“Ala Remsh Oyouna”: Egyptian Sha’abi Choreography (2-3 hours)
You’ll be dancing like your favorite Egyptian film stars with this exciting and fast-paced choreography set to Hamada El-Laity’s remake of this classic song.
(Level: Intermediate-Advanced)
Amal Hayati: Advanced Veil Choreography (2-3 hours)
Discover the secrets of great American Cabaret veil work through technique, tips, and choreography. Set to Oum Kalthoum’s Classical Egyptian tune “Amal Hayati” (The Hope of My Life), this advanced veil choreography will challenge and inspire you with pretty poses, ravishing rotations, and flirty conceals and reveals.
(Level: Intermediate-Advanced)
Demystifying the Veil (1-2 hours)
Don’t have time to work on your own choreography to that slow song you love so much. Learn to improvise your way through it using a simple, foolproof framework! You will float like a butterfly, with new moves, poses, and seamless transitions. Demystifying the Veil workshop will provide you with a solid foundation from which to confidently build a beautifully improvised veil performance.
(Level: Beginner – Advanced)
From Qena to Cairo (1-3 hours)
Discover the history and mysteries behind Egypt’s most fun folkloric dance prop – the stick. Your workshop journey starts in Upper Egypt, where we will explore the beginnings of ancient stick fighting. You will venture to the Said region where men to this day still practice the martial art “Tahtib” from which Raqs al Assaya (the cane dance) derives. Your last stop is Cairo, where you will learn all the essential Raqs al Assaya steps, twirls, and movements, in this fun and informative workshop.
(Level: Beginner – Advanced)
Bos Ala Halawa: Saidi Cane Choreography (2-3 hours)
A modern twist on the Fellahin classic, “Bos ala Halawa” by Shaabi singer Hegazy Met’al’s. This upbeat, fastpaced, and ultra sassy Raqs Al Assaya routine will bring out the Saidi women in you. Learn Anna’s most viewed and shared choreography on YouTube!
(Level: Intermediate-Advanced)
Mastering the Drum Solo: Drum Solo Technique for Improvisation…and Choreography Creation (2-3 hours)
Drum Solos are one of the most popular sections of any dancer’s performance set. Learn about sounds that are produced on the Egyptian tabla and how those sounds form patterns that make your hips twitch and your tummy pop. You will discover helpful hacks to improve your musicality/interpretation, as we drill the most common drum solos patterns. Need choreography ideas? Take this workshop! As improvisation is often the mother of choreography, you will gain tons of movement ideas and tools to help you create your own drum solo masterpiece.
(Level: Beginner – Advanced)
Advanced Drum Solo Choreography (2-3 hours)
Shimmy, pop, and roll your way through this challenging and quick-paced advanced drum solo. This exciting routine features quick turns, razor-sharp technique, and shimmy layers.
(Level: Intermediate-Advanced)
Beginner Drum Solo Choreography (1-2 hours)
The drum solo section of any belly dancer’s performance is their opportunity to show off their stellar technique through clean isolations, sharp hip work, and precise body articulations. In this workshop, you will learn a short beginner level drum solo to introduce you to this exciting genre of music and help you build better technique.
(Level: Beginner – Advanced)
Turkish Drum Solo (2-3 hours)
Inspired by modern Turkish stars, like Didem, this drum solo expresses the mood and movements often seen in Turkish Oriental dance. Filled with unexpected twists and turns, lightning fast body articulations, and plenty of sass.
(Level: Intermediate-Advanced)
History & Geography of Egyptian Oriental Dance (2-3 hours)
Take an educational journey with me, to mysterious lands and discover the origins and history of Egyptian Oriental dance. From ancient Egypt to modern Cairo, we will uncover the development of dance entertainment through time, unveiling the many influences, to reveal the important people and places that have shaped modern Egyptian Oriental dance today.
(Level: Beginner – Advanced)
Dress for Success: Complete Belly Dance Costuming workshop (2-3 hours)
Do you want to look like a belly dancer? Even if you are not a professional belly dancer, it’s good to look your best on stage. Learn the ins and outs of belly dance costuming before you make a costume purchase or begin your own costume project. This workshop will help you avoid common costuming mistakes new dancers make, tell you about the different costuming options available, how to dress for different kinds of styles, order something that will fit you, what to expect when you get your costume pieces, costume care …and much more.
(Level: Beginner – Advanced)
Middle Eastern Rhythms w/ Zills (1.5 hours)
Gain a better understanding of Middle Eastern music by learning to recognize and play the most common rhythms used in belly dance music. If you are a dancer looking to enrich your music knowledge, this workshop with help you gain greater enjoyment, dancing to the exciting sounds of Middle Eastern music with zills. Some zilling experience is helpful. If you would like to just observe, without playing, you are welcome to do that too, you will still learn a lot just by listening to each rhythm.
(Level: Beginner – Advanced)
Hellz Bells: Zillz on Fire (1.5 hours)
Set your sagats ablaze, with intense drills and challenging movement combinations designed to build insane zillin’ skillz! This workshop will be layered for all skill levels.
(Level: Beginner – Advanced)
Belly Dance Music Appreciation (2 hours)
Let’s go on an audio, visual and physical journey to explore the richness of Egyptian music’s natural instruments. Discover what each instrument looks and sounds like, as well as what to do with your body when you hear that instrument. Anna will share her super easy method to bridge the gap from your ears to your hips. By the end of the workshop, your understanding of the music will be deeper, you will feel more connected to it, and more confident in your movement choices.
