Improvisation Toolkit

Volume 2: Structure

Do you worry about boring your audience,
but "scribble" when you try to do more ?

Many dancers try to make their performance interesting by adding more "stuff": more moves, more layers, more complexity.  All too often, that degenerates into a sloppy mish-mash of moves.

That's called scribbling, and it's a quick way to lose your audience's attention.

You see, the more you throw into that mish-mash, the harder it is for your audience to follow your train of thought.  They can't keep up, so they start to lose interest.

You can tell they're getting bored, so you worry that you aren't "good enough".  You throw in even more stuff.  And they get even more overwhelmed.

Before long, you're frantically ploughing though every move you know.  But you've already lost them.

So how do you break that cycle?

What most dancers don't realize is that interesting dancing doesn't need a lot of "stuff" - it needs structure.

In Volume 2 of the Improvisation Toolkit, you'll learn how to structure your belly dance improvisation using:

• Continuity
• Alternation Patterns
• Theme & Variation
• Compositional Skeletons
• Safety Riffs

These tools will help you create a logical framework for your dance, so it will make sense to your audience.

Making the Conceptual Practical

Concepts are no good to you if you can't draw on them while you improvise. So I'll include a wide variety of exercises to help you internalize these concepts. These will include:

• Sample Combinations

These are simple combinations that demonstrate the concepts. These only require advanced beginner technique, so dancers at any level can learn these ideas. More advanced dancers can use them first as a learning tool, and then as a base for more complex combinations that still make sense to the audience.

• Guided Exercises

These allow you to practice improvising with these concepts in a safe, guided environment. These will be demonstrated first on-screen, then by voice-over, since you can't learn to improvise by following along with me.

• Journaling

To help you integrate these ideas into your own personal style.

• Video Analysis Exercises

These empower you to expand your own structural repertoire by observing how your favorite dancers organize their performances.

• A Plug & Play Choreography

This will help you take these concepts out of the studio, and pratice them in the context of a performance.

Improvisation doesn't have to mean chaos.

With each structural concept you add to your toolbox, your dance will become more organized and make more sense to your audience.

And with plenty of guided, step-by-step practice, using these tools will soon become second nature, so you'll never have to scribble again.

Extra Goodies

You didn't think you were just getting a DVD, did you?

Order Now

Volume 2 was released on February 25th, 2010, and the NTSC verison (for North America, Japan, etc.) is ready to ship.

The PAL-formatted version has a later release date, since they need to be sent overseas for testing. They will ship by March 11th, 2010, but you can pre-order now.

But Wait!!! Do you have Volume 1 yet???

Before you buy Volume 2, I strongly recommend that you work with Volume 1: Movement Recall. Movement recall is the foundation of improvisation, and it's an important prerequisite for the rest of the series. If you buy this volume first, you will learn some handy compositional principles. But without strong movement recall skills, that knowledge won't do much for your improvised dance.

Buy Volume 1

	Basic Package	Premium Package
Improvisation Toolkit Volume 2: Structure on DVD (Region-Free, choose NTSC or PAL format)
Bonuses
Bonus Downloads (Worth $10)
Bonus Expression Video (DVD worth $12)
Personal Video Critique (worth $125)
	$29.95	$34.95
	NTSC Format (US, Canada, Japan) PAL Format (Most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand) - Limited Stock	NTSC Format (US, Canada, Japan) PAL Format (Most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand) - Limited Stock

(You can also order volume 2 from Amazon or CreateSpace, but the premium package is only available directly through me.)

Shipping charges for one DVD:

US or Canada: $2
Mexico: $3
All other countries: $4

Notes for International Viewers

All my DVDs are region-free, so they'll play on any DVD player. However, you still won't be able to watch your DVD unless you buy the right format for your television.

NTSC is the standard format in the US, Canada, and Japan.
List of countries using NTSC

PAL is the standard format in most of Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
List of countries using PAL

Be sure to check your country's standard before placing your order. I cannot exchange your DVD for another format once it has been opened.

While I did buy a few extra copies of the PAL-formatted DVDs during the pre-orders, I will not be keeping them in stock after that stock sells out. The PAL version will be available directly from the manufacturer after that.

Still Not Sure if The Toolkit is For You?

For the time being, I'm piloting a money-back guarantee. If you work with Volume 2 of the Toolkit and don't feel that is has been of value to you, you can return it within 30 days.

Not only that, I'll even refund the shipping charge you paid me (for orders sent to the US or Canada only).

And not only THAT, but the bonus DVD and downloads are yours to keep.

Why Do That?

Because I'm a video junkie myself. I know how disappointing it is to buy a video and then discover that it wasn't what you need.

Is There A Catch?

There sure is. This return offer only applies to those of you who:

• Have worked through with Volume 1: Movement Recall before ordering this volume
  (If you haven't worked with Volume 1 yet, you can buy it here)
  
• Order Volume 2 directly from me (rather than through Amazon or another retailer)
• Actually work with the DVD before the deadline and don't get any value from it

Now, I have only your word on some of these, so we're on the honor system!

The Fine Print:

In order to get your refund, you must:

• Contact me within 30 days of the date your video is post-marked to ask for a return authorization number
• Return the video to me at your own expense (costs about $2 if you send it 1st class), postmarked within 5 business days of the date I send you the return authorization.
• Include the authorization number in your return.

If you have any questions about the return guarantee, feel free to contact me.

I'm Trusting You.

It's virtually unheard of to allow returns of an opened video. This is an experiment, and I am taking a real financial risk here. An opened video is a used video, and a used video doesn't sell for full price. So if you return it, I lose money. I'm trusting you to be honest, and not take advantage of my trust.

If your conscience isn't enough to keep you honest, think of it this way: if my return policy is abused, I won't be able offer it in the future.

This DVD features music from "Belly Dancing for Fortune and Fame" by The Mogador Band, courtesy of Stella Grey. Available on Amazon