Tribal Bellydance Intensives with Paulette of Gypsy Caravan–

Collective Soul Levels One and Two,

in April (CS1 April 8-10, CS2 April 11-13) in Hungtingdon Valley, PA, near Philly. last Call!

email dance@gypsycaravan.us

Can you join us? I would love to dance with you…

www.gypsycaravan.us

Back on the farm and good to be home! 6:30 am, and it is getting light now, very happy about that. Frosty ground, not the sunny warm weather of Australia, but I love it! Visiting with all my little and big animals, and celebrate my man’s birthday while I dive back into the piles of work waiting for me. Unfortunately that does not go away while I do. Ah well…

paulette in brisbane

Now I have time to reflect back on my fabulous trip down under, and finish telling you about it! I am sorting through the tons of photos I took on my journey.

After the delicious CS1 intensive, I gathered with my three Level One Teacher Trainees, Becky from Albany, Sienna from Cairns, and Christine from Auckland, New Zealand. They have been dancing and teaching for the past year, working with my training program while refining their teaching skills. So after a year since we started that program together, last February when I was in Adelaide, we were able to come together in person, review the processes, and I am happy to certify them into the small school of graduates! I am proud and they have been doing great work!

so turbans off to them…

Teacher trainee grads!

I then continued on with Collective Soul Level 2, still in Brisbane. Another great 3 days of intensive dancing and talking. What a joyful, and painful process sometimes too. We stretch ourselves, with tired bodies, excited minds, and emotional feelings, it is a lot to take in in three days. And as always, sometimes three days is not long enough. We must honor our individual processes while we continue our work, and enjoy the journey before we get to the end result. But it does feel good to get to the root of the dance, what it means, how it works, and where we can go from there as dancers and artists, and I so thrive on being part of every dancer’s journey.

Congratulations to the Collective Soul Level Two dancers and grads:

Collective Soul Level Two dancers!

Sienna, Dee,Becky, Christine, Nina, and  Heidi–thank you for your hard work, your dedication, and your beautiful dance! what an honor to dance with you all…

and lastly!

Congratulations to Nina for getting certified in my Teacher Training Level 2 course.

We worked  one on one and she has made me proud! great work Nina! And so glad you will be joining the Gypsy Caravan and the Caravan Dance Collective in Portland, with Hilary and Amanda from Caravan Soul Collective International, and also at Tribal Fest in California this May!

Nina and Paulette

woo hoo!

What a journey this has been, the last few weeks in Australia. I have had the opportunity to meet and dance with some beautiful women, who have undertook intensive study with me. Congratulations to them for getting their certification, both in Collective Soul Level One and Teacher Training Level One. And not without a few giggles!

Collective Soul Level One grads...

Back row: Kelly, Colleen, myself, Shanne, Kate, Julie, and Dee

Front row: Margart, Heidi, and Becky

Heidi, Becky, and Dee did the course as a refresher, to get ready for the next intensive that immediatly followed, Collective Soul Level 2, testing today!

Lately I’ve been discussing how the dance is empowering to the women, on so many levels. Appropriately on Chris Guillebeau’s blog today, he writes:

Empowerment, as I think of it, is all about the beautiful principle of transferring knowledge and helping people consider possibilities that previously seemed out of reach.

This was a perfect read for today:

http://chrisguillebeau.com/3×5/the-small-man-builds-cages-for-everyone/

Fulfilling, rewarding, with sweat, tears, and joy… we reach for what we desire, experience our own journey along the way, and listen and share with the other’s we are joined with. Trust and community building: that is beautiful. I am constantly awed and rewarded by the women I dance with.

Thank you gals for giving me you trust, your time, and your dance! andhere is to the next step on your dance path.

Celebration!

Good work Teacher Trainees: Becky, Christine, and Sienna (photos to follow!)

