TRIBAL FEST DETAILED CLASS SCHEDULE –

SATURDAY MAY 21, 2001

NOTE: There are 2 classrooms open simultaneously. Please read carefully to avoid conflicting classes.

YOUTH ANNEX, LARGE ROOM – max capacity 36 dancers

9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Teacher: Therese Wyatt

Class Title: BlackSheep BellyDance Workshop

Description:

WTF, Left hip?! Do you want to expand your American Tribal or ITS Style or are you looking for a new format to take home and dance with your troupe? The original ATS always present the right hip and primarily work stage left. Kajira asked “why not use the left hip?”  From the beginning she was a BlackSheep. Are you? Are you ready to explore the whole stage with a format that uses your entire body?  With The Freedom of a BlackSheep come learn transitions that easily take you to the left hip, trade off leaders and use both sides of the stage. 

With a limited amount of time warming up and cooling down, you will be taken all the way up to 11 with loud music and high energy dancing. You will be given the techniques to trade leaders, mix up your formations and use Kajira’s famous “Pestle Rule” to explore more options than ever before! WTF, Pestle Rule? Yes, With The Freedom of the BlackSheep Pestle Rule you will learn how to cut combos in half to use them with the left hip. There is so much more for you and your troupe to experience, come give it a try!

Skill Level: Some Tribal Style group improvisation experience helpful

What to bring: Finger Cymbals if you have them

What to Wear: Dance wear or ATS attire

Therese’s Bio:

Therese Wyatt started as so many of us did as a child in ballet, tap and jazz class. During the choreography of “Tea for Two” she kept looking out of the window at the huge tree she would climb as soon as class was over. Choreography, what a challenge but at the same time never changing. Climbing the tree however was always about how far up she could get that day. Then, how long would her mother let her play outside and swim. Water and the outdoors called more than that stuffy dance studio.

At the age of 12 she was wandering the woods about a mile from home when she came a cross a Saddlebred Horse Show Stables. She struck a deal, come feed and water 30 show horses before school every day, after school and weekends and she would get $25 plus 1 riding lesson a week. What a dream for a tween! Little did she realize, this was setting her up for one heck of a strong work ethic. After a couple years of learning and scooping $#@!, she started traveling and showing horses for the owners of these beautiful beasts. Being in the arena showing her equitation skills and horsemanship was way cool. 

In High School she had the opportunity to attend a trade school. Still taking care of the horses in the morning, going to school until 5pm, all day Saturday and the entire summer between Jr and Sr year set her up for a career at the age of 17. She started hairdressing professionally and quickly had a solid clientele. (30 years later she still sees many of the clients she met that very first year!)

As an adult she took a SCUBA class and was immediately hooked on the weightlessness, the solitude of no one speaking, the sounds of the underwater world. After a couple years and too many classes and Islands to count she became a PADI Open Water Instructor. Sharing this amazing world of sensory heightening excitement was very rewarding. More classes and certifications in Medic First Aid, Oxygen Provider, Deep Diving, Photography, Enriched Air(nitrox), Dry Suit Diving (brrr), Night Diving, Navigation (compass and natural),  etc., resulted in becoming a Master SCUBA Diver Trainer. 

During the early years there were very few women diving but the sport was gaining popularity. 15 years later everyone and their dog- literally- were diving. Well over 2000 dives later there were 2 deaths at the same enclosed body of water (small lake) where she took students. The year before that she pulled a fully grown, fully drowned man onto a boat and performed CPR. Thanking the Universe and any Entity involved, the man made a full recovery. Therese needed a distraction because this was obviously getting really intense. Some friends were taking a Belly Dance class at the local Adult Education Center and asked her to come along. No mirrors, no feedback good or bad, lots of laughter, perfect! The instructor said “take classes anywhere you can, check out seminars, etc.” So off to St. Louis we went.  “OMG!  That’s what we are supposed to be doing?” Hadia, 3 days = Epiphany! Back to Springfield and choreography. Still a hoot because it didn’t really matter if anyone was any good but Therese never approaches a challenge half way. She took classes everywhere she could reasonably get to. Hadia again, Virginia, Nourhan Sharif, Vashti, Yousry Sharif, Suhaila, Artemis Mourat, Laurel Victoria, Kay Hardy Campbell, Amel Tafsout, and  Karim Nagi  just to name a few.  5 years of study go by with some experience performing and people start asking her to show them how to do that.  It’s teaching again but this time nobody should die. This time it’s with lots of women and loud Middle Eastern Music! What joy to have classes so filled with women eager to learn and rediscover themselves.

