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Author: juliast

Our first event

Published: 11 October 2022
Written by juliast
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Categories: Classes, Dance

In August 2022 we held our first event as a group. Here’s a little look into how it came about and what we did! For years, our mother group Anam Chara had been invited by the Ur Ton Drummers of Linz, to dance in their annual drumming circle next to the Lentos on the banks of the river Danube, Linz. As Julia is an active member of Anam Chara, and her student Christina is a member of the drumming group, it sparked an idea.

Julia decided it would be fun to provide a way for Fat Chancers to connect in a relaxed setting after the stress of the pandemic. What could be better than in a live drumming circle?

Then came another idea as she and Tina got chatting. Why not connect the event to a workshop or two and make a day of it? And who better to ask than our teacher and mentor Gudrun Herold? So, Julia chatted with Gudrun, Tina created the online poster and registration form and together they privately invited dancers from all over Germany with the assistance of their dance sister in Bavaria, Lisi Brümmer!

Two skirt workshops and a frame drum workshop were on offer, at the incredible Sonnenstein Loft, Red Sapata Tanz Fabrik, followed by Hafla style dancing with the drummers to close the day. Dancers from Tanzerei Adabei, Tingula Tribe and our very own Anam Chara came, and we had a blast. Gudrun took us through her, and Philippa Morai’s skirt dialect and we practiced hard and tried out our new moves. Then came the drum workshop which Julia and Tina also attended. We tapped out rhythms that we dance to in our style such as Maksoum and Baladi. There are different ways and parts of the drum to hit, which are connected to different elements. This was a fascinating insight into an instrument which has been played by women for thousands of years. For more on this, if you are interested, please reach out to Gudrun Herold at Many Moons Collective.

After that we all got ready, with our skirts, scarves, belts, heavy jewellery and a little makeup and hair styled with flowers and then made our way over the bridge and excitement mounted as we heard the drums pounding. Gudrun led us in a gratitude meditation for ourselves and then to the drummers and afterwards we danced and zilled till our arms almost dropped off!

We chatted as the sun set and connected over a small picnic as we sat on the grass and just took in the atmosphere. The ladies dipped in and out of the circle to dance as the general public watched and enjoyed the show!

Thank you to the UrTon Drummers, the dancers who came and of course Gudrun Herold, our teacher for the day! The event was so special, we’ve decided to expand on it and do something a little bigger next year, but more on that another time!

Here are some pictures:

Photography at Donaulände: Johann Lackner, Fotoklub Feldkirchen

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Julia’s TT experience

Published: 11 September 2022
Written by juliast
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Categories: News

In July of 2022, I packed up my car and drove from the Mühlviertel in Austria, to Soest, Germany. On the way, I listened to the audiobook, ‘Ambitious like a mother’ by Lara Bazelon. In it she discusses how difficult it is sometimes to be ambitious and prioritise your needs as a mother. How society often expects that your needs, career and dreams will take a backseat to that of your partner and children. I am happy to say my spouse is supportive of my career moves both in my professional life as a TESOL teacher and teacher trainer, and in my private life as an FCBD®Style dancer and teacher. So, as I pulled up in front of the Frauenhilfe center in Soest and heard the zills and music from the General Skills taking place, my heart skipped a beat and I thought of all the women who had come together, 70 women from 20 different countries in total, to put themselves first and connect with each other in the joyous dance that is FCBD® Style. It would be remiss of me if I didn’t say thank you to Miriam Schroth for organising this and bringing us together.

First came the tearful and excited meetings and introductions as I connected with old and new friends, some of whom I had only met online till now. The beauty of this dance meant we could just come together and dance which we did at the Hafla that night! What a brilliant event! I danced, bought cholis because a girl can never have too many, and chatted till I fell into bed exhausted!

The next morning brought a meeting with DeAnna Padron Freeman and the lady herself, Carolena Nericcio. She came in through the door and said, “it feels like I’ve met you before”, then a hug and I felt like I was on top of the world. This is part of the joy of this dance form. It feels like we are part of a global family and meeting ‘Mama C’ was a highlight for me. You can see the results of this meeting soon 😊 An afternoon with my dance sisters and friends, and food in the main square and then another meal in the evening as we chatted, caught up and got to know each other better.

The next day the teacher training began. We warmed up to fun music before the teachers arrived. Then in came Carolena, DeAnna and the incredible Kelley Beeston. I tried not to fan girl, but it is surreal to meet people you’ve watched dance on You Tube countless times and there they were, in the flesh, about to teach us all how to teach our own students. I guess this hit me quite hard because my GS was online and the pandemic had stalled so many events, that to actually be here was almost overwhelming. We were put through our paces and given steps to teach. I got propellor turn! We all had to teach our fellow students and were given detailed feedback by our group teacher. We finished up and were given a step to teach the next day.