Hilary, Amanda, Carol, and Karen

Carol, Hilary, Amanda, Paulette, and Karen

For our three day CS3 intensive, we were joined by Carol, from Gypsy Caravan, and Karen from the Caravan Dance Collective. They were there to dance with us, partake in the fun and the work, and refine and reinforce their own dance. It is so nice to see when dancers can let go of their egos, and just do more work on their technique. We are never done, are we? It is humbling, yet always encouraging for dancers to not always be the teacher. Since Carol and Karen are teaching many of the Caravan classes, they really do enjoy letting go of that persona to work on themselves, besides sharing in the intriguing dance discussions that we get into!

I, too, always look for learning opportunities for myself, as it is refreshing to uncover something new, to study a different approach to dance, or something all together different, which I am always doing. Yet it always brings me full circle back to my teachings. As I strive to be the best teacher I can be, which keeps me always on my toes. In turn, that makes my job of helping the student be the best dancer (or writer, or teacher) that they can be. I also continuously learn from my students, so there is that circle too.

It is an exciting occupation, teaching, and I am so glad that I realized years ago that was what I wanted to do. It is challenging and rewarding, grueling sometimes, joyous most times. Having been doing this for how many years now? about eighteen or so…I love the format I have found that works, both for the students to find delight in themselves and their dance, for the performers who have pursued that side of the dance, and for the dancers who have grown up to be teachers also.

I am glad that I went on to create the Gypsy Caravan Collective Soul certification programs, and the Teacher Training intensives, to share, and pass on this dance and the skills that go along with it, as it really revolves around all of life, not just dance. That is why this dance is a lifestyle for me. Supportive, creative, encouraging, all encompassing, hard, fun, and it makes the world go round! Besides, I get to laugh alot!

Crazy Amanda and Hilary

Yes, my dancers have done me proud! Amanda Richardson, from Wisconsin, and Hilary Giovale, from Arizona, have completed their certification in CS 3! They are the first, other than my Gypsy dancers, to have gotten this far with my training. They have worked so hard to get this far, believing in this dance, in me, and mostly in themselves! It takes courage, time, discipline, desire, and yes, some money, to keep studying with your teacher, especially long distance. These girls have achieved the next level of their goals, Collective Soul Level Three! And they want more…

What can I say but woo hoo, dancers, you are rocking out! On we go to CS Level Four, and Teacher Training Level Three, and rumor has it they may be joining me, Gypsy Caravan, and the Caravan Soul Collective International in performance next May at the Tribal Fest, in California. I have been confirmed as a teacher again this year on Sunday May 16th. Very exciting news, and what an honor! We love our annual pilgrimage to the dance festival, seeing good friends from around the world and lots of innovative (and sometimes not) dance performances. But it takes us all to make the world shine and be exciting and full.

Can you feel the love?

Anyone else going?

Before I continue on with CS3 that just finished, I need to congratulate the CS 2 grads from England in October!

After I finished up with CS 1 in Aylesbury, with six lovely dancers getting certified, I taught at the Tribe Vibe Festival for a weekend, and then went on to do three more days of CS2 in Lewes with five more dancers! Who all did fantastically, by the way. I so enjoy working with dancers who have been studying with me for quite awhile now. To see them grow into their dance with more confidence and skill is exciting for them and rewarding for me, and they looked so beautiful dancing together!

so hugs, kisses and gold stars to to

CS2 grads- UK 2009

Louisa, Steffi, Eleanor, Mel, and Emma! woo hoo…

keep on dancing, sistas!

Thank you for being so dedicated and hard-dancing, and for loving this dance. You keep making your mama teacher so proud…

and I did write more about this in the latest newsletter, Caravan Trails, you can go to the website to subscribe

gypsycaravan.us

more on CS3 to follow…

We are onto day two of our three day CS3 tribal dance intensive certification program! Hilary from Arizona and Amanda from Wisconsin are in town, and we are joined by my own dancers, Carol and Karen. A hard-dancing bunch for sure….

We started yesterday with brunch on my farm, with a lively discussion about tribal and the evoution. I am noticing more and more that there is a segregation happening in the tribal dance world, people are taking sides, or teams, or something. Isn’t’ the idea of tribal bellydance  to dance together, to celebrate life, to support each other, and to be happy and healthy in our bodies?

