![\"Placeholder\"](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art53\/graphics53\/moniqueAdrianedrumteacher.jpg\")
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Every belly dancer who has dedicated herself to the constant improvement of her dance has enrolled in a workshop, only to feel disappointed at having spent money on a few hours where nothing new was learned. That was not the case in my experience taking a day of workshops centered around Middle Eastern Rhythms, put on by Adriane<\/a><\/strong> and Tezrah<\/strong>, two prominent members of the Sacramento belly dance community.\u00a0 The day was split into two workshops.\u00a0 The morning was spent drumming and zilling to different rhythms with Tezrah, an experienced dancer and drummer who has performed with notable bands such as Flowers of the Nile<\/em><\/strong>, while the afternoon was spent exploring dance combinations to each of those rhythms with Adriane, one of Sacramento\u2019s premiere belly dancers and winner of the 2011 Jewels of the Sierra competition<\/em><\/strong> in the Live Music category. <\/p>\n The two workshops combined a brief tutorial in the history of rhythms, practicing skills, and learning new combinations.\u00a0 I received a solid foundation in identifying and developing a familiarity with Middle Eastern rhythms.<\/p>\n Tezrah familiarized the dancers with her background in music and belly dance.\u00a0 She then demonstrated a variety of drums commonly associated with Middle Eastern belly dance music. Tezrah introduced the group to the basics of drumming, which included technique and provided instruction in the \u201cdoums, \u201cteks,\u201d and \u201ckas\u201d needed to interpret Middle Eastern drumming rhythms.\u00a0 The rhythms ranged from common rhythms such as saidi<\/em>, masmoudi<\/em>, baladi<\/em>, to less common rhythms such as wahda<\/em> kabira<\/em> and semaii<\/em>.\u00a0 Each was taught according a worksheet breaking down each rhythm according to two varieties, the core beat and a more complex rhythm.\u00a0 Each rhythm began with a brief historical introduction and an explanation of where a dancer would commonly encounter that rhythm in music.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Adriane also provided a handout laying out a choreographed set of two 8-counts for each Middle Eastern rhythm taught earlier.\u00a0 Adriane highlighted the beauty of an individual rhythm.\u00a0 Although initially I had been intimidated by some of the combinations, they proved simple to learn as Adriane broke down the steps into 4 or 8-counts.\u00a0 During the combinations, Adriane danced either in front of the group or in the middle of the dance circle. Some of the combinations proved to be more challenging for the group (such as semaii<\/em>, due to the 10\/8 count), but when this difficulty became apparent, Adriane simplified the learning process by removing the motion from the steps.\u00a0 As the dancers practiced the combination without travelling, the steps became much easier to grasp, and afterwards, the travelling was reintroduced.<\/p>\n Although at times the combinations proved challenging, I felt I had learned a graceful set of interpretive steps for each rhythm.\u00a0 I finished the day absolutely exhausted and worried that I would not be able to remember the combinations after leaving.\u00a0 But after a relaxing cool-down, Adriane also allowed the participants to film her performing the combinations to help dancers practice at home.<\/p>\n All in all, I felt that the two workshops complimented each other perfectly so that I not only learned key rhythms, but was able to capitalize upon that knowledge later that same day.\u00a0 This provided a deeper and more utilitarian experience than most workshops by capitalizing on visual, audio and kinesthetic learning skills. \u00a0I left 1) challenged and optimistic for my future dances and musical interpretation, knowing that I had developed a deeper understanding of my dance that would serve me for years to come, and 2) eager to see what future workshops would cover. <\/p>\n On a related note, dancers were invited to showcase their talents later that evening at a showcase with live music provided by Flowers of the Nile, professional photography and videography, homemade Middle Eastern cuisine, and a wide array of dance styles from the Sacramento belly dance community:<\/p>\n Have a comment? Use or comment section at the bottom of this page or Send us a letter!<\/a> Ready for more?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n Workshop Review by Nuriya posted March 6, 2011 Workshop Held at the Brazilian Cultural Center in Rancho Cordova, CA, on January 23, 2011 Every belly dancer who has dedicated herself to the constant improvement of her dance has enrolled in a workshop, only to feel disappointed at having spent money on a few hours where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2440"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2440\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Class](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/art53\/graphics53\/moniqueAdrianeclassphoto.jpg\")
\nClass photo
\nback row: Nuriya, Bonnie Lewis, Zakkiyya, Nancy Asiya, Kathi Gandara, Susan Cole, Kallista, Radhia
\nmiddle: Sawako Ama, Julia, Tasha, Jan Lowry, Tisha Leigh, Sara Pope, Ivy
\nfront: Linah, Adriane, Tezrah<\/h6>\n![\"use](\"http:\/\/www.gildedserpent.com\/graphics\/acommentbox.jpg\")
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\nCheck the "Letters to the Editor<\/a>" for other possible viewpoints!<\/p>\n\n\n
\nIt is because mediocre or non-existent practice makes for a mediocre performer and perfectly consistent practice makes for a perfect performer. <\/li>\n
\nI enjoyed her Roma dancing the most and felt that it would be amazing to watch Sema in person to experience all the facial and tiny pelvic movements. <\/li>\n
\nThe Art of the Early Egyptian Qanun Vol. 1 & 2, performed byThe Traditional Arabic Music Ensemble & Egyptian Taqasim: Produced and distributed by Nesma <\/li>\n
\nRamsey\u2019s ability to show movements of grace and femininity comes across strongly by presenting the dance as respectable and as a valid form of dance expression. <\/li>\n
\nI\u2019m glad Amel included her singing and drumming along with her dance performances. Her Berber Chaoui song is especially strong and powerful. <\/li>\n
\nThey are islands of beauty and as the two albums dance in my head, I am lost in a dream of visions \u2013 colors, light and dark, pure and hazy, and smells of incense and flowers wafting in the breeze of temperate temperature which encircle me and the choreographies of my mind.<\/li>\n
\nCarmine Guida (New York) Pat Olson (Californina) and I, are all members of the band, Pangia. In August of 2010, we had the pleasure of teaching workshops and performing at Yaa Halla, Y\u2019all! in Grapevine, of the Dallas\/Fort Worth area of Texas. It was a distinct delight to have enthusiastic, involved, and engrossed participants in attending our workshops. <\/li>\n
\nWe caught Barbara at the Belly Dancer of the Universe Competition in Long Beach in February 2011. She tells us of her trip to Cairo trying to attend the Nile Festival. Included are descriptions of getting to her hotels, rode blocks, checkpoints, neighborhood militias, attending classes, cell phone video, curfew, teachers including Aida Nour, How caring Mohamed was of his group. Barbara is a vendor of belly dance costumes. <\/li>\n
\nFrom the first moment that I arrived in Stockholm until I left, I felt warmly welcomed, relaxed, and it felt so fantastic to be with Zeina and Mohamed Abu Shibeka, that I spend my most memorable time there!<\/li>\n
\nSince Tribal Fusion is also easily accessible, there have been dancers who begin performing and calling themselves professional when really they are just hobbyists. A professional belly dancer would never label her dance genre based on an aesthetic. <\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"