An incredible mix of technique, stage presence, artistry, choreography, professionalism, costuming and star quality make up the dynamic performances of belly dancer Jillina. Jillina Carlano is the choreographer and artistic director of the Bellydance Superstars and Sahlala Dancers.

Jillina was a jazz and hip-hop dancer for most of her dance career, but one day she signed up for a belly dance class with Diane Webber and fell in love with the music, the movements, and the self-expression.  Jillina decided to concentrate in this dance and she began training more seriously in Oriental dance to further her career as a belly dancer. She studied with Oriental dance masters like Hallah Moustafa, Zahra Zuhair, Sahra, Feiruz, Angelika and at home she practice with instructional videotapes.

While performing her solos, Jillina becomes completely mesmerizing and you cannot take your eyes from her because you are fixating on each movement. Each hip shimmy, each torso contraction, each twirl and pirouette is worth individual attention. And Jillina is just so sexy!  With her beautiful, soulful, and passionate style, her dance becomes remarkable, soulful and absolutely dynamic.

Jillina Bellydance Superstar will be performing for one night only in Panama City, Panama, at the Ascanio Arosemena Theater on Sunday April 5, 2009.  Jillina will be teaching two workshops during the day: Oriental Fusion and Drum Solo at the Hotel El Panama.  I had the pleasure to enjoy her performances twice before, and all I can say is you cannot let the opportunity pass to watch on scene the most complete belly dancer of the 21 century.

For more information visit: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=48392513425 or www.jillina.com.

Dance therapy uses movement to improve mental and physical well-being. It is a recognized form of complementary therapy used in hospitals and comprehensive clinical cancer centers, Down syndrome patient, Cerebral Palsy, and others. Here in Panama City, Panama, Taller de Arte Guilde teaches dance therapy at the Children’s Hospital for kids waiting for a kidney transplant.

Dance Therapy can help patients the following ways:

• Dance develops positive body image
• Dancing improves self-concept and self-esteem
• Dance reduces stress, anxiety, and depression
• Dancing decreases isolation, chronic pain, and body tension
• Dance increases communication skills
• Dancing encourages a sense of well-being

or some cancer patients, dance therapy is an effective form of exercise. However, dance therapy has not been studied enough to know if there are any unique health benefits to cancer patients, or to confirm the effects on prevention and/or recovery of illness.

The benefits of dance therapy come through physical activity are known to increase endorphins, which create a general state of well-being on the body.  And total body movement such as dance enhances the functions of other body systems, such as circulatory, respiratory, skeletal, and muscular systems. Dance therapy not only helps you to stay mentally and physically fit but it also gives you pleasure by creating rhythmic art with your body and express them dancing.

The Lion Dance emerges during the Dynasty Tang.  According to the legends, the Emperor had a nightmare in which a strange looking creature saves him.  The next morning, the Emperor realized the strange creature of his dream resembled a habitant of the west:  the lion.  Quickly, the lion became a symbol of good luck across all China.  It was believe the lion kept away bad spirits.  Today, the Lion Dance is an important part for opening ceremonies of businesses and important events in China.  The real meaning of this dance is that the lions are the ones in charge of opening the gates of heaven for all God’s blessing can reach all of those who watches this dance.

The lion’s dancers, who came from China to Panama, had an average age of 17 years old.  With a great display of agility and skills they dance around moving the lion’s head at the same time they executed the dance movements and Kung Fu steps at the rhythm of the drum.  The most skillful part of the dance was when the lions danced on top of posts.  Dancing on posts is a lion dance characteristic of the Chinese where the Chinese dancer put on display they great ability and hard work.

Recently, Atlapa Convention Center was the venue for the celebration of the Chinese New Year, with the participation of folkloric dance teams, Chinese dancers, ballet, karaoke, and a delegation from China who performed the Legion Dance and the Dragon Dance.  This group came from the city of Zhanjian, province of Guangdong, and they were part of the dance team performing on the opening of the Olympic Games Beijing 2008.

Panama has received visits from many celebrated people in its history and it has had several notable celebrities decide to remain here as residents.  One such notable was the prima ballerina assoluta Dame Margot Fonteyn of the Royal Ballet of Britain.  Dame Margot was born Margaret Hookham in Reigate, Surrey on May 18, 1919.  As a child, she studied at dancing schools in the London area until she made her way to school attached to the Vic-Wells Ballet the precursor of the Royal Ballet.  Dame Margot made her debut in 1934 with the Vic-Wells as a snowflake in “The Nutcracker.”  She initially borrowed her mother´s maiden name and danced as Margot Fontes, but soon modified her stage name to Fonteyn.  In 1935, Dame Margot received her first solo in “The Haunted Ballroom,” a ballet by Ninette de Valois, the founder of the Royal Ballet.