A couple years into it she found a Tribal event in Chicago. A whole room of Midwestern, corn fed dancers and they don’t use choreography. More classes but this time all about Tribal. Daveed Korup, Elizabeth Osteen, Rachel Brice, Raquy Danzinger, Kami Liddle, Deb Rubin, Kajira Djoumahna and Paulette Rees-Denis just to name a couple more. Having the Earth connection and the dance connection come together for Therese was really inspiring.

There was NO Tribal available in Springfield, Illinois to learn from so she purchased and studied DVDs of FatChance, Gypsy Caravan and Kajira Djoumahna. While all 3 are perfect in their own way, she felt Kajira’s use of both sides of the body was more suited to her need for a balance. After reading the coveted Tribal Bible and pouring over Kajira’s IAMED DVDs she decided it was time to certify. She received her Level 1 certification in 2007 and began teaching a Tribal Format. A year later she and her students were ready for more so she received her Level 2 certification. This is when Kajira asked her to be in her 3 Instructional DVDs. What an honor, considering she just received the Level 2 format and hadn’t danced or taught these moves yet. 

Shortly after she became a full-fledged member of BlackSheep BellyDance and enjoys performing with the troupe and traveling with Kajira to assist in workshops and perform in the evening shows.

The next 2 years of teaching this format solidified the art behind the dance and she felt it was time to establish her own troupe. She found herself with a core of women equally dedicated to The Dance and the transformation that inevitably comes from it. She named this group “Daughters of The Dance”. This is a Tribal Style dance troupe dedicated to the Synchronized Group Improvisation (SGI) set forth by Kajira Djoumahna. They are quickly gaining local recognition for their professionalism, costuming and dance technique. The Daughters enjoy performing and spreading the joy of SGI everywhere they go.

Therese also dances for local recording artist Dennis Maberry and his hand drumming group Rhythm Spirit. She still loves and performs Raqs Sharki as a soloist but the unchoreographed connection with other dancers at this moment in time is another sensory-heightening experience that she wants to share with everyone. She teaches out of the prestigious Dance Arts Studio in Springfield, Illinois. Visit her website: www.daughtersofthedance.com

11:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m.

Teacher: Cera Byer

Class Title: Cera’s Dance Lab

Description:

In this two hour workshop we will explore various elements of how to structure an improv, how to build fusion vocabulary and choreography, and how to choreograph dances for solo and troupe work. In addition to conversations about craft, this will be a working lab, where dancers start working right away to improve their improv, choreography, and performance quality. This workshop draws on both academic and anecdotal resources, and aims to help dancers deepen their engagement with their performance material, while developing a working process that is realistic, attainable, and personal for them.

Skill Level: Open

What to bring: Water, notebooks optional

What to Wear: Comfy dance attire

Cera’s Bio:

Cera Byer (Damage Control Dance Theater/Shoebox Studio) holds a degree in Dance from San Francisco State University and has taught in high schools, studios, workshops, and retreats around the US and abroad.

Her technical approach comes from continuing exploration into Graham, Horton, and Dunham techniques, alongside Kathak, Persian, Bellydance, Hip Hop, Funk, and Afro-Caribbean traditions, but her choreography is anything but a dry academic approach to fusion.

Cera's work has been called "a hot, sweaty tribute that will have audiences and dancers alike moving and moved by the material", and "organic evolving studies into the biospheres of human emotion".

Cera owns and operates Shoebox Studio in San Francisco and is the founder and director of Damage Control Dance Theater.
You can find more information at www.damage-control.org, and www.shoeboxsf.com

2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Teacher: Asharah

Class Title: Keeping Time: Unusual Meter in Middle Eastern Music 

Description:

From 3/4 to 5/4 to 10/8 to 13/8, odd time signatures are also an integral part of Middle Eastern music, such as in the Turkish Karsilama (9/8) and the Egyptian Sama'i (10/8). What do all these fractions mean, and why do we dancers care about them? Asharah will lead students through exercises to not only find the downbeat in these unusual meters but also how to count them, and most importantly, basic concepts for dancing to these rhythms and the countries from which each derives.

