Workshop Programme
Workshop numbers are limited according to space. Below you will find a registration form to fill in with your choices and send us.
Please print 2 forms, one for yourself and one to send to us with your workshop preferences.
A NOTE ON LEVELS OF EXPERIENCE
All our artists have their own approach and method of teaching. So, whatever your level, you should find something to take away with you. Fusion, Persian and North African dance workshops are suitable for all levels; for Egyptian dance you will need at least a general technique; and to gain the most from performance workshops you need some dance technique, of whatever kind, as well as a desire to explore beyond the basics of just letting your hair down!
Themes marked * indicate that a further explanatory note follows the workshop list.
SATURDAY
SAT 9.30-12
FLAMENCO DESCALZO Valérie Romanin
Valérie is the creator of Barefoot Flamenco. She introduces its fundamental elements, including posture, arms, travelling steps, transitions & rhythmic foot patterns. This workshop also looks at how to incorporate the energy/technique of Barefoot Flamenco into Egyptian dance.
THREE FACES OF WOMAN Wendy Buonaventura
Creator, flirt and siren: the energy of these and other personae can be powerfully expressed in dance. This session looks at liberating some of our unexplored energies through dance creation, and includes improvisation exercises.
MOROCCAN SHIKHAT * Nawarra
An absolute joy and fun to do, shikhat involves shoulder shimmies, circles and hair tossing and expresses energy and emotion through group movement.
EGYPTIAN BALADI * Béatrice Grognard
Baladi’s urban origin is reflected in its combination of spontaneity and artistic refinement. This workshop explores the powerful connection between hips and precise arm technique, leading to elegance of line in the body.
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SAT 12.15-1.15
SEMINAR “NOT MY WIFE OR DAUGHTER!” Venus Saleh
Drawing on her personal experience, Venus examines the experience of Middle Eastern dancers who, like her, have faced prejudice on both domestic and social levels. She explores the historical and religious roots of this prejudice, and looks at how to rise above it, in presenting the art of dance for the public.
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SAT 1.30-3
PIZZICA * Lucia Zahara
Southern Italian trance dance of women, currently enjoying a huge revival. A wonderful party dance. Bring a red scarf and plenty of energy.
BERBER SHLOUGH DANCE * Nawarra
This line dance, in which dancers move as a single unit, is spectacular to watch. A powerful energy is produced from its combination of handclapping and stomping feet.
EGYPTIAN GHAWAZEE (Part A) * Béatrice Grognard
How to express contrasting energies in the traditional gypsy dance of southern Egypt: elegance & simplicity, precise technique & looseness of form, distance & direct communication. This workshop is in 2 parts, with different material covered in each part. You can sign up for either.
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SAT 3.30 – 4.30
GILAKI Venus Saleh
Harvest dance from the Caspian Sea region of Iran, miming the planting and harvesting of rice. A lively, happy dance presented in colourful costumes decorated with ribbons.
EGYPTIAN GHAWAZEE (Part B) Béatrice Grognard
See description above
DUENDE Karine Butchart
Enliven your dance and bring greater awareness to your movement and expression by exploring themes of contrast: expansion/contraction, dynamism/stillness, fluidity/sharpness. (This workshop includes improvisation.)
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Sat 3.30 – 4.30
SEMINAR: PRODUCING A SHOW Wendy Buonaventura
In creating a show, we set off for an unknown country. If we want to remain friends with our fellow-dancers after this journey, there’s more to think about than choreography. A creative, practical guide for the intrepid traveller, looking at finance, lighting, rehearsal procedures and much more…
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SUNDAY
NB: You have an extra half hour in bed this morning!
SUN 10-12.30
RAQS SHARQI MODERN CLASSICAL * Béatrice Grognard
Expression of the arms and creative interpretation of the music, using pieces recorded by musicians from the Cairo Opera
GUEDRA Nawarra
Guedra hand movements express symbolic meanings, addressing the four elements and blessing all present. (This trance dance of the Blue People of the Sahara is performed on the knees.)
PERSIAN CLASSICAL * Venus Saleh
Court entertainment of the Ghajar period (1830-1940), when dancers were rewarded with jewellery which they sewed into their costumes; this workshop includes Band Andazoon, a humorous mime depicting the application of cosmetics. (Band Andazoon can be presented as a solo dance or as part of a longer piece.)
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BALADI-TANGO FUSION Wendy Buonaventura
Drawing on shared characteristics of Egyptian baladi and Argentinean tango - their languour, use of the floor and bluesy music – Wendy’s fusion innovation also looks at working with a partner (though not in the traditional tango ‘embrace’!)
