LARGE ROOM, Youth Annex Building, SCC - maximum capacity 36 participants

Time: 9:00 - 11:00 am
Instructor: Samantha Riggs
Class Title: Why is the Rum Always Gone?
Skill Level: Beginning (but athletic). Bellydance experience is helpful.
Type of Class: Pirate Bellydance

CLASS DESCRIPTION
Pirate Bellydance is the culmination of Samantha's experience with tribal fusion, stage combat, Bollywood and Bhangra, African fusion, comedy theatre and tall ship sailing plus a little bit of madness or brilliance (it's remarkable how often those two traits coincide). Imagine the dynamic action of shipboard sword fights, the physicality of Bhangra and African dance, and the tongue-in-cheek humor of drunken Bollywood or Pirate movie comedy scenes and you may begin to scratch the surface of the spirit of Pirate Bellydance. In this workshop you will learn to do drops, spins and shimmies all while keeping your bottle safe! This workshop covers the coordination necessary to transfer an open bottle from hand to hand as a dancer transitions from fancy footwork to athletic floor work. These skills can be applied to almost any hand-held prop (rum bottles, fire props, swords, etc.) and will also come in handy at parties.
Please bring a plastic water bottle to use as a prop in class and if you need knee, ankle or foot support for floor work and drops, please bring that too!

SAM'S BIO
Samantha Riggs is the Founder, Artistic Director, Choreographer and Lead Dancer for
both Boom Boom Bollywood and The Sexy Scallywags Pirate Circus in Tempe, Arizona, and is a performer with 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 dissolution in October of 2006. Samantha has traveled the world teaching Bollywood Style Dance, Tribal Style Bellydance, Tribal Fusion, Fire Arts and Pirate Bellydance. Her serious obsession with Bollywood movies has, over the years, infected others... leading to her higher goal of connection and understanding between the Western and the Indo-American communities. Samantha has a long history on stage with many other forms of theatre arts including fire performance, stage combat, acting, stand-up comedy and comedy improv, singing, drumming and folk dancing.
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. The way she presents this in her own art of choreography and performance is via humor and exuberance, since she believes laughing ameliorates fear. So she brings you the idea of Apape, unconditional Love, via the uber-cheesy, over-the-top romance of Bollywood and the balls-to-the-wall, intoxicated, freedom-loving pirate.

Samantha's latest passion which has inspired her in all areas of her life is that of tall ship sailing, and she can often be found 70-90 feet in the air in the rigging of the brig Lady Washington. This call to adventure has kept her in the United States for another year or so. Come and dance with her before the kraken gets back on her trail.

Time: 11:15 am - 1:15 pm
Instructor: E. Artemis Mourat
Class Title: Turkish Rromany (Gypsy) Dance
Skill Level: Open to All
Type of Class: Traditional Turkish Rromany Dance

CLASS DESCRIPTION
This workshop will include steps, combinations and gestures to the Rromany 9/8 time signature, as well as information about the music, the costuming and the culture.

ARTEMIS'S BIO
Artemis has been dancing, teaching and researching dance history in the United States and abroad for her entire adult life. Artemis is of Greek and Turkish descent. She fuses her love of these cultures with strong academic knowledge and excellent dance technique. She brings her spirited and articulate technique to workshops which include information on the history and cultures that generate the dances she teaches. She believes that we can all use art to build bridges across cultures.
Artemis has contributed to many publications. Extensive travel to 33 countries and intensive research into the idioms of the East, women's issues, psychology, ancient history, oriental dance, Rromany (Gypsy) dance and dance ethnology have yielded many manuscripts and articles.
She continues to produce new articles every year. Artemis 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 was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. 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 and in Spain, England, France, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Canada, Japan, Greece, Turkey and in 29 states within the United States. Artemis is a member of the Society of Folk Dance Historians. She uses her writing and her dance and history lectures to fight the racism which exists against the Rroma. Her humanitarian interests extended to helping the survivors of hurricane Katrina and she received the key to the city of Lafayette for these efforts. She also continues in her efforts to have Middle Eastern dance receive the recognition and respect that every other legitimate dance form enjoys.

Time: 1:30 - 3:30
Instructor: Heike Akasha Humprheys
Class Title: Goffick, Innit? Gothic Belly Dance from Over the Pond
Skill Level: Open to All
Type of Class: Gothic Belly Dance, English Style

CLASS DESCRIPTION
In this workshop we will explore some unique steps and combinations inspired by the British Goth Scene, Hammer Horror and Zombie Movies. Although the main focus for this workshop is technique and the step patterns, the approach of this workshop is more light-hearted (the British take what they do, but not themselves, too seriously) and will be fun.

