How to Dance to Live Drummers
(as opposed to the dead ones who are such a bore!)

by Michelle

There is nothing so exhilarating as dancing to a live drummer. While you can plan and choreograph with a recorded drum solo, nothing can substitute the high-impact energy of having a live drum beside you while you shimmy and pop! In my experience, such performances are almost always improvisational. In other words, while your drum song may have a general framework, the piece is going to come straight out of the drummers imagination. The moves, as a result, must flow readily from yours! To perform your best in such a situation, here are some important tips.

Warm up-to be on your toes, literally and figuratively, you must be warmed up! The drummer will flex and stretch his hands-you must flex and stretch your body. The most important stretch I do prior to a performance is the side-lean which stretches all of the muscles along your torso and hips. There are many variations of this stretch and I do them all: before I put on my costume, once my costume is on, in the wings waiting to enter the stage.

There are some basic drum solo techniques which I covered more extensively in my "How to Nail Your Drum Solo" article and workshop. Let's review them briefly.

You must own several sharp moves. A sharp move is one in which there is strong emphasis on the end of the move, giving it a percussive feel. Some excellent sharp moves include

Sharp hips (ups and Egyptian downs)

. Pelvic tucks

. Chest pops

. Sharp hip twists

Shimmies are the core of my drum solo work (both recorded and live). Be fluent in them and have a variety of them. A couple of shimmies to master are

. ¾ ups and downs

. Jello

Isolations are crucial because they allow you to accent different sounds in the music. They can be sharp, but are often smooth. Practice the following:

. Hip circles, figure 8s, slides

. Chest circles, figure 8s, slides

. Keep 'em separate. In other words, don't let your chest move when you're supposed to be isolating your hips. Stretch, stretch, stretch to achieve this!

Layering allows you to be all the different parts of the drum-the dums, the teks, the kas. Layering is the technique by which you perform two moves simultaneously. You might layer one part of the body on top of another, or you might add two moves to one body area. For example, a slow snake arm atop a fast jello shimmy, or a ¾ hip shimmy while executing a smooth maia. Here are a few layers to work on

. Shimmy slides

. Shimmy 8s

. Shoulder shimmy/chest undulations

. Snake arms/choo choo shimmies

Stamina is crucial because you want to look your hottest for the finale-especially with a live drum song. Practice your routine at least four times straight through. Good for cardiovascular health as well as performance prep!

Now let us turn our attention to the specifics of dancing to your live drum! First and foremost, I believe that dancing with a drummer is performing a duet. You are not on stage alone and you shouldn't ignore your partner.

First, position yourself so you can easily see the drummer. Use eye contact and eye-hand contact to communicate (by this, I mean, be able to see what his hands are doing-your eyes, his hands).

Next, arrange the set. First, decide how you will begin.

. In place or off stage?

. Slow or Fast?

. Start with the rhythm/set a cue start/just go for it!

What are you wanting to dance? This is where you decide the theme of your piece.

. Decide with your drummer the tempo and emotion. This will help you decide on the rhythm you choose. A chiftitelli works great for a slow drum song, while in my opinion, you can't beat a beledi for a fast number.

. Do you want to have a shimmyfest or spotlight your isolations? This will also influence what your drummer plays-for non-stop shimmies, you'll want lots of fast rolls, for isolations, the drummer can actually play a little more freeform so you can dance to the "melody."

. Sections in the piece: Establish if you wish to slow down in the middle, have pauses, speed up at the end.

Do you have any special highlights? The drummer needs to know so he can watch for you to implement your show-stopper. Things you might include are

. Props-yes, you can use swords, canes, veils, fans!

. Accompanying zils-make sure the drummer plays a rhythm you can play on your zils!

. Floor work/backbends/cartwheels. Determine if you'll need a rhythm or tempo change to accommodate such moves (ok, maybe don't do a cartwheel.).

How will you end the piece? Remember, this is what the audience will walk away remembering. You want to nail it even if you flubbed the rest of the piece! If you plan no other part of the song with the drummer, plan this. Things to establish are

. Slow and drawn out or fast and kaboom?

. Set the rhythm or pattern of the ending

. Plan cues to indicate finish (for example, a nod, a point, a verbal cue)

. Plan a final pose and hold it, even if your drummer goofs and keeps playing-he'll quickly stop and it will look better than if you try to cover by starting to dance again.

Get in tune with your drummer. Remember, he is your partner in this dance. Ideally, you should practice with him before a performance, but sometimes this is not possible. Sometimes, you might not even know his name! Whether you've performed many times with the drummer or just met, there are some things to help your synchronicity.

. Watch his hands-see when he's getting ready to hit the dums or rolls

. Anticipate patterns in his music-if you miss the first ka-pow, get ready for the 2nd (and often 3rd and 4th)

. Plan visual cues-nods, distinctive moves. These cues will indicate when to slow down, speed up, or end.

. Interact with your drummer-use humor, facial expressions, winks so that audience sees a duet.

. Watch his hands!

Plan your dance. So what if it's improvisational? A professional always prepares for the overall presentation, even if she is allowing the music to tell her how to move.

. Avoid too much traveling-unlike with recorded music in which you are the sole star and can plan big traveling steps, live drumming is a little more unpredictable. You don't want to completely upstage the drummer and you don't want to dance right over the music (for example, if you begin to spin across stage to his roll and he has already moved into a sharp staccato pattern).

. Try to hear all the sounds of the drum (dums and teks) but don't limit yourself to only hitting those. For one section, hit the precise rhythm, for another, place a smooth move that flows with the rhythm.

. Be warmed up and ready to experiment and have fun!

. Use pauses to your advantage-"stop" dancing to change your positioning

. BE THE MUSIC! This is the most important and dynamic time to make your body reflect the music it is hearing. When the drummer softens and slows the rhythm, you soften and slow. When he is crisp and loud, you be sharp and bold

Farfesha Belly Dance © 2004