Dame Margot most memorable portrayal came at age 30 in the Sadler´s Wells Ballet production of “Sleeping Beauty” as Princess Aurora, which stunned the audience at the Metropolitan Opera House with her youthful performance.

In 1955, Dame Margot married Dr. Roberto Arias, a Panamanian diplomat to London and a philanderer.  Their marriage was tumultuous due to his frequent infidelities. In May of 1964, Dr. Roberto Arias was elected to the National Assembly, his first foray into active politics.  A year later tragedy struck the Arias family, as a rival Panamanian politician, Alberto Jimenez, shot Dr. Arias on a street corner in a suburb of Panama City.  Dr. Arias was treated for 18 months in British hospitals and spent the rest of his entire life as a quadriplegic confined to a wheelchair.

Due to the enormous medical cost amassed by Dr. Arias´s medical care, Dame Margot continued to dance until 1979, her sixtieth year, despite from suffering from an arthritic foot.  She remained loyal to Dr. Roberto Arias until his death in 1989.  The artist that too many represented “Eternal Youth,” and whose blend of refinement and passion redefined 20th-century ballet passed away at age 71 on February 21, 1991 in Patilla Hospital in Panama City.

Today I bring you an exciting dance to learn, it is called Capoeira. Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian art form that ritualizes movements from martial arts, games and dance. This art was brought to Brazil from Angola some after the 16th century in the regions known as Bahia, Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro. Participants form a roda or circle and take turns either playing musical instruments (such as the Berimbau), singing, or ritually sparring in pairs in the center of the circle. The game is marked by fluid acrobatic play, feints, and extensive use of sweeps, kicks, and headbutts. Less frequently used techniques include elbow-strikes, slaps, punches, and body throws.

Rhythm is the heartbeat of Capoeira and song is the soul. Music can make a game play fast and hard, without music Capoeira is not complete. This is the excitement that Capoeira brings to you. Capoeira continues to grow in popularity and here in Panama you can also learn these fascinating steps and movements in their prestigious schools.

As 2008 draws to an end, I like to take the time to reminisce over my indulgences and travail into the sexy dances Panama, in the past year and ponder what the future holds.  As the great Chinese thinker and philosopher Confucius once said “study the past if you would define the future.”  Reviewing our past look into danza, will give us a glimmer of what the future holds.  In 2008, we have covered many of the different varieties of erotic dances available here in Panama.  The sultry Congo dance imported to Panama by immigrants from the West Indies. The truly Panamanian ‘little drum’ dance the Tamorito. We discussed the eroticism of pole dancing available in gentlemen clubs originally from England.  Born in Panama’s night life, the country´s own vibrant and energetic Reggaeton (even if Puerto Ricans try and take credit for it). Aerobic dances such as Hip-Hop; that will not only work up a sweat but burn calories in the process. My dance training that introduced me to carnal but toiling world of Brazilian Samba and belly dancing.  We covered the wonderful Salsa opportunities here in Panama, the Argentine import, the beautiful eroticism of Tango and the quintessence of the Dominican Republic, the Merengue.    Some of the final dance styles we encountered were the classical ballet born in royal courts of France, and both the raw eroticism of Bullerengue and Bunde from deep in heart of the jungles of the Darien.

All of these dances, like the people with different backgrounds that compose the population and hot dancers, mesh and merge here to create this wonderful melting pot we call Panama.  That is one of the beautiful aspects of this country, for such a small country, it contains so much of the best eroticism of the rest of the world.

I leave you with a glimpse of Panama´s future, the children- in step with the traditions of the past.

Happy New Year and keep dancing, even if it is not in the night clubs!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I60AClqRqg&feature=channel

The Nutcracker is the all time favorite Christmas ballet and the most popular ballet among children.  The Nutcracker Ballet is based on the story “The Nutcracker and the King of Mice” written by E.T.A. Hoffman. Although what is seen on the stage today is different in detail from the original story, the basic plot remains the same; the story of a young German girl who dreams of a Nutcracker Prince and a fierce battle against a Mouse King with seven heads.  When Marius Petipa had the idea to choreograph the story into a ballet, it was actually based on a version by Alexander Dumas.   Lev Ivanov was Petipa assistant and finished choreographing the ballet after Marius got ill. 

The music of the Nutcracker was composed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. An interesting footnote to the score of The Nutcracker is the famous use of the celesta in the Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy. The celesta was a new musical instrument which had just been created by Auguste Mustel.  Tchaikovsky premier in March 1892 an eight part concert of the ballet and become so popular the music score was published even before the opening of the Nutcracker.