HEIKE AKASHA'S BIO
Heike (professional name Akasha) is a qualified JWAAD teacher. She first starting learning Arabic dance in 1989 and instantly fell in love with the dance. She originally turned to the dance because of her love of all things Egyptian and also because it had nothing to do with Aerobics and the attached body fascism.
Heike originally studied with Sandra Thiebault, who unfortunately retired from
regular classes after a while. Heike then continued her dance training by attending workshops with many highly acclaimed dancers of the Suraya Hilal School of Raks Sharqi, especially Anne Ashcroft and Liza Wedgewood.
In 1996, Heike moved back to Germany for a short while and studied with Sonia & Albert, Edith Glockner, Shaddai and Rehan from Frankfurt who is renowned for her 'authentic' Egyptian style.
Back in England, she carried on with the dance troupe, but was looking for more of a challenge. She joined the WADA (Wessex Arabic Dance) committee in 2001 and decided to bite the bullet and sign up for the Josephine Wise Academy of Arabic Dance diploma in the same year. As well as studying for the diploma, Heike had also been 'bitten' by the Tribal bug in 2000. Ever since then, she has taken every Tribal workshop possible with Carolena Nericcio (Director of FatChanceBellyDance), Kajira Djoumahna of BlackSheep BellyDance and Paulette Rees-Denis of Gypsy Caravan.
As part of the JWAAD diploma, Heike trained with the senior JWAAD teachers as well as attending workshops with master teachers from Egypt, Europe and the USA such as Randa Kamel, Yasmina, Dalia Carella and Alexandria to name but a few. Heike passes her JWAAD diploma with distinction in 2004, but has been teaching since 1999. She is a regular at the Fantasia festival and teaches workshops all over the country, and recently, Portugal.
She studied with Master American Tribal Teacher Kajira Djoumahna of BlackSheep BellyDance, and obtained a Level 1 teaching certificate in the BlackSheep BellyDance ATS format.

Heike joined 'The Daughters of Lilith' troupe in 2000, and they had many successful gigs, concentrating on 'the dark side' and including ritualistic elements as well as snakes in their performances. However, since 2004, Heike has been working with her troupe 'Medusa', who is currently performing ATS and fusion pieces.
Her solo performances are inspired by a mixture of traditional and modern Cairo style, ATS (Kajira Djoumahna and Black Sheep) as well as "Tribaret"/Urban Tribal Fusion and gothic elements - not all in the same piece!

Time: 3:45 - 5:45
Instructor: Betty Lee and Essa
Class Title:
Skill Level: Open to All
Type of Class: World Fusion Dance

CLASS DESCRIPTION
Betty and Essa will teach Ancient Chinese Tun-Huang Fei-Tian dance style postures fused with the Chinese Opera and martial art techniques and postures. Betty will also be teaching how to use a pair of 6 meter long tai-dai sticks (cloth covered sticks) following with a choreography. Tai-dai sticks provided.

BETTY'S BIO
Betty started practicing belly dance in 2003. Her enthusiastic approach and spirit led her not only learn and practice many forms of belly dance techniques, but also research belly dance history, music and knowledge. She created the first internet web archive about belly dance in Chinese, and the Glamorous Shadow of the Middle East (Zhong-Dong Mei-Ying) www.bellydancer.com.tw , for many years inspired and attracted numerous Chinese people from Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia to become member to this internet data base. It also started a trend of Search & Share Bellydance Information Web Page among the bellydance community in Asia.
On the other hand, she joined to a belly dance troupe and became a qualified teacher in Taipei. She realized the inadequacy in teaching of belly dance in Taiwan. And as a beginner in the community, She decided to invite Belly Dance Super Star Ansuya cooperating with a belly dance troupe to Taiwan for a workshop and a performance. Later, she started a trend of inviting international teachers to Taiwan.
In order to improve her belly dance technique and background, Betty followed the footsteps of famous teachers. She went to Egypt, Turkey, Japan, USA and took private lessons under the guidance of famous belly dance teachers.

