Tribal Fest 11 Detailed Class Schedule –

Sunday May 22, 2011

YOUTH ANNEX, LARGE ROOM – max capacity 36 people

9:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Teacher: Samantha Riggs

Class Title: Golden Age Bollywood: Doing it Old School!

Description:  

This class will cover the graceful and poetic choreography of the song "Teri Mehfil Mein Kismat Aazmakar" from the biggest Hindi (“Bollywood”) movie production of all time, Mughal-e-Azam. Samantha will teach the hand movements from the movie and has added footwork and classical-style poses since the original number was performed seated, as a kind of poetic debate. The combos thus formed can be adapted for use in any choreography or dance form. This is a beautiful and expressive style utilizing great muscle and posture control, but also a good amount of theatricality and rhythm. Learn to dance like the Golden Age “filmi” stars!

Skill Level: Suitable for dancers of all levels (but some dance background of any type is helpful)

What to bring: Students may wish to bring ankle or knee braces if they require them for holding poses on one leg or for lunges

What to Wear: Dance workout wear

Sam’s Bio:

Samantha Riggs is the Founder, Artistic Director, Choreographer and Lead Dancer for both Boom Boom Bollywood and The Sexy Scallywags Dance Circus and is a performer with Jamila Lotus Renaissance bellydance troupe and Fyrae fire arts troupe. She was the assistant director as well as a core dancer, teacher, musician and choreographer for Domba Tribal Fusion Dance Troupe (winners of the 2006 Zaghareet “Best Troupe” award) from 1996 until their peaceful dissolution upon the retirement of Director Heidi Alexander in October of 2006.

Samantha has traveled the world teaching Bollywood Style Dance, Bhangra, Tribal Style Bellydance, Tribal Fusion, Fire Arts and “Pirate” Bellydance. Her innovative “Minnat Kare” choreography won Boom Boom Bollywood first place in the Aashiyana All-Indus Dance Competition in 2007. Recently she has taught classes and performed in the UK (Inverness, Scotland and Tribal Ford Festival in Northumberland), Dallas (3rd Coast Tribal), Oregon (Breitenbush Tribal Retreat and Sabine’s Celebration Studio), and Chicago (Tribal Revolution).

For Samantha, Art is really all about Love and about expanding the small definition of Love present in mass consciousness to a pure, unadulterated, consuming, spiritual, feral existence without fear. Lately, this belief has inspired her to expressions in her choreography of hope for a dissolution of the worldwide enslavement regime.

Samantha is also a tall ship sailor and gunner. She can often be found somewhere off the west coast of the United States or Canada, 70-90 feet in the air in the rigging, hauling like mad on a halyard, happily covered in pine tar or firing the black powder cannons of the brig Lady Washington. She has recently formed a non-profit organization dedicated to building a replica of the USS Porpoise, a brig launched in 1836, which was involved in hunting slavers off the west coast of Africa in the 1840s. Samantha has moved to Bellingham, Washington in order to build the ship and begin a life of seasteading. sam@boomboombollywood.com

11:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m.

Teacher: Tribal Sooz

Class Title: Thinking Outside the “ATS box” (just a little):   Duets, Trios and Quartets... Let’s Play! 

Description:  This workshop is designed for all dancers no matter what your style is! ATS, ITS, SGI, Fusion... We will be working with the ATS language as a base but bring a sense of fun to see how we can use the basics of American Tribal Style in different formations!

I will take you “Outside of the 'ATS Box'” to help you add a little more flexibility to your ATS language but still have the beautiful technique of ATS as your foundation. This is going to be FUN!

Skill Level: Some ATS experience helpful

What to bring: Bring zills if ya got em... 

What to Wear: Dance wear or ATS attire

Tribal Sooz’s Bio:

Tribal Sooz has been making her living as a teacher and performer since the 80's. Having been on stages all over the United States & Canada, her belly dance career began as a founding member of the world fusion troupe, Devadasi and later Blue Damsel.

She also performed with the innovative fire performance troupe, Atash Maya. She is now a devout student and teacher of American Tribal Style. Teacher trained and a proud Sister Studio with FatChanceBellyDance, as well as having the distinct pleasure of guest performing with them on several occasions!

Tribal Sooz is a FatChanceBellyDance Sister Studio. Visit www.tribalsooz.com for more info on ATS classes in Orange County!

