What is it about pure Egyptian native Baladi music that draws us in? Is it the seductive improvisational melody that tickles our imagination? Or is it the deep, soulful base of the rhythm that we feel from our belly down into the very roots of the Earth!

 

How do we express that in dance, to embrace the soul of Egypt, so that the music flows through us? How do we honor the sensual feel, the grounded energy, and the enchanting undulations that we hear pulsing in the music?

 

Join us in this exploration of all this and more, from Valeriia, an award-winning dancer who spent time dancing and studying ‘over there’. We’ll start with Baladi theory and practice, basic movements, combos, and choreography. Discover how to feel the character of Baladi dance and learn how to dance like a native Egyptian!

First, the theoretical part, where Valeriia will talk about the history of Baladi dance, its different styles, main characteristics, musical structure, traditional instruments, and costumes.

w/Hip Expressions

 

Delve into the history, philosophy, and perspective from a dancer who grew up in the Arab world. Part memoir, part dance history and part instruction guide...Al-Rawi offers women of all ages a window into another culture and into themselves. This is one of the books on our must-read list for anyone who has been inspired by the Art of Belly Dance!

Join us as we gather at the Studio for a Zoom discussion with the book's author, Dr. Rosina-Fawzia Al-Rawi, in this unique and rare opportunity! Dr. Al-Rawi holds a PhD in Islamic Studies, and has been teaching Sufism for over 25 years. Her workshops, classes and training courses are based on knowledge drawn from psychology, spirituality, cultural anthropology and medicine. They are underpinned in particular by a body of knowledge known as Sufism, which has been collected and passed down over centuries, especially in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. She will join us from Vienna where she lives.

 

This Book Club opportunity is organized by a fellow belly dancer, author, and keynote speaker Allison Kenny, YACEP®, CSME, who teaches in the Villages. Her community will gather in their space for the discussion and on the Zoom, and we will gather at Hip Expressions as a sister studio, and Zoom from there. Then should we choose to continue the conversation, we can chat or grab lunch together.

 

We are collecting donations to cover the costs at Hip Expressions, and to send money to support her House of Peace - the place Dr. Al-Rawi has created in Vienna. This began as a place of stability, for people - especially women - who long to foster inner and outer peace with themselves and their surroundings, who are walking the path to self-knowledge and who need a place where they can retreat as well as meet others.

You can learn more about Dr. Al-Rawi and her work at https://www.fawzia-al-rawi.<wbr />com, and you can order the book here: https://a.co/d/eZltpaV

 

Donate what you can, no one will be turned away for financial constraints.

The Zoom link will be provided upon registration.

 

If you are coming in person, please arrive 15 minutes early so we can be respectful of Dr Al-Rawi's time. Any questions please let us know!