shanmonster | Review of Jillina's Fantasy Fusion Workshop

The workshop wasn't at all what I thought it would be. It was advertised as "Combining Bellydance movements with modern dance. Ideal for a dramatic entrance to exciting fusion music." I thought this meant we'd be working on showy entrances and modern (as in Martha Graham or Lester Horton) fusion.

Instead, what I got was a straight-forward Am-Cab choreography not so very different from Jillina's instructional videos. The only modern movement I detected was a chassé (spelled "chase" on the handouts), which is a pretty standard travelling step for raqs sharqi performers, anyhow. And even then, it's more balletic than modern.

The workshop was held at a seedy old 60s-style banquet hall. Half of the room was carpeted, and the other half had tile floor. Fake plants hung from the ceiling, and the fully-stocked bar had engraved plaques listing the names of who I presumed were old-time regulars. It was very dark in there, and not just because I was wearing sunglasses to save the other students from seeing my poor, sick eye.

A sound system with strategically-located speakers made it possible for us to hear the music and Jillina's instruction over the noise of many dozens of coin scarves.

Which reminds me.... I think these should perhaps be banned from workshops. They're noisy, and many of them leak coins and beads which invariably get stepped on. But I digress....

The room was seriously overcrowded. There were about twice the amount of dancers in the room than it could comfortably hold. Throughout the entire choreography, people were getting smacked upside the head, rammed into, and jostled by each other. It was unavoidable, and made this

shanmonster an unhappy camper. If I couldn't even stand in one position with my arms outspread, then how am I supposed to be able to do a choreography with lots of expansive arm movements, especially when there are high-speed travelling spins thrown in?

Organizers, please bear in mind the size of the venue when selling workshops spaces. Either get a bigger room, or cap the attendance at a smaller number. Thank you.

The workshop began with a simple warm-up consisting of "diva walking" laps around the room, moved on to stretches and pliés in first position, and culminated with some very basic technique. As Jillina explained the mechanics of how to do rib circles and hip slides, I realized I was in for a workshop geared more toward novices, and I began to worry if the money I'd spent had been spent wisely.

Jillina is a real sweetheart. She's friendly, engaging, and eager to help. When she saw students doing a basic move incorrectly, she'd rush over and correct the technique.

Her videos are offered for sale at the workshops for very reasonable prices. The drum solo DVD, for example, complete with accompanying CD, was only $35.

The choreography was broken up into small, manageable chunks which we drilled until we'd gained some facility with them before moving onto the next chunk. At the end of the workshop, all these modules were put together with the song, and voila! We were dancing the choreography (well, except me. My weeks of sick caught up with me and I was completely shagged out by the last half hour, and staggered more than danced).

The choreography itself is fairly simple, with nothing any more complex than a shimmy layered over a reverse undulation. It is certainly not the crazy mixture of daunting combinations I'd get at one of Tarik's, Aziza's, or Morocco's workshops. It is geared more toward beginner through intermediate-level dancers, and as such, it is very successful. If you fit into this category, please take a Jillina workshop! I think you'll get a lot out of it. But if you're any more advanced, you might want to skip it and buy her videos if you want to learn her famous choreographies.