Khalida's Blog: Books and Articles of the month

Hello,

Can't believe it's March already! Here are my favorite (dance and life) related book and articles of the month:

Book: The Art of Learning
by Josh Waitzkin

The Art of Learning - Josh Waitzkin

I picked up this book for the first time last month, and it is one of my favorite reads on the process of learning and developing performance skills. I am planning on re-reading it for many times to come.

From the Amazon page: 'With a narrative that combines heart-stopping martial arts wars and tense chess face-offs with life lessons that speak to all of us, The Art of Learning takes readers through Waitzkin's unique journey to excellence. He explains in clear detail how a well-thought-out, principled approach to learning is what separates success from failure. Waitzkin believes that achievement, even at the championship level, is a function of a lifestyle that fuels a creative, resilient growth process. Rather than focusing on climactic wins, Waitzkin reveals the inner workings of his everyday method, from systematically triggering intuitive breakthroughs, to honing techniques into states of remarkable potency, to mastering the art of performance psychology.'

Check out a free chapter and audio excerpt as well as a video interview with the author here: http://www.joshwaitzkin.com/the-art-of-learning

Goodreads link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/857333.The_Art_of_Learning
Amazon.de: http://www.amazon.de/The-Art-Learning-Journey-Performance/dp/0743277465/
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Learning-Journey-Performance/dp/0743277465

Articles:

On balance, alignment and movement dynamics:

'Where is your head at' by Monika Volkmar: http://danceproject.ca/wheres-your-head-at-how-to-keep-your-eyes-off-the-ground/#.VtmPO9DEZNR
'Restoring your movement map' by Monika Volkmar: http://danceproject.ca/restoring-your-movement-map/

On developing performance skills:

By Dance Magazine: http://dancemagazine.com/inside-dm/make-magic-onstage/

Interiew with Mahmoud Reda, living legend of Middle-Eastern dance:

'There is always hope' by Yasmina Ramzy: http://blog.yasminaramzy.com/blog/2015/09/there-is-always-hope-mahmoud-reda-.html
'What more can I ask for' by Yasmina Ramzy: http://blog.yasminaramzy.com/blog/2016/02/what-more-can-i-ask-for-mahmoud-reda.html

Music recommendation:

Check out these 2 treasures, Simon Shaheen, The Music of Mohamed Abdel Wahab and Mercedes Nieto, Layali El Hob Vol. 2

Highly recommended for anyone who loves rich orchestral arrangements of Middle Eastern music, with special thanks to Razia Star for recommending the first CD to me, and Mercedes Nieto for producing the second: