Even though I've been working with swords for many years now, when Rick Fink offered, in his Master Series one-day workshop, the chance to take a class with Miabella of Ft. Worth, I decided it would be worth the hour's drive north from San Antonio to see if she could teach this old dog some new tricks. Besides, I wanted to see Judy Belkacem's new studio, Diva Dance.
   I was disappointed in nothing! Judy's studio is just beautiful: spacious, elegant, with a wall of mirrors, a built in stage in the back corner, huge restroom & changing area, and a nice lobby. Rick Fink, mastermind of the series and spousal unit to Z-Helene, made me think of a very tall little kid in his enthusiasm for our art form - and his enthusiasm is contagious!
   Miabella is just a sweetheart. I've seen her many times in the past at Goldfinger's in Ft. Worth and was always impressed with her talent. She has a dazzling smile, huge brown eyes, and a grace and charm that might've made me jealous, if she hadn't mentioned that she reads my column in The Caravan Magazine! It's hard to dislike someone like that. Not that I wanted to, but you know what I mean!
   The class held nine students, which is more than enough when they were all about to handle long, pointed metal objects! I think we expected to just plop those swords on our heads and start dancing, but, fortunately, Miabella had other ideas!
   We sat down while she demonstrated the different types of dancing swords available today, and how to secure the handles to help with their balance. She also showed us different ways to initially help keep a sword on the head by using a head scarf or ways to wear the hair until one can "...lose the training wheels", as she put it.
   We stood and Miabella had us stretching and getting the body warmed up; she even included some hand exercises that made me think would be good for combating arthritis. She included some limbering up movements for the feet and ankles, as we would eventually be descending to the floor.
   We began by learning a short choreography which Miabella purposely kept simple, as we would soon be doing the same basic routine with the sword. I really think the routine could be done just as well without swords, as some interesting group movements could "complicate" it up!
   Finally, it was time to put those suckers on our heads. I'm glad I brought my lightweight sword and wore a bandanna on my head. For those who've never tried it, even the lightest weight hurts after awhile! (But! We MUST suffer for our art - right?) In part of the routine we were to Low, High Camel in a personal circle (as we call it at the Karavan), but there was some concern about the sword "helicoptering" around on top of our heads. So we got into a discussion on the subject, what to do to stop it, how to allow it to happen, etc. Miabella reminded us that it's OK to stop and correct the balance of the sword. It's better than tilting the head to keep the sword up - and makes it look all the more "dangerous" and "dramatic".
   At last we were on the floor. That's when Miabella played her trump card: she explained - and demonstrated - that she wanted us to put the sword on our heads, and keeping the upper body upright, ROLL AROUND IN A COMPLETE CIRCLE! Right. I've done some minimum rolling, but nothing like this! I think, no, I know it showed on my face, as Miabella looked square at me (easy to do, as I was right behind her) and asked, "Do you understand?" After I pulled my jaw up to its usual position and I gathered my scattered brains back into my head, I replied, yes, I understand, but I can't believe I'm going to try to do that!!!!!! She just laughed and we proceeded to roll - ver-ry care-ful-ly! We all did our best, with varying degrees of success, to roll in our own circle, keeping feet in the center, toes pointed, upper body upright, swords balanced, and, those who had them on, trying to keep skirts from wadding up like cocoons. Oh, yeah, and remembering to use our hands gracefully, smile, AND BREATHE!
   After rolling so many times like that, I decided to sit it out for awhile. I seem to have this lump of cellulite on my outer thigh (call a spade a spade, I always say) that, after rolling around on a hard wooden floor, got to be pretty painful. Oh, well, it distracted me from the pain on my head from the sword!!
   Just because one sits down to watch during a workshop doesn't mean we can't still learn some things. I watched as Miabella explained balancing the sword on one's chin and observed the others attempting it. There is a technique, believe it or not!
   The last thing Miabella explained was how to drop the sword from atop one's head onto the stomach. I won't go into detail here, however, because I want everyone to attend Miabella's class the next time it is offered. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the class, and the people I met. This old dog did learn some new things!