• Technique Master Class: An intense master class with complex technique, mechanics of movement, a focus on timing and advanced traveling steps will be covered in this class. Practicing drills and learning how to articulate moves to maximize visual effect on stage will be discussed as well. Combined with an intense warm-up and a relaxing cool down, this is the perfect class to get your body in gear. (Advanced)

• Moving from Head To Toe: This moderately paced class breaks down every basic movement; slides, circles, undulations, figure eights and shimmies to give the beginner student a grasp of the technique necessary for belly dancing. Not only for beginners; this class is also recommended for those dancers who want to polish their basics or even for those who want to go into teaching. (Beginners – Intermediate)

• Latin / Arabic Fusion Combinations: Learn how to put your Salsa, Mambo, Cha-Cha and more into your belly dancing. This moderately paced class will teach you simple and flavorful combinations to incorporate into your own dance routine. (An Original Latin-Arab Fusion Choreography can be taught in this course if requested and if time allows). (Intermediate – Advanced)

• The Boženka Experience: Let yourself be inspired, entertained and challenged in this upbeat master class with Boženka. Students will learn three beautiful combinations filled with Boženka’s Signature moves that they can apply to their own dance repertoire. Instruction will be given on immaculate and dynamic hip technique, graceful and fluid upper body posture and stage presence. Bozenka is known for challenging students while bringing out the best in each dancer at their individual level. (Advanced / Professional)

• Facial Expression and Body Language by Boženka: This is one of Boženka’s most popular workshops among dancers who are at an advanced or professional level. This workshop focuses on the interpretation between Dancer and Music as well as the communication between Dancer and Audience. Boženka uses creative methods to encourage dancers to interpret the feelings caused by the music and to learn to convey that emotion to the audience. Dancers learn how appropriate body language and using facial expressions take their performance to a higher level. (Advanced / Professional)

Karim Nagi: 2 hrs – R 380 pp, per workshop

• Saidi Tahleeb and Raqs Assaya (can dancing): The southern half of Egypt, known as Upper Egypt due to its higher altitude, is called “Al Said” in Arabic (pronounced iSay-yeed)”. The Saidi people are famous for this semi-acrobatic stick dance called “Tahteeb” for men and “Raqs Assaya” for women. It is essentially a form of martial art where the manipulation of the stick and the demeanor of movement replicated a battle scene. The main motions with the stick include spinning, twirling, rowing, flipping and striking. Often two dancers will enact a friendly battle with synchronized sparing and co-coordinated strikes. But the essence of the Saidi dance is in its demeanor. The body moves heavily and confidently with a subtle pulse. Grace is more valued than aggression. This dance is done solo or in groups where the sticks are operated in unison, and men and woman play together.

• Cymbals (zill compositions): Learn a complete multi sound moving sagat & zill composition. Karim Nagi teaches his 8 sound, ambidextrous finger cymbal system, in the context of a song choreography. Students will learn short compositions that feature the highly melodic cymbals, in a way that will enthrall an audience. The songs can be performed by any number of dancers, and can be referenced to a pre existing recording. The students will move and isolate their bodies to emulate the cymbal-melodic phrases and percussive accents. This complete song can be performed by anyone, as an alternative, and segway, to any style of performance to pre recorded music. The multi sound, sustained note, and bi-dexterous positions, will demonstrate a dancers musicality and percussive dialoguing abilities. These cymbal songs will arrest any audience, as they proclaim that the dancer is also a musician !!!

• Maqam and Taqsim: Maqam is the Arabic system of scales and melody creation. All songs, weather classical, pop or dance, are created in a Maqam, which dictates whether the song is happy, somber, uplifting, spiritual or sensual. Singing the maqam often helps the dancer feel the emotion created by the distances between each note. We then align notes in the scale with specific body isolations, allowing them to follow a Maqam by using their bodily dance vocabulary. Dancers will learn how to recognize, sing and move to maqams by learning famous song examples. Special attention will be given to Taqsim, the art of instrumental solo improvisation. The dancer will practice interpreting the instrumental music into movement and personifying the mood of the music. This workshop is vital for dancers who wish to better interpret melody into movement.

• Riqq (Arabic Tambourine): RIQQ RAQS (the tambourine dance) : The dance of the tambourine is a perfect synthesis of rhythm and motion. Students will learn to play famous rhythms, accents, and improvised solo phrases on the riqq. A dozen steps, isolations, and folkloric ritual movement combinations will be added to the playing of the riqq. The dancing drummers will play above the head, rotate, travel, and step with their musical prop. The class will create formations using human patterns, where each dancer moves in opposition, and unison, with the other players. The class culminates in a choreographed ritual, where each dancer delivers a rhythmic riqq solo, as the rest answer in a tambourine chorus. Students must bring Any tambourine that has plastic or animal skin surface and cymbals. We will move to our own live music.

• Rhythm for Dancers – part 2: It’s time to raise the bar for rhythmic literacy! A dancer’s immediate connection to the music is the rhythm produced by the Tabla and percussion. Karim teaches each rhythm using the three-sound clapping approach. Karim then performs sample rhythms on the Tabla. Students will learn each rhythm by name, “dum-tak” vocalization, and clapping. Afterwards the dancers will learn choreography segments to help gain bodily control with the sample rhythm, putting theory into practice. He presents 7 to 10 rhythms that vary in complexity, and inspire a variety of movements. By physically personifying each Rhythm, bodily mastery of that rhythm will be achieved. The dancer will be able to perform and teach each rhythm with greater accuracy and authenticity. This movement workshop is perfect for any dancer who wants to better understand what they are dancing to.

