Origins of the Wet Dog
As we know from the past editions of Tribal Talk and our wonderful interview with Abigail Keyes, Carolena learned many of our original steps from her teacher, Masha Archer, who learned them from her teacher, Jamila Salimpour. Of course the technique is a little different from the Masha days, but we can trace many of our steps back to this lineage.
However, that’s just a handful of steps. Over the last 30+ years many more steps, variations and combinations have made their way into our vocabulary.
Today, let’s explore the origins of the Wet Dog.
In the late 1990’s and very early 2000’s, prior to Carolena opening the FCBD® studio in San Francisco, she was renting space and teaching classes at Noe Valley Ministry.
One day she was leading a drill, her body moving along to the familiar sounds and rhythms of the music, feeling relaxed and in flow…when all of a sudden she started moving in a way that was out of pure inspiration. The Wet Dog was born!
Carolena teaching Wet Dog in the FatChanceBellyDance® Studio
I love this story. Not only because it fits so well with the feeling of the step, but also because it explains why this step can feel much harder than it really is. Let me explain.
The Wet Dog feels and looks best when you are relaxed and not overthinking it.
When dancing, we are so focused on posture, technique, zils, cues, formations, musicality, smiling, etc. Trying to do all this and still feel relaxed can be super challenging. Especially for those of us that tend to be over-thinkers or are naturally more anxious people. For me, this is an area I still must work on all the time (and why breathwork/pranayama has completely changed my dance).
I really think this is why some people LOVE this step and think it feels really great in their bodies while others (eh-hem...yours truly) don’t practice it enough because it feels so freaking hard.
This week, our class recommendations are all focused on the Wet Dog. Including a lovely breakdown from Kelley and picky technique from Carolena, but we’ve also suggested a no-stress let go and dance flow and restorative yoga class to help turn off your brain and just relax into your body.
This is one of those steps that teaches us an important life lesson:
Sometimes progress comes by simply letting go.
