very seeable and very seen, dancing nymph. All awkwardness, all lethargy, and all doubts of my femininity quickly vanished as I tied on my first one, a black chiffon piece with dangling silver beads that made the yummiest noise with my slightest move.

That first time, I shimmied, hip-lifted, and hip-dropped my way through my bedroom, the living room, the kitchen, and just about every square foot of our house. I danced for two hours and didn’t even know (or care) that that much time had passed. I didn’t just put my hip scarf on, it was more like it was something I stepped into.

I think it’s always important for us to feel dressy and glamorous (and shiny and sparkly) when we’re dancing. It brings our dance to a new, higher level. That’s what hip scarves do for us…they’re so much more than just a piece of fabric and coins and beads that make a lot of noise.

In fact, I started realizing how much hip scarves symbolize, outside of the context of belly dance. I know, it sounds like I’m giving them way too much meaning, but bear with me. Think about the area on the female body that the hip scarf covers. Yes, obviously it’s over the hips, but beyond that – deeper than that. This is the area that for hundreds of years has been controlled and conditioned by society – by men. The hip scarf CELEBRATES this area. The hip scarf decorates it, adorns it, and makes it MUSICAL. This is a big step forward for the human race. To celebrate something that for so long has been thought of as dirty and wrong. The hip scarf, or the consciousness that the hip scarf came from, was in tune with the knowledge that this area is a place to celebrate and a place itself of celebration. It is, after all, where we all come from, and where we will continue from. The place that gives physical birth to the future should be adorned and coronated with a see-through crown that ties on the side.

It’s also interesting that the hip scarf originates in the Middle East, a place notorious for the rejection of the female body.

I, of course, will be providing hip scarves in class. I may not have enough for everyone, but I will have a good selection. And we won’t just be wearing them for the Belly Dance section of the class, we’ll have them on no matter which dance we’ll be learning, be it Salsa, Bhangra, or African! :)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Soul-Blossom-Dance/161292333930337


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