Aloha Ansuya part 2

In the first 3 hour class of my week long seminar with Ansuya we learned a 3-minute drum solo! And really, we learned the whole thing!! Ok, there were a lot of repitions, which made it easier, but still it was a lot to learn. Ansuya strikes a nice balance between breaking things down and moving on. She really pushed us through it, but in such a gentle way that no one noticed. Hmmm...is Ansuya the Mary Poppins of belly dance? Perhaps. She definitely has a sparkling personality, and I can honestly say that I've never felt more comfortable with another teacher. She is just so sweet, and I think that is why you feel so connected to her emotionally when she is dancing. She just loves connecting with people and giving of herself. She made a point to us tonight about interacting with musicians and really giving it to them, so they will give back to you. Not just in drum solos, but when anyone in an orchestra has a solo. It was such considerate, but ultimately practical advice. On top of all of that, she is strikingly beautiful. Her pictures and videos do not do her justice!

For this drum solo class, we had a live drummer, named Ozzy, who was also super sweet. I've never done a class with a live drummer before, and it was wonderful. So convenient! None of that distracting business of messing with CDs or iPods. Ansuya was just like "lets start again from the big hip shimmy" and he starts! Like magic! I suspect that Ansuya and Ozzy are in love. I could just be making that up, but I got that vibe. They are just so cute together, aren't they?



Okay, okay, so it wasn't all easy. I am still working on the undulations layered with shimmies. And I'm sure I'll have bigger fish to fry in tomorrow's Indian Fusion choreography!