I think it is great to focus on the style that speaks to you, but not to discredit another style, or be afraid of another style, or not to evolve as a dancer, which does mean to study a lot of approaches to the dance, to know how to be a better dancer yourself. I wish for noone to  stagnate in one area, or not to experience the joy of dance and what the dance world has to offer! I want to dance with everyone, no matter what language of tribal they major in. But art is provacative, after all, and I would rather have strong opinions, than none, which has gotten me into trouble before!

These gals are the first to be certified in Level Three (outside of my own dancers) and I am proud, and honored that they have chosen to go after what they want, they have taken action to acheive their dreams and goals.

Action is eloquence. William Shakespeare

They are dedicated and commited to their own dance, and my job is to make them even better dancers. We focus on technique, learning more moves to add to their growing and exciting repetoire of moves,  and their execution and transitions between them. We work on how to be more confident as a dancer, listen to how the music asks us to move, and how to be a stronger a leader and follower in this improvisational language. If you can improv, you can do anything, in dance, and in life! That’s what I say.

So, enjoy your Saturday, and I’ll let you know how it goes!

Friday, a day to rest, a day to reflect, and basically, a day off! We finished up Collective Soul Level Two Certification yesterday with five tired but elated dancers in Lewes, England, near the southern sea shore. What a fantastic journey it was for all of us.

But let me go back to last week, first arriving in England and being swept away to the sweet little town of Aylesbury, about an hour north of London, where I have taught on several occasions over the past nine years.  Starting with a long walk on a gorgeous hilltop, Steffi showed me the view, we took her dog and daughter so I could get some air after the long plane ride, and I really wanted to get my time zones switched, otherwise I would have fallen dead asleep and it was the middle of the afternoon!

Starting right in the next day with Collective Soul Level One, I had 3 five-hour, full on dance days with six delightful women from all over England and Scotland. Undertaking this tribal journey is different for every woman, but we come together for gathering and collecting tools and knowledge toward achieving a more thorough personal knowledge of technique, history, ethics, artistry, sisterhood, and more—each person so unique in what they desire, but yet collectively coming together to understand the mechanics of Tribal Bellydance, the basics, the roots. A great start to learning how to really be an artist, a dancer in your own body, mind, and soul.

We had good, sweaty, body-driving days, many many laughs, and some great coffees, food, and wine after hard days! And all six dancers received their certification straight on after the anxiety of testing (I’m not too much of a task master!) I am so proud, and to see the Collective Soul experience be so positive and rewarding for all of us, as the dancers gained new insights as well as joined hands to strengthen their dancing sisterhood bonds, knowing they have more friends around the world to meet and dance with. How cool!

Moving right on with only two hours to spare, I only changed locations to teach at Steffi’s Tribe Vibe festival, teaching Tribal Trance, a nice way to start off the festival. Her third festival, my second time to teach at it, I met up with the familiar faces of her troupe, Barefoot Bellydance, along with many others I have danced with before, as well as many new tribal influenced dancers.

Congratulations to the new CS 1 graduates:

Sharon,  Sarah,  Kay, Sandra, Chris, and Kay!

More to come about Tribe Vibe, CS2, and my tribal journeys….

Today I am preparing my itineraries for my teaching travels this fall and winter. This includes travel flights, accomodations, workshop titles, Collective Soul and Teacher Training Certification applications and programs, and the calendar…oohhh the calendar! That is the hard part!

But what is delightful is when I read what another dancer has written, about dancing/training with me. One of my lovely student/friends in Australia, Dee from Tribal Blossoms, will be one of my sponsors in February. She wrote about studying with me in the past (see below). This is truly rewarding for me, to find out how useful my teachings are, and to help support her on her path of tribal bellydance!

