To "Mirror" or not to "mirror": that´s the question."

"To be or not to be" 
is the opening phrase of a soliloquy in William Shakespeare´s iconic play "Hamlet".

Thank you, Mr. Shakespeare, for the quote inspiration that serves the title of this post.
I called it "to mirror or not to mirror": that´s the question a lovely dancer and person (Jadranka from Trentino, South Tyrol) launched. Here´s what she wrote:

"What do you think, is the mirror an enemy or a friend of a dancer when she/he is practicing or teaching other people? Does it take us nearer or farer from ourselves?"

And here´s my answer:

This question, as many others in Oriental Dance, is not plain or obvious and the answer depends a lot on the level of dancer/teacher/artist/student and WHAT she is SEARCHING FOR in this dance.

 The mirror can be a friend and an enemy, just like the MIND. It depends on how you use it, for WHAT and WHEN. I personally teach with and without mirror, depending on the level and subject I am working on.

I found out that, specially in a beginner´s level, it´s better NOT to use a mirror as students tend to focus on their body faults (imaginary, mostly!) and the way they look, not so much on the way they FEEL when they move. They also tend to copy the teacher´s movements, expressions and details in a superficial way when there is a mirror involved, instead of REALLY UNDERSTANDING the structure and anatomy of each movement from WITHIN. Here comes the METHOD of each teacher. Most of them - specially egyptians- will not know how to dismantle each movement and teach them to you; they will only execute them and expect you to follow without a COMPREHENSION of what you´re doing. 

Even in this subject, I apply different methods, according to WHAT I wish to develop.
Sometimes, I will improvise on the technique and subject I´m working with the students and ask them to follow me, knowing they will not do it perfectly but aiming at SPECIFIC goals (eg.: being forced to let go of their mental control and just follow me and the music; working on physical mobility based on isolations and quick, unexpected changes from one movement to the other, etc). 
But, although I use this "follow me" exercises every now and then, I ALWAYS DISMANTLE the TECHNIQUE and MAKE STUDENTS UNDERSTAND IT (as well as how they FIT into their bodies) in a way that they become autonomous, they don´t need to see me in front of them to execute the movements and - most specially - in a way that ALLOWS THEM TO INCORPORATE ORIENTAL DANCE MOVEMENTS AS THEIR OWN BODY EXPRESSION LANGUAGE AND NOT SOMETHING EXTERIOR TO THEM THEY SEE REFLECTED IN A MIRROR OR TEACHER (mirror and teacher are practically the same, be aware of this!).


So, yes, I usually spend a long time working on BASIC technique without a mirror as well as IMPROVISATION exercises where the mirror is an obstacle that feeds VANITY and INSECURITIES, not CREATIVITY  and FREEDOM of LOVING SELF-EXPRESSION (which is my goal).

But, once we advance to higher dance levels or work on choreographies of any level, then the mirror is essential to correct, improve, develop a HEALTHY, OBJECTIVE and CREATIVE sense of self-criticism that is necessary to grow as a Dancer.

In Oriental Dance, we need REASON/MIND and HEART; we need BODY and SOUL; we need LOGICAL THINKING and PURE INTUITION; we need APOLLO and DIONYSUS. We also need PERSONAL MATURITY in order to use our tools in the best possible way. Insecure dancers may use the mirror in a very limiting way (vanity purposes); mature dancers will know when it is USEFUL and when it is not. 

Basically, the mirror is great for choreography work, advanced technique self-correction, visual memory training, notion of how each movement looks from the point of view of an audience (as the visual part of the Dance is important and a tool of expression we should not disregard); it is a TECHNIQUE improvement tool, not more than that.
But the INNER understanding and fitting of the movements, the feeling, the improvisational skills and the ability to LET GO and JUST LIVE the MUSIC through your body (after you´ve done ALL the HARD TECHNICAL WORK and therefore, you can forget about it for a while...) are precious skills for which the mirror has no use.

Teachers of Oriental Dance should be educated in much more than JUST Oriental Dance in order to teach it properly: the way they use the mirror is a very good indication of their own talent, knowledge and ability to teach.

My Teaching Method is an uncommon mix between my wide dance background education (classical ballet Conservatoire from the age of 5 years old, african dances, flamenco, etc) as well as my education as an Actress (PHD in Acting by the National Conservatoire of Portugal), my professional and personal experience of performing in Egypt for the last six years of my life and - allas!- the union between the ROOTS of Oriental Dance and the BEST PART of its mentality and my european mind which always questions and aims for GROWTH. 

So all I´m mentioning about the mirror is a result of my own particular teaching method, personality, education and GOALS. The clone machine I see in most places does not interest me. When I teach, I wish to see UNIQUE HUMAN  BEINGS expressing themselves and learning how to use their selves (body, mind, heart and soul) for creating ART and a truer, happier LIFE for themselves.