EGYPTIAN FUNDAMENTALS Caroline Afifi
It’s not what you do, it’s the way that you do it…
BABA KARAM Venus Saleh
Have fun with Baba Karam, originally a gangsters’ social dance from Tehran. During the 1960s it moved to the mainstream and women created their own version, mimicking macho behaviour and turning it into a comic cross-dressing parody of tough guy behaviour.
SUFI DANCE OF EGYPT (Part A) * Béatrice Grognard
Profound emotions may arise during sufi dance, involving feelings of not only elation but perhaps of loss, anger and renunciation. Sufi dance has a therapeutic, even spiritual element. Its goal is release, reconciliation and a return of positive feeling. If you are attending only one workshop on this theme, you should come to Part A.
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SUN 3.30-4.30
DANCING WITH VEILS Hazel Kayes
Via musical interpretation, this workshop looks at making the veil part of oneself, using its flowing, as well as fiery, qualities.
SUFI DANCE OF EGYPT (Part B) Béatrice Grognard
See description for (Part A)
TURKISH ROMA Lucia Zahara
Danced to a 9/8 rhythm (Docuz Sekiz): basic footwork, subtleties of movement, hand gestures and the energy that powers the dance of Turkish Roma.
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3.30 – 4.30:
SEMINAR: TODAY’S CAIRO CLUB SCENE Caroline Afifi
Egyptian dance today is an ever-changing entertainment, and women who perform it for a living are subject to complex political pressures. Caroline is regularly in Cairo, and in this seminar looks at changes in style and shifting perspectives on female performers.
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* SOME DANCE DEFINITIONS
A GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXEDRAQS SHARQI (literally 'dance of the East') has, over the past 25 years, become a catch-all term used by dancers to refer to Middle Eastern women’s dance, with a strong emphasis on Egyptian technique. The Raqs Sharqi Society (UK) is dedicated to teaching the Suraya Hilal method, which is based on an eclectic dance language drawn strongly (but not exclusively) from the rich vocabulary of Egyptian dance. At Sirocco we always have a strand of workshops given by teachers who trained in the Hilal method, and who may have gone on to develop their own innovations in it.
EGYPTIAN DANCE
Some commonly taught styles of Egyptian dance areBaladi the urban blues of Egyptian dance, often improvised to a taqsim on a single dominant instrument such as accordion or saxophone.
Classical a somewhat confusing name, in that this style does not belong to a particular period of Egyptian history; instead it is a hybrid which has assimilated outside influences from both East and West, woven into a strong Egyptian framework.
Ghawazee sometimes known as gypsy dance; traditional style passed down through the tribe or family, who are hired to entertain at festive occasions within the community.
Sa’idi earthy folk style of the Egyptian south (rather confusingly known as Upper Egypt)
PERSIAN DANCE has a rich tradition that has absorbed aspects of movement and music from Iran’s surrounding countries; these range from the expressive face and hands of India to the group dances of the Gulf. It has, in addition, retained its elegant courtly traditions.
NORTH AFRICAN DANCE Many traditional dances of Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria involve group energy. Some are celebratory or ritual dances , others mime a work activity, and some are based on developing energy through strong repetitive movement.
TRANCE DANCE is found in many cultures, and varies enormously from country to country. A feature of this type of ritual dance is that it is not practised for the benefit of spectators, but for the body to release emotion and energy. In this way, trance dancing is particularly therapeutic and can have a strong spiritual element. It may awaken profound emotions and produce an altered state in those who practise it. Its goal is release and reconciliation. Some trance dances are based on strong, repetitive rhythms, whilst others are accompanied also by melody.
AMERICAN TRIBAL STYLE (ATS) Developed in San Francisco in the 1970s by Carolena Nericcio, ATS is based on the power of the group and on improvisation within a learned framework. It draws freely on dance movement from different cultures, with a noticeably Middle Eastern use of upper torso and hips. It offers great creative freedom and has given rise to many fusion offshoots.
DANCE FUSION Not to be confused with ATS Fusion (see above); dance fusion offers a chance to be creative whilst utilising dance languages we have already mastered. Developed by individual performers, fusion forms may involve elements of all kinds of dance.
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For all questions, enquiries and bookings please email or telephone (+44) 0117 927 3099 or email: info@siroccofestival.org.uk
Sirocco Arts, P. O. Box 1071, Bristol BS99 1HE.copyright Wendy Buonaventura
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