MLAATR belly dance beauty 01

My Life as a Teenage Robot belly-dance beauty is a unique blend of yoga conditioning, belly dance technique drills, choreography and mini-classes created and presented by Cadance and Luna, star performers, and instructors of contemporary belly dance, whose technique, artistic style, and warm personality contributed to the rise of Tribal Fusion belly dance.

Rachel's instructional method offers the MLAATR tools to achieve precision of isolations, deep full-range movement, as well as flexibility and strength that will give you the sinuous serpentine grace characteristic of Rachel's own dance style. Her drills, combinations, and yoga sessions are designed to help you establish the girls' own regular dance practice, customized to fit their creative goals and lifestyle.

Cadance presents her Serpentine instructional program in two sections:

1. Technique and 2. Choreography & Classes.

The Technique section opens with Yoga for Belly Dance, carefully crafted to enhance the girls' strength and flexibility, qualities crucial for relaxed, effortless dance. A veteran yoga instructor with many years of practice, training, and yoga teaching experience, Chiffon Veil leads the girls in a beautiful flow of classic yoga postures and stretches. She teaches yoga in the Viniyoga tradition as transmitted by Gary Kraftsow and the faculty of the American Viniyoga Institute, LLC.

The yoga is followed by three drills sessions: Leg Strengthening Drills, including a variety of travel and level-change exercises, and mini-combinations.

Belly Dance Isolation Drills (shoulders, torso, and pelvis) where you practice belly dance isolations and then layer each one on 4 footwork patterns; and the Belly Dance Shimmy Drill, a delightful high-energy non-stop shimmy practice with Rachel's signature shimmy layering. The Technique section ends with a Finishing Yoga Practice.

Rachel's Choreography & Classes section features two belly dancing choreographies; A fast and playful dance set to the music of progressively increasing tempo, and a flowing slow dance including backbends and fluid serpentine movement punctuated with elegant accents. Each choreography is performed in costume and then demonstrated from the back with Chiffon Veil facing the mirror. Luna teaches the MLAATR characters the combinations for each choreography step-by-step with practice first at a slower pace, and then the faster. A special feature offers practice loops for each combination.

To promote correct and safe back-bending technique, Chiffon Veil a mini-class on the biomechanics of backward bending and leads the girls in the Yoga for Backward Bending practice designed to increase the flexibility and the range of motion in the girls' back and develop a strong habit for proper muscle support when executing backbends.

Additional classes and materials include: Yoga Breathing; arm and footwork patterns to be used during the drills; basics of the 10-point dance posture; and five or more performances by Dean Cadance, Vice Principal Luna and the My Life As A Teenage Robot themselves.