(Level: Beginner – Advanced)
Egypt’s Golden Era: Classic Egyptian Technique Extravaganza (1-2 hours)
Explore the favorite moves of Egyptian cinema stars like Samia Gamal, Tahia Karioka, Naima Akef, and Soheir Zaki. Tons of technique to help you get a feel for each dancer’s style, as we go through an extensive catalog of their favorite arm, torso, hip, and footwork.
(Level: Beginner – Advanced)
Ana Albi Elik Mayyal: Classical Egyptian Choreography (2-3 hours)
Learn the style of FOUR of Egypt’s favorite Golden Era stars. This fun Classical Egyptian inspired choreography blends the “go to” moves of Samia Gamal, Tahia Karioka, Naima Akef, and Soheir Zaki into one seamless routine, highlighting each dancer’s unique style and movement choices.
(Level: Beginner – Advanced)
Balance Anything! (1-3 hours)
Balance all your favorite dance props. From Moroccan tea trays to Egyptian Shamadan and Sword, we will look at moves you can use with them all, as well as explore the movements, costumes, and music that are specific to each prop. Many of these traditions do include floorwork and acts of flexibility. Get training tips to help you gain the strength and flexibility necessary to accomplish these feats. Please bring something soft, but weighted to balance on your head like a bag of beans or flat round pillow, knee pads and feet (top of foot) protection to make yourself more comfortable on the floor.
(Level: Beginner – Advanced)
Toul Omri: Modern Egyptian Choreography (2-3 hours)
Smooth technicality can be used to describe the evolution of modern belly dance. Get your fill of quick turns, eye-catching accents, and bold dramatic movement in this advanced choreography set to “All My Life” by Safaa Farid.
(Level: Intermediate-Advanced)
The Heart of Egypt: Understanding The Beledi Progression
(Lecture/Technique/Combinations) (2-3 hours)
Nothing shows off the essence of Egyptian style like – the Beledi Progression. A genre of Egyptian music that has distinct sections that can be used by the dancer to highlight the different elements of their skill. Learn about the two major types of Beledi Progressions and how to identify them, as well as what types of movements work best with each section. What to do during the taqsim, accent grabbing, beledi stylization, and traveling step ideas will ALL be explored.
(Level: Beginner – Advanced)
The Taqsim: Understanding Improvised Music & Musicality for Belly Dance (1-2 hours)
Improve your musicality and gain a deeper understanding of belly dance music as you listen and drill to the improvisations of different Arabic instruments. You will learn how to listen and simplify the music you hear, breaking the sound qualities into easy to understand groups, and easily interpret what you hear into the belly dance movements you already know. Lots of practice drills to help you hone your craft. If you listen to belly dance music and you have no clue what to do with it or you wish to approach your music more effectively, this is the workshop for you.
(Level: Beginner – Advanced)
Choreography Project: How To Create Choreography (2-3 hours)
Want to create your own belly dance choreography? Whether you have done this before or you are creating your first, this class will offer you new ways to be creative. You will learn important aspects of creating choreography from inception to completion. How to listen to music to gain inspiration, improvisation, stage dynamics, use of space and shape, and much more.
(Level: Beginner – Advanced)
Social Circle Dances of the Near East (2 hours)
Ever go to your favorite Arabic or Greek restaurant and wish you could confidently join in the social dances, like dabke? This interactive workshop will enrich your knowledge of related cultures and music as you experience group dances from Greece, Turkey, the Levant, and Iraq.
(Level: Beginner – Advanced)
Become One with the Floor: Steps & Turns Intensive (2 hours)
Drawing inspiration from folkloric to modern techniques, this workshop will provide you with tools to improve your footwork and turns. Are you stuck in a dance rut traveling side to side and back and forth, let’s break you out of that box and broaden your footwork vocabulary with interesting floor patterns and steps. What about arms and layering? We’ll cover that too and much more!
(Level: Beginner – Advanced)
Sukari: Nubian Choreography (2-3 hours)
Let’s journey to Southern Egypt and discover one of the most fun folkloric dances to learn. Very different from its northern folk cousins, the Nubian style has a much greater African influence than other styles of Egyptian dance. The music is amazing and the movements feel good, you will wonder why you don’t see it more often. Don’t miss your chance to learn this rare style.
(Level: Beginner-Advanced)
Khaleeji: Saudi-Style (2-3 hours)
Raqs al Nisha’at (dance of the hair) is a traditional form of dance from the Arabian Gulf. This dance style incorporates a special garment called a nisha’al (thobe). Characterized by beautiful embroidery and sparklies that run down the front panel of this garment, the thobe itself is an essential part of the dance, accentuating the lively steps and joyous feeling while providing a colorful base to showcase the exciting hair movements.
(Level: Beginner-Advanced)
Melaya Leff (2-3 hours)
The “melaya” was a popular modesty wrap worn in the Middle East and parts of North Africa in the Mid-20th century. While not a traditional prop nor dance, Mahmoud Reda used the melaya to characterize the “bint al balad” and immortalized the “melaya leff” character into the Egyptian folkloric repertoire. Today, all of Egypt’s national and regional troupes have their version of the Melaya Leff dance, but now is often associated with Alexandria, instead of Cairo. Discover why the “bint al balad” character is such a big part of Egyptian dance and culture, through this fun and flirty choreography.
(Level: Beginner-Advanced)