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I’m really excited to start promoting our next big event in Brisbane – Paulette Rees-Denis is coming here in February 2010!! I’m so excited, and just pleased to be able to see my teacher again and continue on my own dance path, and give you the opportunity also to dance with this wonderful woman. I thought I’d share some of my thoughts on the Collective Soul program….
For me my decision to undertake Collective Soul was a personal one, to step up and really undergo that intensive training. I’d experienced Paulette’s wonderful workshops before and knew I wanted more….they ARE challenging absolutely, but I also think we all love this dance because of the challenge, and the connection we all receive. As a dance teacher I felt so inspired to take on more in my classes, to explore more of the rhythms I’d touched on in my dance history but perhaps had not explored with my students, to continue to push myself and my students into areas of growth….as a dance student I was just so happy to be a sponge and listen, and learn, ask questions, and experience it. For me it really did give me so much direction and confidence in my own dance and my school, and I would encourage anyone who has the funds and the time to do it – its a wonderful experience, and I think learning direct from a master teacher is an absolute blessing.
Also if you and your community are still yet to master the basics with Gypsy Caravan dance format and would like to be involved in the workshops either in Brisbane, or around Australia please talk to me, if I can travel or put you in touch with someone who’s able to help you get the best out of your dance now’s the time we need to plan. Paulette’s DVD series is a wonderful tool to help learn this dance, and can be ordered direct from her site.
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Of course she is promoting the fact that I will be there. But Dee is not afraid to share her soul, nor is she tentative about saying that she, a well-known teacher in Brisbane, loves to have a teacher. Many teachers/instructors stop learning or taking classes from others, thinking they know everything already. As a student and teacher of this dance (and many other things!), I am always on the eternal quest to learn, study, listen, watch. To take in aspects of what ever it is that I’m doing at that moment, to relish in the moment, but then to be able to use it to better myself. It may be a new teaching method, a different dance step, a new way to do a sit up, another way to explain a bellyroll (thank you Hilary for that!). If I stop, I will get stagnant. This dance is so vital, and it is a living artform, one that has a strong foundation, but one that will always be evolving, changing, growing. As do I.

That’s Dee, 2nd from the left, with all my other lovelies from Collective Soul Adelaide 2008.
*By the way, if you  are interested in my workshops in Brisbane, you can contact Dee at tribalblossoms@iinet.net.au

Just what is Collective Soul? Or more pointedly, what is the Collective Soul certification course put on by me, Paulette Rees-Denis from Gypsy Caravan Dance Company?
Many of you ask me that, and I have given short descriptions, and I have given longer descriptions, but let me try to be more succinct. Or for those of you who have heard my diatribes, maybe not so succinct, but at least descriptively unfettered!

First, my role is as the teacher, coach, director, hostess, and instigator for you to be the best dancer you can be. Plain and simple. The rest is a bit more involved and complex. I have been teaching Tribal Style Belly Dance for eighteen years and dancing it for over twenty-two. My assorted professional, semi-professional, and student troupes have been performing for that many years, in many formations large and small, but it is the dance itself that I am focusing on here. Over the years, from the needs of my students I have developed six levels of classes—Beginning Levels One and Two, Intermediate Levels One and Two, Advanced, and Performance Preparatory—before getting into the performing groups.

Most importantly, however, is to recognize that Tribal does not have to be about performing. There is nothing like the magic of dancing Tribal, as some of you have experienced. There is the synchronistic group energy of dancing improvisationally together, of creating in the moment, of feeling the music within your soul, of connecting with your dancing sisters through eyes and bodies, of feeling the glistening sweat on your skin as you dance hard. There is a pulsing energy when you really allow yourself to dance, not just memorize the steps, or just mindlessly follow your leader, but to truly dance, and take the lead. Your dance is your gift to yourself, for so many of these reasons, and more. This dance can be a meditation and a prayer, a spiritual awakening. Dancing can be an aerobic workout, a way to tone up the body and lose weight. Tribal can be a way of meeting and connecting with people of all ages and backgrounds, because you are feeling disconnected from any community and have the desire to find one. A big part of that includes lots of laughter along with confidence building. And the dance steps are just great fun to execute, some physically challenging, others a breeze, while you get reacquainted with different muscles and parts of your body! An incredible component of tribal is the costuming. Dancing tribal can be about making yourself beautiful, looking at yourself in the mirror, wearing assorted gorgeously vibrant costumes and hunks of delicious jewelry, elaborate glittery makeup, fanciful head wraps and hair adornments. That is the icing on the cake.