December 18, 1892 was the grand first performance of the Nutcracker Ballet at the Maryinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, with Choreography by Petipa/Ivanov, music by Tchaikovsky, décor by Botcharov, Antoinette Dell’ era as Sugar Plum Fairy, Paul Gerdt as the Prince, Stanislava Belinskaya as Clara, Sergei Legat as the Nutcracker-Prince, and Timofei Stukolkin as Drosselmeyer.

In Panama City we will have presentation in Anayansi Theater, Atlapa, the 27 and 28 of December.  Saturday the 27 the function is a 7:30pm, and Sunday the 28 at 10:30am and 4:30pm.  Tickets can be found at Blockbuster and cost range is from $10 to $50.

Las night was the annual dance show for Rasheda Arabic Dance Studio in La Huaca Theater.  It was a very good show with the girls from beginning belly dance to the advance group.  Of course, I was there dancing!

“La Danza Encendida” means “Dance on Fire” and it was the tale of how, like the Phoenix, we can reborn from the ashes after things go wrong and keep going on with our life with even more strength.  La Danza Encendida was created with a mix and fusion of rhythms with belly dance that left the public excited.  In the opening number there were candelabras and candle dances and shadow and even Aerial Dance! It was an exhilarating night for me and I’m sure it was also for all the girls participating.

We got veil dance, candle dance, Saidi, ballet dancers, African dancers, fire dancers, tribal style belly dance, Egyptian style belly dance, and even a Chinese Lion! This was truly an exotic night to remember.

But, it was a very special night for me.  It was the first time I belly dance in my own country, Panama, and it was also the first time my family saw me dancing.  I cannot have enough words to express what I felt last night.

Thanks to everyone who helped get the show going.

Ballet is a standard art form today, known and loved by audiences across the world. It is a formalized form of dance developed in the early 1600s as a concert dance form. It is an elite form of dancing that requires foot muscle movement, and suspension on the toes. This kind of dance requires strength, resilience, elegance and grace all at once, while making the different movements. In ballet, dance is performed purely to an orchestral accompaniment; there is no singing. Early forms used long skirt; today’s dances use both tutu skirts and tutu bodices. Learning ballet requires perseverance and hard work. Ballet technique is considered to be the basis of training for all types of dance like salsa, tango, cha cha cha between others.

Today exist the classical, neoclassical and contemporary ballet. The classical ballet is the most formal of the ballet styles; it adheres to traditional ballet technique, is generally structured on a narrative pretext they can be based on traditional stories. Neoclassical ballet describes the ballet style using a traditional ballet vocabulary and is usually more modern or complex than in classical ballet, because is more varied. The modern or contemporary ballet is influenced by both classical ballet and modern dance. The concepts of the contemporary ballet came from the ideas of today’s’ modern dance.

Here in Panama City, Panama academies were formed to pass on the fundamentals and traditions of this popular dance with a great quality of dance training. In the different academies that exist in Panama City, Panama you can learn the different ballet steps and the fundamental movements and positions you need to get started in this classical dance.

The bolero is a dance and a musical form. The bolero is the slowest of the Latin dances and it combines controlled movement with dramatic expression of the music.In Spain, the bolero is a 3/4 dance originated in the late 18th century, and it is a combination of the contradanza and the sevillana. In Cuba the bolero was developed into a different dance in a 2/4 time. Bolero is often referred to as ‘The Dance of Love’. The tempo for dance is about 96 beats per minute and you can dance bolero either a soloist or a couple. The bolero is danced in a moderately slow tempo to the music, because the bolero invites visions of emotions and love.

The American Style bolero is a low Latin ballad, very popular in the United States. Is a unique dance style that is considered a cousin of the Rumba and both dances share many figures. The bolero is usually played in 4/4 time with a slower tempo than that of the Rumba. While Rumba music is very rhythmical, the lyrical Bolero sounds more like a Latin Ballad. It was introduced in the United States some time in the 1930’s and is distinguished by its slow, sweeping, and with romantic motions.

Bolero is one of the five rhythm competition dances in American style ballroom dance competition. The basic step of bolero is a long, sweeping step to the side on the slow beat, followed by a step forward or backward. Because bolero is one of the most beautiful, graceful and romantic dances ever created, it is danced slowly with a romantic music, it gives dancers the opportunity to cling close to their partner and sway or make sensual movements. When dancing bolero, you must have a amount of body control due to the balance required to dance at this slow tempo. Learning the Bolero can be easy and fun.