The year of 2006 has been an extraordinary year for Betty. She has been to Tribal Fest in the San Francisco area for the first time in 2006 which inspired and changed her traditional opinion for belly dance. For the first time, she saw the disciplinary approach to belly dance and realized the multiform and diverse origin of belly dance. Same year, she started vigorously practicing BlackSheep BellyDance (BSBD) of American Tribal Style (ATS) with Kajira Djoumahna, famous writer of the Tribal Bible. She attained the BSBD qualified teacher certificate. At the moment she is teaching BSBD ATS classes in Taipei, Taiwan.
American Tribal Style BlackSheep BellyDance Format, Asia region Certified Teacher, Levels 1 and 2. Shimmy Tribe tribal belly dance troupe leader and choreographer.
2007, Betty has invited top notch teachers in order to bring international concept and vision for Taiwanese students to understand and meet systematized way of learning for belly dance and tribal belly dance techniques causing many Taiwanese students to go to USA to study more intensely. On the other hand, it will help advancing the domestic qualification standarts for teachers.
Also in 2007, Betty with her dance partner Essa performed at TF7 ; Sebastopol, San Francisco. As an invited teacher to TF8 Betty becomes the first teacher to teach Tribal belly dance technique in an internationally accepted festival representing Taiwan on the international stage.
"Love and Share" has been Betty's motto since the first day she has started teaching. She is proud of sharing her teachers style under the guidance of her teachers with the Taiwanese students and other Taiwanese belly dance teachers. She is also happy to be able to share all her accumulated knowledge, view and vision with everybody.
If you would like to read more about Betty's article or Betty and her troupe Shimmy Tribe, please check out her web page www.bellydancer.com.tw .
In 2007, Betty formally left the Kardes Belly Dance Troupe and concentrated in promoting BSBD style ATS. She especially places emphasize on the "concepts of love and share" with her students and troupe members in teaching of BSBD style. As well as ATS, She still continues to improve her choreographies and her style in Oriental belly dance style. Regardless of Oriental style or ATS classes, Betty doesn't forget putting emphasize on the notion of correct music, correct rhythm, true feeling and correct choreography. Lately, Betty also started practicing and researching Old School Arabic Tribal Style. As her reputation grows, she also started spending time in other cities of Taiwan. She wishes sharing her knowledge with more and more students, can help more people to realize the love, happiness, enthusiasm and cultural diversity in dance.
2007 has been an important year for tribal belly dance style in Taiwan. Betty and Shimmy Tribe invited professional teachers to Taiwan, in order to help more Taiwanese students have the chance to get in touch with them. She also promoted the real spirit of tribal community with the United Tribe in Taiwan for the first time.
In June 2007, Shimmy Tribe Belly Dance Troupe attained the qualification certificate of Taipei City Cultural Affairs Department for performing, in order to promote the cultural vision and artistic cultivation of Tribal Style Belly Dance.

ESSA WEN

Taiwan award winner fusion belly dancer Essa four times has won the best fusion belly dancer award in different parts of Taiwan. She started dancing during her childhood and graduated from Specialized Performing Arts School. At the moment she is a troupe leader of a fusion belly dance troupe. She has practiced different styles of dances as well as fusion belly dance. She is one of the qualified teachers in Taiwan. In 2007, She has performed as an international fusion dancer with Mei-Ling at TF7 where she has been introduced to USA tribal and fusion belly dancers. Her appearance was also very well received among the Taiwanese belly dancers in Taiwan.
Because of her technique and movements, she has been nicknamed as Little Rachel after Rachel Brice among her friends in Taiwan. She has practiced in different styles in Egypt and USA, but her favourite is ATS. And rer enthusiasm and love for tribal belly dance cannot be put in words. At the moment, she is promoting fusion style.

Time: 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Instructor: TribalTique
Class Title: Fosse Style Tribal Fusion Combos - Now with 100% More Jazz Hands!
Skill Level: All skill levels welcome, however intermediate to advanced dancerswill get the most out of this workshop.
Type of Class: World Fusion Dance

CLASS DESCRIPTION
Learn Tribal Fusion combos inspired by the works of innovative Chicago choreographer Bob Fosse! This seductive and jazzy style features isolations, funky footwork, drops, and spins with an old-school vaudeville cabaret flavor. Fosse's personal jazz style of dance isimmediately recognizable, exuding a stylized, cynical sexuality. The filmed routines in Cabaret (1972) are particularly characteristic of his style, the vulgar energy of vaudeville and burlesque updated and coolly contained within a slick, conscious sophistication.

TRIBALTIQUE'S BIO
TribalTique was formed in the summer of 2004 by co-directors Julia DiVerdi and Molly McClellan in an effort to further explore and create a new vision of American Tribal Style Belly Dance in Northern Colorado that they like to call ATTS, or "American TribalTique Style". Theirunique style combines classic ATS posture, vocabulary, and improvisational cue dancing with polished technique and cutting edge fusion. With over 17 years combined belly dance experience as both performers and instructors the partnership has flourished and firmly established TribalTique on the tribal belly dance circuit. TribalTique has also recently completed the General Skills Certification with FatChanceBellyDance.