Skill Level: Open

What to bring: Water, notebooks optional

What to Wear: Comfy dance attire

Asharah’s Bio:

“Being true to your self isn’t easy. It’s perhaps the hardest thing an artist can do. But the rewards are worth the struggle. I have sought to remain true to my convictions, to never compromise my art to make myself more appealing or popular, to continue to grow and learn and seek knowledge from my mentors and colleagues both in and out of the dance world, and to be an example for dancers who are seeking their own artistic path.” - From Asharah’s “A Statement of Purpose”, Spring 2009. 

Asharah is internationally renowned for her strong technique and dramatic fusion of tribal and cabaret bellydance, and she has extensive experience in Turkish, Egyptian, and American bellydance. She graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in Near Eastern Studies and is working towards earning her Level 3 certification in the Suhaila Salimpour belly dance format, and in spring of 2010 she will be relocated to Columbia, South Carolina, to join Delirium Tribal Belly Dance and Columbia Alternacirque.  

In early 2008 she released her first instructional DVD, Modern Tribal Bellydance with Asharah, which has received rave reviews from dancers around the world. As a student of Middle Eastern history, she believes that every belly dancer must know the history and culture of this dance, whether she is performing it in its traditional forms or fusing it with others. Read her blog on dance, art, integrity, and business at www.bdpaladin.com, and learn more about her upcoming events at www.asharah.com. 

4:15 – 6:15 p.m.

Teacher: Lee Ali

Class Title: Gutsy Greek Bellydance

Description:

Everything I know about passionate dancing, I learned from watching the Greeks where I grew up in Greektown. In this workshop I will share with you the vocabulary of Greektown dances. We will deconstruct exactly what makes this style so powerful. We will cover 3 main topics including: belly dance, folk dance, and interpreting Greek music, including the heartbreaking and soulful “Greek blues” known as Rembetika. We will explore the differences between Greek and Arabic styles of bellydance including costumes, attitudes, and even cultural taboos.

The first hour of class will cover specific gestures that give Greek dance its signature passionate flair. The Drunken Sailor and Zorba-the-Greek are just a few famous folk images we will draw from to authentically flavor our dance. A clear explanation of Greek bouzouki music will be given throughout the class, along with a peppering of cultural tidbits that will fire the imagination and allow students to interpret their dance with “feeling.”

In the second hour, we will cover Greek-style Bellydance. The Greek name for bellydance is Tsiftetelli (pronounced "Tseef tuh TELL lee." with a little snake hiss at the beginning of the word). A 3-part bellydance routine will be taught, with a bold, fast entrance, a slow section just for belly rolls, and a leave-em-wanting-more finale! This 3-part routine may be performed as a stage-ready mini show, or blended with other styles to create a Greek-fusion piece.

This class is recommended for Tribal Fusion, ATS or Cabaret style bellydancers who want to bring a new ethnic flavor to their dance. Whether you are planning a dreamy vacation to the blue waters and sizzling night life of the Mediterranean or simply dining at your local Greek taverna, this class will inspire you to dance and shout, “OPA!”.

Skill Level: Open

What to bring: Please bring a veil and finger cymbals

What to Wear: Dance attire

Lee Ali’s Bio:

Lee Ali is a specialist in Greek and Moroccan folklore. Known for her explosive passionate performances, Lee combines history, performance art, and social commentary to create ethnic dance theater. She is dedicated to teaching American-born dancers the beauty and value of ethnic dance and delights in passing on the traditions she learned as a child.

As a teacher, Lee is a multi-cultural shape-shifter who moves between the free mindset of an edgy, modern artist, and the forbidding mysteries of the ancient Middle East. Her workshops are a passport to foreign lands and a window to the cultural psychology of dance. On stage, she has delivered more than 2,000 dance and drumming performances in theater, festivals, cabaret and film, both in the States and abroad in Morocco, Turkey, Greece and Egypt.