When we were done, we would meet for food again in the main square together. I can recommend the salted caramel ice cream! I made so many friends and it was blissful to sit and chat with my fellow dance sisters. We went back to work on our steps. I had the forward and back shimmy half turn. The step suddenly felt like the most difficult step in the world! I diligently sat and studied Carolena’s lesson on it on FCBDu.com and watched the DVD’s again to make sure I knew the step inside and out.

The day began as it had before. Warming up, the gratitude meditation… Then we began to teach our steps. We rooted each other on and supported each other as we each, in turn came forwards to present our knowledge. Then suddenly, I was up. Oh my goodness, my heart ponded as Kelley watched me like a hawk as I got my ‘students’ to ‘learn’ the step. It was over far too fast and then came my feedback. I listened hard and tried to carry on as normal while the day went on. Had I done well enough to pass?

Yes!!!!! Oh, the elation and pride! I/we had done it!!! Reached my/our ambitious goal of becoming a certified FCBD® Style teacher! I couldn’t stop grinning as I went to receive my certificate from our teachers and the moment was caught on camera!

It was so hard to say goodbye to my dance sisters the next day. There were a lot of tears!!!!The next morning, Lisi Brümmer of Tanzerei Adabei and I drove back together and spent the whole time chatting about the experience and our new plans and goals! Our next ‘ambitious’ one was to become registered as a certified studio, but more on that another time. 😊 Thank you to Miriam, our teachers and my dance sisters. This is an experience I will treasure forever. In the words of Sister Sledge, “We are family, I’ve got all my sisters with me!”

Gallery:
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Julia´s GS Experience

Published: 26 January 2022
Written by juliast
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Categories: Classes, News

In October of 2021, I experienced some of the most intense days of my dance life so far. The Fat Chance Belly Dance General Skills online course is taught over ten days, is 30 hours long, has limited places and covers the steps of the classic and modern FCBD style dance vocabulary. Upon completion, you receive a certificate of attendance.  There is also an option to pay an additional fee and take the GS exams at the end comprised of written and practical components. If you pass these, you are then GS certified and therefore eligible to apply for the separate Teacher Training course. Naturally, having a somewhat ambitious personality, I decided upon this option!

In the course I attended, we were taught by Carolena Nericcio, the founder of the dance style, DeAnna Padron Freeman, director of FCBDu, the online Fat Chance university, Liz Malcom, Kelley Beeston, Philippa Morai, Lore Rojas and Michiyo Salisbury. All of whom are part of the advanced teacher training team and the Fat Chance® Continuing Education (FCCE) Program. To say I was excited would be an understatement! The GS teachers change per course, but they all hold the Advanced Teacher Training status, and some are also alumni of the Fat Chance troupe.

We began with introductions and the basics. Carolena told us the history of the dance from her viewpoint and often regaled us with snippets of information throughout the course to give us background and context. We always began our online time with the gratitude meditation which is a core element of our dance form and shows gratitude to the dance, our teachers, our dance community, and our audiences etc. We were put through our paces each day, following an instructor as she drilled us while being observed with the hawk eyes of the other instructors. Feedback would follow and we were given homework to complete.

One of the homework’s given, was to write a piece entitled, ‘What is FCBD Style?’ As an English teacher, I endeavoured to convey what this dance form is, beyond the obvious steps and costumes. When asked to read our pieces to everyone, I went first and nervously read aloud my piece. Hearing silence afterwards, I thought, ‘oh no! They don’t like it’, but instead I saw some tearful faces and Carolena told me I’d verbalised what she’d been trying to get across for years. DeAnna asked me if she could use it and the piece has now been translated into several languages. You can find the videos of it on this website if you’d like to listen to it. It’s one of the proudest moments in my dance life thus far.

As the days went on, we fell into a rhythm and were polished into Fat Chance style dancers. I took some notes… This became a 53 page google document which I am still adding to. I am a nerd… It can only attest to how comprehensive the course is and the amount of information you receive.

There was a lot of emotion and excitement at graduation on day ten. We were all sorry the course had ended, as well as feeling tired, and some of us were nervous about the impending exams. After a week or two, we completed the written component and depending on if we’d passed, we received the steps we were to record ourselves dancing for the practical part. I can’t tell you how many times I recorded my steps…I couldn’t seem to get them perfect enough but decided to bite the bullet and just send the videos.

After that came the wait. Finally, the email arrived. I was so nervous as I opened it! There it was, in black and white. I had passed the General Skills course that I’d been dreaming about taking for years! I was so happy, and I almost couldn’t believe it!

So, that was my General Skills experience. What a ride! I am so grateful to the teachers for giving me such valuable feedback and to Carolena for enriching the course with her memories and extensive dance knowledge! I’m also grateful to my fellow classmates. We became firm friends and supported one another through each day.

So, what’s next? Well, as I mentioned, I took the additional exams and got the GS certification. As soon as I received the notification, I applied for the Teacher Training which will take place in Soest, Germany in the Summer of 2022. I was lucky enough to obtain a place and am looking forward to the next ‘step’ in my dance journey.

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