2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Teacher: Suhaila Salimpour

Class Title: Jamila Salimpour Format

Description:

Jamila Salimpour is the mother of tribal belly dance. Her belly dance format has existed for over 50 years and still holds true as a valid and vibrant format. Suhaila will teach the basic movement families and concepts of Jamila’s format along with Jamila’s unparalleled method of teaching and playing finger cymbals. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’ll be floating your way through this workshop. Be ready for some challenging combinations that show you how dancing “old school” can be hotter than ever!

Skill Level: Open

What to bring: Finger cymbals

What to Wear: Dance class wear

Suhaila’s Bio:

Suhaila Salimpour is a highly acclaimed performer, teacher, and choreographer of belly dance. Schooled from an early age in jazz, tap and ballet, Suhaila began integrating her extensive classical training with the Middle Eastern dance passed on by her mother, Jamila Salimpour. The result was a true artistic breakthrough: a revolutionary foundational technique that has brought the art of Belly Dance to a new level.

In the U.S., Suhaila appeared on television series such as Fame and Max Headroom and choreographed various music videos. For six years, she was the featured dancer at Byblos, a prestigious Arabic nightclub in Los Angeles, where she shared the stage with the most renowned singers of the Middle East. Miles Copeland, owner of IRS records, prominently featured Suhaila in his 2005 documentary, American Bellydancer. Comedian Margaret Cho is currently producing and directing a documentary about Suhaila, and producing Suhaila's one-woman show. Suhaila is the artistic director and producer of Sheherezade, an acclaimed performing arts spectacle that mixes belly dance with the synchronization of Riverdance, the pounding rhythms of Stomp and the aerial artistry of Cirque du Soleil. For Sheherezade, Suhaila was nominated for an Isadora Duncan Dance Award ("Izzie")-making her the first performer in the belly dance genre to receive this prestigious nomination.

Today, Suhaila creates instructional and performance videos for all dance levels, as well as fully-orchestrated Middle Eastern dance musicals and CD recordings of the latest percussion artists. Suhaila is the co-producer of the successful Online Classes. In addition to touring across the globe, Suhaila maintains her second-generation family business, the Suhaila Salimpour School of Belly Dance, in Berkeley, California. Suhaila has developed and implemented the first-available certification program in Middle Eastern dance. Suhaila looks forward to expanding the audience for and appreciation of traditional Middle Eastern dance in a distinctly contemporary style.

YOUTH ANNEX, SMALL ROOM – max capacity 19 dancers

9:30 – 11:30 a.m.

E. Artemis Mourat’s 4-hour workshop continues! Please read Saturday’s description (at the same time and place) for information.

11:45 – 4:00 p.m. * Special 4-Hour Intensive! (second offering, same as Thursday workshop)

Teacher: Zoe Jakes

Class Title: Drilling Better Smarter Faster!

Description:
Let’s get to the root of it all! Tribal fusion drills for your personal practice at home. This is the meat and potatoes of it all, your "Dance Spine"... Information to use all year.

We will use specific Pilates and yoga based exercises to strengthen the core muscles necessary for strong and powerful hip work, articulated belly rolls and fluid transitions. Hip, head, shoulder and chest isolations will be drilled and layered, as well as working on bringing awareness to every part of the body while dancing. We will go over core strength drills, pop-lock technique, as well as fluidity of movement, stressing on posture and upper body awareness. And you will sweat!!!!

Skill Level: Open

What to Bring: Water, and possibly a sweat rag!

What to Wear: Dance attire

Zoe‘s Bio:

Zoe is a proud member of The Indigo, recently on the road touring their new show Le Serpent Rouge. She has been touring with Bellydance Superstars since the fall of 2005 and can be seen performing on their new Tribal Fusions DVD. She recently finished filming her debut instructional DVD, to be released in the fall. Combining talents with David Satori and Tommy Cappel to form the band Beats Antique, which released the album Tribal Derivations last spring, Zoe is currently working on its sequel.

When not with The Indigo, she tours with The Yard Dogs Road Show, a cartoon circus sideshow of wacky dimensions, and has been seen tearing it up with the Extra Action Marching Band.

Recently nominated for Zaghareet’s "Best Interpretive Artist 2007", Zoe is an inarguably innovative dancer, whose unique take on Tribal bellydance takes influence from Art Nouveau, tango, Breakdance, and Indian classical dance.

She loves unicorns and has never once doubted their existence.

Her web site is www.zoebellydance.com

* This concludes the workshop portion of Tribal Fest 11. We hope you have a great time and learn valuable information and new skills from our 42 teachers! ENJOY! *