Raised in a Middle Eastern ethnic ghetto by a Moroccan mom and a Turkish-Armenian dad, Lee began her career as a child performer in the 1970’s, the golden era of old-style American cabaret belly dance. Lee is a “home-schooled” bellydancer, groomed in cultural traditions as an apprentice to her parents. They taught her to dance, drum, sing, play musical instruments, and to design and sew her own costumes.

At age 13, she became a working dancer, performing only with live musicians, 5 nights a week in the ethnic night clubs of Philadelphia’s “Greektown.” At 15, Lee left high school to travel full-time with Holiday In Greece, a Greek musical with whom she toured for 3-years throughout the US, Canada, and Greece. At 20, Lee opened her own dance studio in Brooklyn, New York, where she perfected her colorful teaching style and her commitment to building community thru dance. During the 8 years she owned the studio, Lee became an IDEA certified fitness trainer and a certified yoga instructor from the Satchidananda Ashram.

In 1996, Lee wrote and produced the documentary film, “Belly Dancing In America: Importing Middle Eastern Dance”. In 2000, she formed the Berber Ballet, a dance and drum ensemble specializing in 6/8 rhythms and theatricalized trance dances of North Africa. In 2008, Lee received the Golden Belly Award in the category of Favorite Ethnic Dancer. In 2009, she was awarded “Dance Instructor of the Year” at the University of California, Irvine, where she has taught beginner and advanced bellydance since 2004. In addition to her full teaching and performing schedule, Lee is an annual judge at the Bellydancer of the Universe Competitions, and also served as a celebrity judge for the “So You Think You Can Bellydance?” contest at the 2010 Las Vegas Bellydance Intensive. She holds a double bachelors degree in Psychology and pre-medical Biology from UC, Irvine.

6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Teacher: Princess Farhana

Class Title: Orient Noir: Volatile Combinations

Description:
Add some dynamite to your dancing! These dangerous and sometimes kinda naughty combinations can be used in either improv or choreographed situations, for any type of dancing.

Mixing a pastiche of movements from traditionally-based Oriental dance, classic burlesque and super-hot Fosse-style jazz injected with theatrical flair, these combos are definitely explosive!

We will explore everything from super-slow-motion, gooey taxim technique to sizzling showgirl style teasing; isolations, pops and locks, floor work and spatial coverage; sassy walks, intense entrances and exits; plus combinations with turns, fan-kicks, level changes, and  hand and arm embellishments.

We'll also fine-tune finishing elements and attitude to polish up your
performance!

Skill Level: Open

What to bring: Water, notebooks optional

What to Wear: Comfy dance wear

Princess Farhana’s Bio:

Internationally acclaimed dancer Princess Farhana has appeared in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Portugal, Egypt, Mexico and Canada, as well as all over the United Kingdom and across the USA. For the past twenty years she has also written extensively on belly dance and burlesque for both dance and mainstream publications. She has performed live at concerts with Arabic superstars Amr Diab, Ragheb Alama, Hakim, Natacha Atlas, and Alabina, as well as at private events for celebrities and dignitaries such as former First Lady Hilary Clinton, The Saudi Arabian Royal Family, and The Rolling Stones, among many others.

She is known for her exquisite technique-including her mind-boggling abdominal work. With dramatic stage presence and theatrical flair, The Princess is Egyptian-trained (by Zahra Zuhair and Raqia Hassan in addition to many others) but is also a high-concept fusion performer, and travels constantly performing and teaching workshops all over the globe.

Princess Farhana has a line of 11 self-produced DVDs, and has been featured performing in many belly dance compilation DVDs, and has also danced and acted in many motion pictures, music videos, and television shows; as well as  dance documentary films both performing and as an interview subject.

Her warmth, enthusiasm and adventurous spirit - on and off stage- captivate audiences and students alike.

WWW.PRINCESSFARHANA.COM

YOUTH ANNEX, SMALL ROOM – max capacity 19 dancers

9:30 – 11:30 a.m.* NOTE: This is a special 4-hour class! It’s second half is on Sunday, same time, same place! * 

Teacher: E. Artemis Mourat

Class Title: Romany (Gypsy) Music, Dance and Culture throughout the World!

