This week, let's learn about tray as a bellydance prop. (btw, props are part of level 3 dance classes. Something to think about when level two eventually becomes easy/boring ^_~) The origins are Moroccan, coming from Shikhatt (one of many, many dances from Morocco) and the hospitality of servind tea. Balancing props like this are a good motivator for practicing isolations. (the video in that link is from Tava, a friend of mine from CT, she's a great teacher and super knowledgeable about Turkish and Am Cab stuff ^_^)
Here are some example of Moroccan style tray dances
A Moroccan woman
Moroccan styling by American Students
And a US based pro, staging a tableau.
The Late John Compton performing his rendition, which you can think of as part of a bridge from the traditional styling to how it is used in the US now.
Candle tray is also a great fit for the floorwork (ie slowest) part of a 5 or 7 piece American Cabaret/Restaurant style set.
Modern American and fusion dancers take this background and continue to add even more spectacle:
including souped up flames,
Fusion styling,
and decked out, multi tiered trays.
it's just a matter of time before the trays become a reinvention of the shamadan! but that's a prop for another week ^_^
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