Using Keti Sharif's A-Z Routines in Choreography
by Anita Shortland

In solo choreography you may use the routines as they are, or you may choose to ‘cut and paste’! You may cut and paste the first half of one routine with the second half of another. Or you may find that it fits the music to use half a routine, stop and do some stationary moves (shimmies, undulations, eights etc) then continue with the routine.

Changes of direction can be nice. The routines can be effective on the diagonal for example. This adaptability is very useful when choreographing for a troupe, where some routines can be used for getting in and out of lines, circles and other formations. As many of the routines incorporate movements to the front and back, formations where dancers are opposite each other allow for the shifting dynamic of dancers facing each other and the audience at different times.

Some of the routines (A, G, H, J and definitely S) fit well to the Saaidi rhythm and can be enhanced with the addition of a Saaidi stick, or cane. The stick can be held, swung, posed or struck on the ground for different effects.

Most routines fit comfortably into a particular style of dance, but can be adapted to suit other styles with a change in the position of the arms and / or feet. For example the folky routine F – Fellaha can be done on the balls of the feet with arms held high to take it from folkloric to nightclub.

Again, please make sure Keti receives proper credit for her routines when you incorporate them into your own work. They are there for you to use, but please respect her generosity.

Anita Shortland, amongst her many accomplishments, is an accredited teacher of Keti's A-Z routines.  She can be contacted through Oasis Dance Studio.  She teaches classes in various locations, often teaching at Sheik to Sheik in Beaconsfield.