Workshops in Cape Town:

Boženka: 2 hrs – R 380 pp, per workshop

• Technique Master Class: An intense master class with complex technique, mechanics of movement, a focus on timing and advanced traveling steps will be covered in this class. Practicing drills and learning how to articulate moves to maximize visual effect on stage will be discussed as well. Combined with an intense warm-up and a relaxing cool down, this is the perfect class to get your body in gear. (Advanced)

• Moving from Head To Toe: This moderately paced class breaks down every basic movement; slides, circles, undulations, figure eights and shimmies to give the beginner student a grasp of the technique necessary for belly dancing. Not only for beginners; this class is also recommended for those dancers who want to polish their basics or even for those who want to go into teaching. (Beginners – Intermediate)

• Latin / Arabic Fusion Combinations: Learn how to put your Salsa, Mambo, Cha-Cha and more into your belly dancing. This moderately paced class will teach you simple and flavorful combinations to incorporate into your own dance routine. (An Original Latin-Arab Fusion Choreography can be taught in this course if requested and if time allows). (Intermediate – Advanced)

• The Boženka Experience: Let yourself be inspired, entertained and challenged in this upbeat master class with Boženka. Students will learn three beautiful combinations filled with Boženka’s Signature moves that they can apply to their own dance repertoire. Instruction will be given on immaculate and dynamic hip technique, graceful and fluid upper body posture and stage presence. Boženka is known for challenging students while bringing out the best in each dancer at their individual level. (Advanced / Professional)

Karim Nagi: 2 hrs – R 380 pp, per workshop

• Musicality for Dancers: Despite any mastery of technique and bodily dexterity, true dance expression requires musicality. The best dancers are those who emulate the music into their own movement. Karim will demystify Arab music for the dancer. Several recurring themes in Arab music will be identified (using recorded examples) and explained in emotive, non musical terms. The class will cover Taksim, Melodic Themes, Vocal vs Instrumental Songs, Rhythms & Rhythmic Changes, Melodic Modulation, Song Structure, Orchestration and Instrumentation. Karim will guide the students through several songs and lead them in dancing to each of these themes. This is a movement class that will help the dancer become the physical personification of the music.
• Sagats: Karim has developed a comprehensive zill method that utilizes drum techniques, and an Ambidextrous approach. He uses the Egyptian Sufi Zikr aesthetic with multiple sounds, open and closed, sizzle and rapid combinations. Karim has crystallized the 8-sound method, and has made it easy and natural to learn. Students will learn the Arabic rhythms by name and how to play them while dancing! They will learn how to use the cymbals to communicate rhythms to a band and accent solo dancing and body movements. Dancers and percussionists of all levels are welcome. He will also teach dance combinations, solo patterns, train the dancer in musicality, and teach when-and-when-not to play within an Arabic song. Karim promises to transform dancers into musicians with his finger cymbal teaching approach.

• Rhythm for Dancers: It’s time to raise the bar for rhythmic literacy! A dancer’s immediate connection to the music is the rhythm produced by the Tabla and percussion. Karim teaches each rhythm using the three-sound clapping approach. Karim then performs sample rhythms on the Tabla. Students will learn each rhythm by name, “dum-tak” vocalization, and clapping. Afterwards the dancers will learn choreography segments to help gain bodily control with the sample rhythm, putting theory into practice. He presents 7 to 10 rhythms that vary in complexity, and inspire a variety of movements. By physically personifying each Rhythm, bodily mastery of that rhythm will be achieved. The dancer will be able to perform and teach each rhythm with greater accuracy and authenticity. This movement workshop is perfect for any dancer who wants to better understand what they are dancing to.

• Drum Solo (Dancer Drummer communication): This workshops bridges the gap between the two disciplines. Students will learn how interpret sound into movement by aligning body parts and motions with drum sounds and riffs. Once the movement-to-sound correspondence is established, students will prepare to perform to drum solos. The six-part drum-solo will be explained, theme by theme. Students will then perform to any combination of these 6 major drum solo themes. Students will learn how to both lead and follow the drummer by maintaining the common language. Improvisation skills will be encouraged, and the daunting prospect of dancing to a LIVE drum solo will be demystified. This dance workshop can also be configured to include drummers as well.

Payment plans available

Belly Dance Yalla ~ Performance

Johannesburg Performance -28 April 2012 & Cape Town Performance – 04 May 2012

Please note that we will only be considering performers (solos, duets, trios and groups), that have at least booked a min of 2 workshops with both Bozenka and Karim Nagi.

Should you be interested in performing in the showcase alongside Bozenka and Karim Nagi, please email us for consideration.

For WORKSHOP bookings contact:
Angela Sanders
Belly Dance Goddess
Tel: 082 606 1515
E-mail: angela@bellydancebabes.co.za Web: www.bellydancegoddess.co.za

AND

For PERFORMANCE bookings contact:
Natalie Misplon
Dancing Divinity
Tel: 083 781 2766
Email: natalie@dancingdivinity.com Web: www.dancingdivinity.com

MISS BELLY DANCE SA 2012’s dates are: 28 April 2012.

Venue – Jabula Recreation Centre – Sandringham.

International Judges are – Boženka and Karim Nagi
Local Judges – Angela Sanders – Kash Athanatos – BDASA member (to be advised shortly)

Please note – this competition is open to ALL studios within Africa