Description:

Let's separate fact from fiction once and for all about this amazing ethnic population.

Artemis will describe the Roma from a cultural and historical perspective with special attention to their dances and music. This is a sit down class packed with exciting lectures, video footage and sound bytes of music and dance from Spain, France, India, Russia, Morocco, Egypt, Macedonia, Hungary, Romania, Turkey and more.

The Roma (often referred to as Gypsies) are an ethnic population, originally from India who have migrated to every continent in the world. They are a tribal society that is highly romanticized, mostly misunderstood and extraordinarily resilient despite numerous attempts at extermination. Yet their strong ethnic identity, high intellect, gifts with tools and languages and their use of art as a means of expression has contributed to their survival. Esma Redzepova, world famous singer, second time nominee for the Nobel Peace prize has said: “When we sing, we forget we are hungry.”

The overall features of Romany music and dance and how they overlap and differ across cultures will be explored and well illustrated with footage and recordings. Artemis will describe the features of Romany music and instrumentation and the very necessary role that musicians and dancers play in their society. The fascinating interconnectedness of history and art will be explored as we see how their belief systems, etiquette and ethnic identity affect their music and dance.

Skill Level: Open to All

What to bring: Notebooks optional

What to Wear: Comfortable clothing, as this is a sit-down class

Artemis’s Bio:

Class will be taught by Elizabeth Artemis Mourat, MA, MSW, LCSW-C. She has an M.A. in psychology, an M.S.W. in social work (with specialized studies in cross cultural awareness) and has done postgraduate work in dance movement therapy.

She is an internationally recognized dance instructor, dance historian and performer. Extensive travel to 33 countries and intensive research into the idioms of the East, women's issues, psychology, ancient history, oriental dance, Romany (Gypsy) dance and dance ethnology have yielded many manuscripts and articles in numerous publications.

Her research is used by Egyptian universities, the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. and the Library for the Performing Arts in New York. She has lectured, taught and/or performed for Cornell University and Princeton University, National Public Radio (NPR), Voice of America, the Romany Museum of Brno in the Czech Republic and in 12 countries and 33 states within the United States.

This instructor has done field research on the Roma in Greece, Spain, Czech Republic, Romania, England, France, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia and has made 16 trips to Turkey.

11:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m.

Teacher: Bridie Przibram

Class Title: Gypsy Soul

Description:

Polish Gypsy dance is wild, emotional and deceptively simple. It is not just about the steps, but the emotion behind the performance which can turn a simple collection of movements into a performance that can leave the dancer and the audience with tears in their eyes.

In this workshop, we will learn slow and more up-tempo steps and combinations drawn from authentic Polish Gypsy dance. These can be used on their own, or fused with other styles in improvised or choreographed performance, the only requirement being that they are performed with passion.

Skill Level: Open to All

What to bring: Bring a big skirt, and dance your heart out.

What to Wear: Wear or bring a big skirt

Bridie’s Bio:

Bridie is a born performer, starting as an actor on stage and on film. She fell in love with bellydance in 2003 after taking classes (in North Wales no less) with Najmes from California. Having been drilled in cabaret-style dance, utilizing elements of Suhaila's technique, she found her true calling when she met Akasha at a Tribal bellydance festival in 2005. A goth since teenage-hood, she found the costuming and styling of Tribal Style bellydance to be a perfect fit, and she started studying and practicing tribal style and gothic bellydance.

She has studied with international teachers, including Morgana from Madrid, Ariellah, Asharah, Sharon Kihara, Wendy Marlatt and Donna Gardner, as well as training in Flamenco and Polish Gypsy dance. In 2009, she studied intensively with Kajira Djoumahna and is certified to teach the BlackSheep BellyDance Format for Synchronized Group Improvisation (SGI), Level 1.

She is High Priestess of Gothla UK, the first and largest international festival of gothic bellydance in Europe, now preparing for its 5^th year. She teaches weekly classes in North Wales in ATS, tribal fusion and gothic bellydance, as well as workshops around the United Kingdom. She performs regularly at festivals and haflas all over North Wales and the North West of England with her troupe, Weird Sisters. She lives with her husband, young son and three cats, who all indulge her passion with quiet acceptance. In her other life, she is a professional costume-maker.