The meat (unless you are vegetarian like me) is most importantly getting to know the steps, feeling them in your muscles and your bones, and being comfortable dancing them. Tribal can be intimidating for some dancers, with the idea of using improvisation versus choreography. To dance Tribal includes understanding how to use your body, how to take care of and take pride in your body as a dancer, being able to identify rhythms so that you can move with the music, and later on adding zil (finger cymbals) playing, and dancing with props as other exciting layers of your dance.

Giving you helpful information, extensive drilling, body and movement corrections, more discussions, and even more drilling, is what I do for you, as a dancer in my Collective Soul certification courses. I find it necessary that you have some tribal belly dance experience before you start my course. Either that or be a fast learner and study my first few technique DVDs intently. I also do not mean it be a course to take so you can chalk one up on your tassel belt, where anyone can just take the course and get certified. That does not cut it for me, and doesn’t do you any favors, either. The intensive classes are small, usually from two to ten dancers, so that you get as much personal attention as possible. In addition, you are tested at the end. We both need to feel confident that you understand the movements, the history, the ideas behind what makes tribal Tribal. Some dancers freak a bit at the idea of being tested. I may be a taskmaster, but I am also a loving teacher! And no sweat if you do not pass right away, there is always another chance. I honor the fact that you might need more time to study and work on your steps. That is so not a problem! You just redo and review what you need to do, by taking the course again, or by testing again, or by sending me a DVD if you live far away. But you need to do it! You need to understand and be able to dance and move with grace, integrity, and confidence, and be that beautiful dancer that I am here to make you be.

Obviously, we start at the beginning, with Level One. But it is not just about re-learning
or reviewing the basic steps, because we spend time talking with each other, as learning not just from me, but from your peers is an invaluable learning situation. We study the body, the moves, and the music, along with talking about tribal and its evolution and revolution! We talk about artistic integrity and being an artist, not just a dancer that follows the trends. I don’t want you to look like every other dancer out there, tribal, fusion, or whatever is the new gimmick. I want you to be your own artist. We find out what it means to support each other. Mostly, it has to be fun. And we probably share a glass of wine or two!

Then we continue on with the next levels. There is so much more to learn, and as I dancer, I never quit studying and learning. That is why I love to dance, and why I love this dance specifically. It is constantly growing, being a living, breathing art form! And Tribal has an ever-growing repertoire of dance moves, using levels of dancer ability and knowledge. Good, fun stuff!

Collective Soul is also a pre-requisite for those who want to continue to study with me and take my Teacher Training intensives too. Collective Soul got started because there were dancers who wanted to teach but were not ready to. There is so much to learn about being a teacher, including marketing, teaching skills, and business plans, besides the logical ideas of running a dance class.

Now also, the Caravan Soul Collective International is growing, and that is certified dancers who are being able to perform together with me, if performing is your path!

I want to support you, and guide you on your tribal path. No, you do not need to get certified to dance tribal, but it is a way for you to study with me intensively to understand the roots and to get it in your body. And your reward for being certified is saying that you have done the work and you know the foundations of Tribal. For most, tribal becomes a lifestyle because of the invaluable lessons it has to give. Collective Soul has been a way for dancers from around the world to connect with Tribal Belly Dance, and with each other. My reward is to see you truly blossom as that dancer that you want to be. As the numbers of certified dancers grow, the worldwide connections grow. Way cool.

TESTIMONIALS!
From Dee, Tribal Blossoms, in Adelaide, Australia, Feb. 2009:
Going to Adelaide for studies with Paulette was amazing, firstly we had three days of Collective Soul – intensive training with Paulette going over moves, rhythms, zills and technique. I swear its changed me for workshops forever!! It was so inspiring AND exhausting! By the time the test came around I wondered if I’d have any more energy in reserve….but passed thankfully! Paulettes a great teacher. I totally recommend anyone wanting to really experience being a student to get themselves along to the program…..for me it was also a humbling experience – learning that I hadnt gotten it all right, but this was my chance to really learn…its hard to put it into words. She makes me want to be a better dancer and a better teacher.