free trial class for beginners - bellydance

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Saturday August 5th we invite you to a free trial class at Studio Orient!

This is an introduciton to bellydance, and no prior experience is necessary.

To join simply send us an email with your name and phonenumber. Friends and family are welcome to join too, just add the name of all participants.

Note that this class is for women only. 

Tie: 13:00-14:00 (1pm-2pm)

As there often is a waitlist we appreciate it if you give us notice in advance if you are unable to come. That way we can offer your spot to someone on the waitlist.

Welcome!

Stay tuned for the next trialclass date.

RANYA RENEE returns to Oslo to offer two workshops in Egyptian dance, combining muscular technique with musicality

-------Egyptian to the Core: Go Deep with Your Technique-------
Whether you love classic style or enjoy the modern flourishes so popular today, this workshop will help you gain a more rooted sense of confidence in your Egyptian dance. Prepare to get juicy and get in touch with your muscles! You'll gain physical and breathwork tools to go deeper in your body, in dialogue with the music. This is an integrated technique foundation, from the ground up, that allows you to stay calm and centered, breathe comfortably while dancing, integrate musicality into your physical technique, and use that technique to connect emotionally.

We will cover:
-- Dance movement exercises involving postural and muscular connections in the body -- the pelvic floor, psoas, deeper abdominals, backside, and rib cage
-- Practice applying these movement connections to Egyptian music, including taqasim (melodic improvisation) and different speeds of baladi music
-- Using the physical techniques to develop the art of improvisation in your dance
-- Making the social connection: an introduction to using your musicality and simple improvisation to invite connection from an audience or fellow dancers you are improvising with

You'll also develop your understanding of which parts of the dance are more "Egyptian to the core," versus more Western-influenced, and how to be aware when blending them, according to your music selection and your feeling. 

------Organically Grown Egyptian Oriental: The Classic Approach------

Explore the early 20th century roots of Egyptian Oriental dance and its development as a cabaret and stage art, building movement vocabulary inspired by the stars of that era. Ranya will work with steps and styling made popular by such famous names of the black-and-white “Golden Age” of Egyptian cinema, stars such as Samia Gamal, Naima Akef, and Tahia Carioca, as well as their lesser known contemporaries. There is a contrast between the more choreographic “folkore for the stage”-based approach to the dance so commonly seen today vs. the old-school style developed organically by the original awalem dancing girls and elegantly adapted for 5-star nightclubs and classic movies. 

We will cover:
-- Working with movements from dual centers in the body: "low center," with the deep, rooted connection in the feet and pelvis as found in native dances of the Middle East and Africa; and "high center," with a lifted rib cage and emphasis on long body lines, an influence of Western classical dance.
-- "Looping" techniques that work with an Arabic melody line, not only with counts of 8 (taking inspiration from Samia Gamal (see the 1952 Life magazine article here: http://mideasti.blogspot.com/.../life-magazine-1952-samia... )
-- Bringing in-place movements of the early classic and awalem traditions into choreographed space, to keep a classic looping feeling even in your traveling steps
-- Applying these methods to famous music selections, alternating subtle in-place movements and more expansive traveling sections dependent on the musicality (for example, solo instrument or vocal vs. full orchestra)
-- Transitions: how to connect the musicality of the in-place sections to stage patterns in choreography or improvisation, to move seamlessly from one to the other
-- Steps and turning techniques that highlight energy peaks in the music, which enhance your stage presence when used effectively

Through this workshop, you'll learn tools that maximize your presence on the beat and in the melody, helping you feel more grounded and more powerful.