Contact Bridie on bridiep@gmail.co.uk, or find Weird Sisters on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Weird-Sisters/178489191106?ref=ts

or our website: www.weirdsisters.org.uk.

2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Teacher: Amy Sigil

Class Title: STATIC: an experimental workshop

Description:
How do you handle the noise in your head when you encounter it in Art and performance? Let's find out. This is an intimate look at the very beginnings of "Ghostwork". Learn to attack the insecurities and personal obstacles in your life that haunt you. (This workshop exclusive to Tribal Fest 11. Limited enrollment will assure safe emotional work space.)

Skill Level: Performers only, please

What to Bring: Water, notebooks optional

What to Wear: Dance workout wear

Amy’s Bio:

Amy Sigil, director/choreographer of UNMATA, and owner of Hot Pot Studios in Sacramento, CA has been spreading her high octane performances and workshops around the world for the last 8 years and has been dancing for 14 years. She likes her dance fasty and her music loudy! She is an athlete; a full force tough love dancer, with 110% heart for the game. Her workshops will make you sweat till you bleed and make you smile till you scream! Amy brings to you…Sigil Style…not just a dance style; a life style!

4:15 – 6:15 p.m.

Teacher: Sherri Wheatley

Class Title: Dynamic Performance: Leave Them Breathless and Wanting More!

Description:

This workshop is for the intermediate or advanced dancer who is already performing professionally or has a desire to. Learn how to make your performance as dynamic and polished as possible. We will focus on elements of stage presence, staging (utilizing available space effectively), musicality and how to execute commanding entrances and exits. 

We will learn various combinations and choreography that simulates components of an actual performance scenario to explore the nuts and bolts of each aspect of a complete show. Learn how to read an audience and tailor your performance in the moment so that the energy exchange motivates you and engages them. 

To add yet another wow-factor dimension, this workshop features an original choreography to rip it up and tear down the walls glitchier than glitchy and dubbier than dubby dub step music! Dub step really lends itself to interesting variations in movement like purposefully breaking technique or “collapsing” out of a strong posture and then regaining it or “snapping” back into it. Essentially we will learn how to break format with intention, play with this dimension for a bit and then snap back into the strongest of form and technique.

We will also assign movement various "personalities" experimenting with bringing variations in theatricality to your performance. This is a forum where constructive feedback is provided by both instructor and other students. 

Class size will be limited. Small, VERY personal attention. Come ready to sweat and bring knee pads as we will be on the floor at times during the workshop.

Sherri - Cherchez La Femme Bellydance 

www.sherribellydance.com   and   hothipsbellydance@hotmail.com

Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced Performers only, please

What to bring: Knee pads and water

What to Wear: Dance workout attire

Sherri’s Bio:

Sherri, aka. Cherchez La Femme, has been a student of dance since the age of five with diverse experience ranging from ballet to gymnastics, jazz to modern. Her passion for Middle Eastern dance began in 1999 when she began studying with the internationally celebrated Heather Stants, director of the influential Urban Tribal Dance Company. She soon became a full member performing with the company regularly at private events and bellydance festivals across the US.

Sherri is distinguishable in her unique serpentine stylization, an interpretation that stylistically involves extreme muscle control and articulation. She is also an extremely versatile dancer and can morph from one extreme physical state to the next in an instant.

In addition to performing as a soloist, Sherri finds creative inspiration in collaboration with other performers. Her dedication, professionalism, and superb artistry has given her the honor of working with Desert Sin, a critically celebrated experimental bellydance theatre company, Atash Maya Dance Company, Elysium Dance Theatre and as guest artist with the incomparable Lucent Dossier Experience Vaudville Circus and Zen Arts.

Having relocated to Los Angeles from San Diego in 2005, Sherri continues to study dance in various incarnations and teaches tribal fusion classes and workshops both locally and abroad. Sherri performs internationally and has been featured in several internationally distributed DVDs, the latest of which is a performance DVD with an all-star cast, The Soul of Bellydance.

When she is not working on the latest Cherchez La Femme (her own company) or collaborative project, Sherri can be found performing as Slither with The Living World or as a “buxotica” with Lucha Va Voom.    www.sherribellydance.com