Serpentine Dance Studios

LEILA FARID
24-26 JULY 2020

Leila was one of the most popular dancers in Cairo for 13 years. She performed all over in Egypt, throughout Europe and the Arabian Gulf, dancing for parties, dignitaries, weddings, cruises, in the best hotels and television concerts.  Leila was also a well-known actress, model and recognizable personality throughout the Middle East. She was involved in hundreds of TV shows, music videos, commercials and films.

Since returning to America, Leila continues to teacher her exquisite dance style, drawing on her decades of experience, thousands of hours on stage in Egypt and her knowledge of Egyptian culture.   Leila has also produced some of the best-loved dance CDs today (one of the few dancers to utilize a "live sound" in her productions).  She is featured in the top selling belly dance DVDs on Amazon and was the founder of Camp Negum, a yearly live music dance festival in Egypt that focused on exposing students to the culture behind the dance.   Her writings about dance and culture are utilized by scholars and dancers around the world.

SCHEDULE
Friday, 24 July, 2020
7:30 - 9:30 pm - Champagne Reception and lecture. $20.00

Saturday, 25 July
11:00 am - 1:30 pm - Dancing with the Whole Body: Hands, Arms, Legs, Feet, Facial Expressions and Gestures! - Raks Sharki is a fusion of power and subtle movement and emotions. A single leg shimmy can capture rapt attention and a shoulder lift can melt hearts.   A wink and they might pledge their undying devotion.  We will explore using hands, arms, legs, feet, facial expressions and gestures to create a new dimension in your dance.

Lunch

2:30 - 5:00 pm  — Interpreting a Classical Song:  This class will bring out your creativity and inspiration by breaking down the structure of classical Arabic music and then layering lyrics and movement on top. Learn how to portray the lyrical quality of Arabic poetry through your body.

8:00 pm - Hafla - a low key performance opportunity at the studio where Leila will headline! Performers can have up to 10 minutes each, but must have taken at least one workshop. A video of your performance is included. $20.00 for performers, $10.00 to watch

Sunday, 26 July, 2020

11:00 - 1:30 pm  - Meleya Lef:  From a charming Reda inspired folkloric tribute to Alexandria to an Awalim sass-fest full of delah, two choreographies will paint very different pictures of the versatile melaya.  The class will include lyrics, video footage and a short discussion on the history, the way to wear it and how to dance with the meleya.

2:30 - 5:00 pm - All Things Beledi:  If you can dance well Egyptians will like you.  If you can dance a beledi well they will LOVE you.  Using improvisation, we will explore the most Egyptian of all the Arabic musical forms.  2.5 hours

PRICING
Early Bird pricing - $80.00 per 2.5 hour class or $300.00 for the weekend package, which includes the Friday reception and a performance slot in the Saturday show. Regular pricing will start 1 May. We are offering the option to pay a non-refundable deposit of $100 with balance due 7 June. https://squareup.com/store/Serpentine-Dance/item/workshop-package-deposit

PRIVATE LESSONS
Leila will also be available for a limited number of private lessons for anything you want to work on. Contact info@serpentine.org for details on cost and availability.

Washington DC Welcomes LUNA OF CAIRO for another Egyptian dance intensive !

Luna is an international belly dance star who performed in Egypt's top hotels and Nile cruises from 2008 - 2018. She appeared on Egyptian television channels such as El-Tea and in music videos of some of Egypt's most popular singers (Higazi Mitqal, Mahmoud El-Hosseiny, Simsim Shehab, Ragab El-Prince, and Ahmed Salah) as well as being a featured dancer in several movies.

In addition to performing, Luna has taught all over the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, England, Poland, Japan, and Egypt, where she was a regularly featured teacher at Raqia Hassan’s Ahlan wa Sahlan Festival.

Luna holds a Master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University, where she studied radical Islamist movements in the Arab world. She is fluent in Egyptian Arabic, Spanish, and English, and holds a B.A. in journalism and political science. Luna keeps a blog about her belly dance experiences at Kisses from Kairo* (www.kissesfromkairo.blogspot.com) and sells costumes at www.kairokloset.com.

SCHEDULE

Friday 18 September 2020:
7:30 - 9:30 pm - Champagne Reception and discussion “Crash Course in Egyptian Culture - Things No One Wants to Teach You …”

Saturday 19 September 2020:
11:00 - 1:30 pm - Shaabi
Are you ready for Luna's famous shaabi workshops? This year Luna is bringing the slums of Cairo to DC in a ridiculously real and raw shaabi class that will bring out your inner Egyptian teenage boy. Get ready to sweat and move in ways you never thought possible.

Shaabi dancing is the child of Egyptian street culture. Like raqs sharqi, it is an improvisational dance form, however the movements borrow heavily from hip-hop and Egyptian street dance. Luna will also explain the significance of the gestures and a transliteration and translation of the lyrics.

Lunch

2:30 - 5:00 pm - Egyptian Arms, Hands, & Spins
Proper arm and hand placement are essential to good Egyptian style dancing. In this workshop, Luna will demonstrate clean, precise, and creative arm and hand patters to frame your dancing, as well as distinctive ways to spin to add dramatic effect.

8:00 pm - low key performance opportunity at the studio. Luna will be performing! A video of your performance is included.

Sunday 20 September:
11:00 - 1:30 - Mawal
Many Egyptians songs  feature a  mawal, a type of vocal improvisation that is usually presented before the actual song begins.  It is characterized by emotional singing  with little if any musical accompaniment, and is an excellent example of tarab.  Sometimes, the singer "mawals" the refrain of the song. Other times, the mawal's lyrics do not repeat any of the song's words.  Either way, dancing to mawals is challenging. It requires both fluency in Arabic and a familiarity with Egyptian gestures. In this workshop, Luna will walk you through 3-4 different mawals (classic and shaabi), translate their lyrics, and explore different ways of interpreting them.  By the end of this class, you should feel more confident dancing to mawals, and not edit them out of your routines.

lunch

2:30 - 5:00 - Egyptian Technique & Combos
Luna will teach some typical Egyptian-styled movements, as well as some of her signature ones that she developed over the course of her dance career in Cairo. She will explain how they differ in emphasis,  genesis, and meaning to American-flavored movements, as well as demonstrate how to string them together into unique, unpredictable combinations.  Luna will also break down the movements into "families" according to their qualities and explain how to use that categorization to develop your own unique technique.

PRIVATE LESSONS
Luna will also be available for a limited number of private lessons for anything you want to work on including, competition coaching, improvisational technique, choreography, etc. Contact info@serpentine.org for details on cost and availability.

ALL CLASSES AND EVENTS TO BE HELD AT THE STUDIO.
NO REFUNDS