Time: 9:00 - 11:00 am
Instructor: Paulette Rees-Denis
Class Title: Tribal Technique
Pre-requisite: tribal technique A or real experience. (two hours or more)
Type of Class: Tribal Belly Dance

CLASS DESCRIPTION
More moves and cues with duets and triplets within a chorus structure. Possibly incorporating solos into your tribal dance. Some floor work, bring kneepads. Discussion of artistry, performance, and performance ethics.
PAULETTE'S BIO
Paulette Rees-Denis is the Director of the Gypsy Caravan-Portland, Oregon's acclaimed contemporary tribal bellydance troupe. Having found her soul dance in the Tribal Style of bellydance, she has been teaching weekly classes in Portland, and workshops internationally since 1991. Her tribal styling is a fusion of several influences based on dances from different countries and modern day-urban, folk, ritual and trance, modern, among others. With a classical dance background, Paulette has created a rich blend of contemporary dance which is esthetically pleasing, spiritually grounding and physically rewarding. This dance evokes a feeling of ancient times, of family, of personal freedom, of group spirit and camaraderie, bringing dancers together in total acceptance and support of each other. The beauty of the dance is that it's also different for everyone and every body.
Having brought Tribal Style bellydance to the Pacific Northwest, Paulette continues to
enrich the dance community in a variety of ways. In 2000, she opened her own dance studio, Caravan Studio - A World Of Dance, with her husband and fellow Gypsy, Jeff Rees. In her commitment to teaching and educating the community about tribal bellydance, Paulette brings other internationally recognized master teachers and styles of 'world dance' to Portland. She is the creator of Tribal Quest NorthWest, a five day festival of tribal inspired music and dance in Portland with teachers and performers from around the world.
Gypsy Caravan: A mass of swaying hips, undulating bellies, hands upon hands upon hands with arms moving snake-like, strangely synchronous; watch closely as these powerfully sensuous women wrap you in their web of enchanting improvisation. Haunting horns calling you from the desert, earthly drums bring you back to the beginning of time; forlorn melodies sung from the deepest of souls, Gypsy Caravan invites you to join them on a journey back to the cradle of civilization. Woolen yarns, billowing silk, and jangling metal add texture to delight the senses, reminding you of the millions of women who came before us. A tribute to the past, created in the present, borrowing from many cultures and full of today's urban spirit, feel your tribal soul coming to life, echoing our cries for life and freedom.

Time: 11:15 am - 1:15 pm

Instructor: Sera
Class Title: East Coast Tribal
Skill Level: Open to All, some bellydance experience helpful
Type of Class: Tribal / World Fusion Belly Dance

CLASS DESCRIPTION
Learn some funky bellydance combinations that can be used in choreography or in live Improv. Fresh methods of layering, pop n'lock, and bold movements will attune your modern tribal fusion style. Reach outside typical bellydance vocabulary to find combinations thatutilize larger, expansive movements that aesthetically contrast with tight isolations to strengthen choreograpy.

SERA'S BIO
Sera Solstice is a performer/choreographer/instructor of Bellydance from NYC. The
director of two dance troupes, Solstice, and the Solstice Project, and director of Bold Bellydance Studio in New York. Sera has created a best-selling bellydance video: East Coast Tribal, produced by World Dance New York. Presenting bellydance as funky, fierce, and fresh,arising from music/dance influences of the east coast USA. Sera works in collaboration with musicians of Freek Factory, a collective of cutting edge artists who fuel her choreographies.
Performing with the live band, The Rhythm Shamans, Sera uses dance as a form of communication and empowerment. In 2005, she was invited to India to teach dance as a means of healing to young women who had been rescued from sexual abuse. This experience opened Sera to further discovery of dance as a medium for spiritual manifestation.
Sera is a former core member of 3 nationally respected Troupes: Bellyqueen, Raqs Sahara, and The Silk Road Dance Company, a founding member of DC Tribal, and Transcendance Tribal, and Raqs Caravan West.

Time: 1:30 - 3:30
Instructor: Onca O'Leary
Class Title: Narrative Bellydance
Skill Level: Open to All
Type of Class: Tribal Fusion Belly Dance

CLASS DESCRIPTION
Out there dancing? Have something to say! This class presents a range of evocative combos - spirited, celebratory, passionate, somber...maybe even a little bit of Evil. Onça has undertaken intense study of Narrative bellydance, and was nominated for Best Kept Secret for this work in 2005.

