Autumn 2010 - new term of weekly classes in the Dances of Egypt

I'm really pleased to announce a new term of weekly classes in the Dances of Egypt at the Salisbury Centre, Edinburgh.  

You will discover a beautiful, earthy and expressive form of Egyptian Dance.  Raqs Sharqi, meaning “Dance of the East” is a blend of folk tradition and contemporary interpretation.   You will experience the broad variety of music and dance associated with this beautiful form, from the Sha’abi folk dances of the South of Egypt, to the Baladi of Cairo. 

Classes are Open level.  We welcome both Beginners with little or no dance experience and Improvers who already have experience or knowledge of either Egyptian Dance or styles of belly dance. 

Please wear clothes that allow you to move freely and if you want you can tie a scarf around your hips.  We also dance in bare feet, although soft soled dance shoes are OK.   

Here are all the details. 
Thursday nights 7:30-8:45pm
Classes start on 30 September and will run until 16 December
This is a 12 week term with no break
Cost is £72 (or £60 for concessions)
Open level
 
In a class we start with a warm up and then explore the technique and music associated with a particular style of Egyptian Dance.  We then use the technique we have learnt to dance together a short piece in this style.  We end each class with a cool down with some gentle stretching.  The length of each class is an hour and a quarter so that we have time to cover all of this.

I've had some really positive feedback about my classes and teaching style, and you can read some testimonials on my website. 

Bookings
To book, visit the Salisbury Centre website where you can pay using PayPal.
You can also make your booking by contacting the Salisbury Centre:
2 Salisbury Road, Edinburgh, EH16 5AB
Telephone: 0131 667 5438
email: office@salisburycentre.orgBookings should be open within the next few days. 

The Salisbury Centre
The Centre is the longest established holistic education centre in Edinburgh.  It is based in a Georgian House in the Southside of Edinburgh and set within beautiful organic gardens.   Here is the streetview.  The studio is in fact an amazing first floor drawing room, with a clean floor and beautiful views.  If you haven't been there before, I would thoroughly recommend going along to visit the Centre.  You can sit in the garden, help yourself to tea and coffee, and explore the range of things on offer including meditation, yoga, pottery, therapies and treatments, and a whole range of different classes and workshops.

Workshops

If you can't make the weekly classes, or if you are already at an Intermediate or Advanced level, then you might be interested in coming to the next Habiba Dance workshop.  The next workshop will be in the Sha'abi Rural Folkdance style on 23 October, from 1:30-3:30, also at the Salisbury Centre.

www.habibadance.com

Shimmying with old and new

I was really excited to start my new term of classes in Egyptian Dance tonight at The Salisbury Centre.

After a long wait for a slot to teach regular classes in the Centre, I've been offered a regular Thursday night slot for the summer term.  It's my favourite venue to come and teach a class.  The room is beautiful - it's a first floor drawing room with a smooth clean wooden floor and a lovely view over the Centre's organic garden.  And I'm looking forward to teaching on warm summer evenings when it will be possible to relax in the garden before class. 

It is a small group, but really nice to be teaching a combination of students who had been to my previous workshops and classes, those who were already familiar with the dance, and a few students who were entirely new to the dance.

We started with some walks, attitude and posture and then went through some basic moves including fluids, figures of 8, sharps, hits and of course some shimmies and variations - quite exciting as always when the students showed some real shimmy potential.  In the last part of the class we put these moves together to explore a piece of Baladi music, "Jalilah's Balady", from Amar 14:

Places are still available on the course which runs on Thursday evenings from 8.00-9.15 at The Salisbury Centre, 2 Salisbury Road, Edinburgh, EH16 5AB.  Cost for the full 10 week term is £60 full price and £50 for concessions.  To book, call 0131 667 5438, or email office@salisburycentre.org

Image is from Piranha Musik.

www.habibadance.com

Summer term at the Salisbury Centre

 

Good news!

The Salisbury Centre has found me a slot to teach regular weekly classes in Egyptian Dance next term.

Here are the details:

Every Thursday, 8.00-9.15pm
Starting on 22 April 2010
At The Salisbury Centre, 2 Salisbury Road, Edinburgh, EH16 5AB
Cost is £60 for the term of 10 classes, or £50 for concessions

I will be teaching the "Dances of Egypt".  Each week we will introduce the music and dance associated with different styles of Egyptian Dance.  It's a great way of learning about the background, history and development of this rich art form, whilst studying the different moves and technique, and exploring self expression to accompany the music.

The course will cover Sha'abi - the traditional Egyptian folk dance originating from Upper Egypt, Baladi  - an expressive interpretation of "Egyptian Jazz", and Classical - a contemporary style with ancient roots.   We will also explore the energies of the male and female style of dance, and if time allows the contemporary form inspired by Sufi tradition.

The course will be mixed level.  It is suitable for Absolute Beginners and Improvers who want to revisit the basics and develop a deeper understanding of Egyptian dance would also be very welcome.  This was a very popular format when I taught my Summer series of classes in 2009.  You can read the testimonials on my website to hear what my students had to say.

The Salisbury Centre is the longest established holistic education centre in Edinburgh.  It is based in a Georgian House in the Southside of Edinburgh and set within beautiful organic gardens.   Here is the streetview.  The studio is in fact an amazing first floor drawing room, with a clean floor and beautiful views.  If you haven't been there before, I would thoroughly recommend going along to visit the Centre.  You can sit in the garden, help yourself to tea and coffee, and explore the range of things on offer including meditation, yoga, pottery, therapies and treatments, and a whole range of different classes and workshops.

To book, contact The Salisbury Centre: 0131 667 5438, office@salisburycentre.org

And for further information, please feel free to contact me here.

I hope to see you there!

www.habibadance.com