Workshop Descriptions

"Strange Presence" by Tempest
It's all about bleeding your soul out to audience, serving it to them on a platter, and then eating THEM for lunch instead. A truly successful performance does more than show how well you can do the moves - it should really speak to your audience and exude expression. You CAN learn how to have a stronger personality on stage and channel that energy for a more dynamic performance. Discover the key aspects of capturing your audience with your stage presence and develop your own onstage drama! We will particularly focus on improvisational technique, character development, and learning to be more "in the moment." This class is especially for any dancer who is ready to perform or is considering it.

"Dancing your Demons: Dramatic Dance through Emotional Expression" by Asharah
Experience Level: Intermediate beginner and above.
Within each one of us is our true, instinctual self, and we often ignore or repress her (or him) in our everyday lives. Our instinctual self is not rational, and yet to dance to our fullest, we must acknowledge our instinct, acting upon it without second-guessing it and while still harnessing it for a clean and stage-worthy performance. Our instincts are raw, untamed and absolutely essential to a dancer who wishes to give a moving and expressive performance. In this workshop, Asharah will lead students through physical exercises aimed at drawing out instinctual responses to music and other students in class. She will also explain her own emotional preparation process, giving guidelines andtips on how to be "in the moment" before you even take the stage. Students must leave their egos at the door, and judgmental or critical behavior will not be tolerated.

Instructor Bios

Tempest - www.darklydramatic.com
Tempest pulls from her visual arts background (BFA from RISD), literary tendencies, and global inspirations to create dance that crosses the boundaries of time and culture. Tempest began her journey into dance in 2000, and has traveled the country to study traditional, folkloric, and fusion forms of bellydance. She is the premiere instructor of Gothic Bellydance in North America, and her extensive work in the genre has helped to define and develop the movement across the world. Her compelling performances exemplify her distinctively theatrical and expressionate style, and are rooted in oriental dance technique with a transcendent approach. Her costume designs have revolutionized the look of modern bellydance, and continue to inspire new and old generations of dancers alike.

Asharah - www.asharah.com
Asharah is renowned for her strong technique and dramatic fusion of tribal and cabaret bellydance, and she has extensive experience in Turkish, Egyptian, and American bellydance. She has teaches and performs her unique tribal fusion style around the world, and she is currently a faculty member at two of the Washington DC area's finest dance schools: Saffron Dance in Arlington, Virginia, and Joy of Motion Dance Center in Washington, DC. She released her first instructional DVD, Modern Tribal Bellydance, in early 2008, and she is featured on the groundbreaking DVD Gothic Bellydance: The Darker Side of Fusion. As a student of Middle Eastern history, she believes that every belly dancer must know the history and culture of this dance, whether she is performing it in its traditional forms or fusing it with others.

This page was last modified on 07/03/2009

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