ONCA'S BIO
Onça O'Leary, Bandit Queen: A by-the-bootstraps bellydancer, Onça (Lauren O'Leary) was honored to be the first dancer ever to recieve a certification in General Skills from the originator of the modern Tribal Dance movement, Carolena Nericcio of FatChanceBellyDance. Other tribal artists that have deepened her personal dance practice include Jill Parker of UltraGypsy, Zi'ah Ali of Atlanta's Awalim Dance Company, and Zafira Dance Company of Pittsburgh. With ten years of Brazilian footfighting, her style is fluid, powerful and full of sass.
An author and artist, Onça's World Spirit Tarot was hailed as an instant classic upon publication in 2000. It has been translated into Spanish and is sold around the world.
In 2005, Onça's dance company, Baraka Mundi Live Music & Dance Ensemble, was nominated for both Best Dance Company in WNC and Best Kept Secret in the national Golden Belly Awards. In addition to directing Baraka Mundi, she mentors two student dance companies and travels nationally to teach, lecture and perform Tribal Fusion bellydance. Baraka Mundi has an album, World Spirit Melody, and the company's 2004 dance theatre production, Secret of Ashes, is available on dvd.
As a producer, Onça's most comprehensive projects are Triboriginal: Tribal Dance, Music and Culture Camp, and ABSfest, the Americana Burlesque & Sideshow Festival.
www.barakamundi.com www.triboriginal.org www.sideshowburlesque.org

Time: 3:45 - 5:45 pm
Instructor: E. Artemis Mourat
Class Title: The History and Technique of Playing Finger Cymbals and How to Create a Zill Solo
Skill Level: Open to All
Type of Class: Traditional Cymbal and Dance Class

CLASS DESCRIPTION
Experience the empowerment of playing your finger cymbals like the musical instrument that they truly are!

ARTEMIS'S BIO
Artemis has been dancing, teaching and researching dance history in the United States and abroad for her entire adult life. Artemis is of Greek and Turkish descent. She fuses her love of these cultures with strong academic knowledge and excellent dance technique. She brings her spirited and articulate technique to workshops which include information on the history and cultures that generate the dances she teaches. She believes that we can all use art to build bridges across cultures.
Artemis has contributed to many publications. Extensive travel to 33 countries and intensive research into the idioms of the East, women's issues, psychology, ancient history, oriental dance, Rromany (Gypsy) dance and dance ethnology have yielded many manuscripts and articles.

She continues to produce new articles every year. Artemis 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 was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. 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 and in Spain, England, France, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Canada, Japan, Greece, Turkey and in 29 states within the United States. Artemis is a member of the Society of Folk Dance Historians. She uses her writing and her dance and history lectures to fight the racism which exists against the Roma. Her humanitarian interests extended to helping the survivors of hurricane Katrina and she received the key to the city of Lafayette for these efforts. She also continues in her efforts to have Middle Eastern dance receive the recognition and respect that every other legitimate dance form enjoys.

Time: 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Instructor: Heather Stants
Class Title: Creative Dance Composition for Improv and Choreography
Skill Level: Open to All
Type of Class: Tribal / World Fusion Dance

CLASS DESCRIPTION
Exercises to stimulate creativity and aid in choreographing and staging for groups.
This is how we do it!

HEATHER'S BIO
Heather Stants is a lifelong artist and dancer with a degree in photography and fine arts. Her explorations in tribal bellydance began over eleven years ago when she became the assistant director of Read My Hips* (www.readmyhips.com) in Chicago, Illinois.
In 1999 Heather moved to San Diego, California and formed Urban Tribal Dance Company.Heather's diverse movement and arts background feeds her creativity and her
innovative approach to choreography. Urban Tribal Dance Company is known for it's
contemporary approach to the dance, a pared-down costume emphasizing body movements

over ornamentation, athleticism and the use of the dance form as a means of personalexpression and interpretation. Their creativity has twice earned them the title of "Troupe of the Year" in Zaghareet! Magazine's Golden Belly Awards. In addition to teaching several weekly classes in San Diego since 1999, Heather Stants and Urban Tribal Dance Company havebeen touring extensively since 2004 sharing their love of modern tribal bellydance with dancers in the U.S. and abroad. Read more about Heather and Urban Tribal on their site: www.urbantribaldance.com and on their tribe: http://urbantribaldance.tribe.net