Ahlan!
  Learning to Belly Dance 
  About my classes
  What to Wear to Class

Ahlan! "Introduction to Middle Eastern Dance"  Welcome to Malia's "Introduction to Middle Eastern Dance". Authentic Ethnic Belly Dance,  as seen in the countries of it's origins, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey etc, is a dance of celebration. In the Middle East, everyone dances. High spirited festive family gatherings usually end up with one or more family members dancing the Raqs Sharqi or Belly Dance. Outside of the family, Belly Dance is perfomed by the professional dancer for joyous occasions such as weddings, engagements, holidays and birthdays.  Raqs Sharqi otherwise known as  Belly Dance,   is a sensuous expressive form of entertainment enjoyed by all, young and old, men, women and children.  Traditionally speaking Belly Dance is performed to live music. The dancer,  through her movements, expresses the emotions of the music  she is dancing to. She in turn, inspires the musicians. While the musicians  and the dancer creatively fuel one another, the skilled professional dancer improvises her entire performance to live music  adeptly going  where the music takes her.     In the Middle East, both the professional dancer and the  person dancing at a family party express rich emotions ranging from joy to  sorrow to ecstatic abandon. Emotional expression is the heart and soul of this beautiful timeless sexy and sensuous dance form. 

Learning to Belly Dance     Whether the goal is to become a  professional dancer,  to explore a different form of excersize,   or to just have fun discovering what this  ancient cultural dance is about, one can benefit from taking my Belly Dance Class Series.   I teach  7 Levels of Instruction (see descriptions below) Levels 1 through 4 are taught typically in a  studio environment.  Levels 5 through 7 are taught  usually by special arrangement  in the form of a workshop or by a private or semi-private  lesson format.   No matter what Level,  Belly Dance is a fun and exciting form of exercize which intorduces the student to Middle Eastern Music , exotic costumes and  different World cultures.     However, learning to master Belly Dance, is no different than mastering any other serious art form. Learning to Belly Dance  takes time and  committment .  It is up to the individual to decide what their personal Belly Dance expectations are.  The material I teach in class is of a high standard and professional caliber and can satisfy both the student who wishes to become a professional  belly dancer, or the student who simply wants to dance for personal enrichment.  And if excersize is what one is looking for, all my classes are a good workout and are designed to stretch, strengthen and build stamina through traditional Middle Eastern Dance movement .   I have been teaching  Belly Dance in the Bay Area  for decades. Many of my students have become professional dancers or  teachers themselves.  I am  committed to offering the student a high standard of instruction and encourage the student to take learning how to dance seriously.  For more insights about my teacher/student philosophy, please read Teacher Student Responsibilities

About my classes

DANCE STYLES I teach  are,  Authentic Ethnic Egyptian Raqs-Sharqi, Egyptian Folkloric, Tunisian Folkloric, Moroccan Folkloric and American Style Belly Dance (which fuses elements of the traditional ethnic  styles listed above together)   with other dance forms and Flamenco inspired movements. I introduce students to the differences in dance styles, the history of those styles and cultural information about the Middle East and North Africa.    I introduce the student to playing finger cymbals, and American Style Belly Dance elements like veil work, floor work and prop use such as sword balancing. I  teach students about North African and Middle Eastern Music and musical interpretation. I inform students about costuming and about aquiring or making costumes. 

CLASS GOALS I start all students with fundamental isolations and  Middle Eatsern Movement basics using Posture,hips,ribcage,arms.   Until fundamentals and basics are fully understood, a student can not properly progress.  As soon as  students are able to properly execute basic  steps,  I put steps together in combinations, then combinations into choreography. Choreography helps a student learn to transition from one step to another. From this point I encourage students to create their own choreographies. I help students expand their knowledge of Middle Eastern Music and teach them to  improvise to it.  The final goal is for each student to progress to the level of being  capable of improvising authentic Raqs Sharki to live traditional MIddle Eastern music.

CLASS STRUCTURE  Every class begins with  both static and energetic stretching exercises. My warm-up exercises focuses on stretching the body, strengthening important muscle groups and aerobically conditioning the student for the demands this dance form will present. We then proceed to learn/review steps, combinations and choreography appropriate to each classes skill level. Each class concludes with a cool-down stretch.  

Level 1 -2 classes I introduce students to basic movements and isolations.  In Level 1 and 2 I introduce simple  combinations of steps to give the new student an idea of how to transition from one step to another. Level 1-2 students are taught simple choreographies in order that they may learn how to execute transitions and be  attentive to musical phrasing. Level 1-2 choreographies are designed to assist the student in remembering the basic steps that they have been taught.  I introduce how to play basic finger cymbal patterns.  Music used in these levels is generally rhythm based.

Level 3-4 classes We perfect the stylization of the movements. This means the student is encouraged to not only execute the mechanics of a movement, but be able to make that movement look polished, by confidently integrating feet, arms, body and expression and can follow the music correctly.  We do more  difficult movements, isolations and combinations.  I introduce playing Finger cymbals while dancing.  Music used is rhythm based and melody focused. THis level introduces props  such as veils, balancing swords and pots plus floor work.

Levels 4-5 With polished movement vocabulary learned in previous levels,  we work with layering, for example, a series of ribcage movements and undulations executed on top of a continuous hip shimmy with rhythmic pelvic accents to match the music while arms flow from one position to another.  We work on  building our knowledge of Middle Eastern Music  identifying standard songs etc. We explore solo routine format. Students learn how to put steps together in combinations and match to the music. We also work with learning how to spontaneously improvise a solo dance.  Regional dance and music  forms such as Tunisian, Moroccan Turkish, Kashlama (9/8), Gulf Dances are introduced and explored. We also work with props such as veils, balancing swords and pots and  floor work.

Level 6-7 students should be able to create their own choreography,  be able to perform solo,  improvising comfortably to live Arabic music and execute all their movements correctly, artistically and skillfully . We also work with props such as veils, balancing swords and pots and do  floor work. I am a working performance artist. I dance   regularly both  as a soloist and with my dance company New Moon Rising.   Whether a student wishes to become a professional  belly dancer, or simply dance for personal enjoyment, the material I teach in class is of a high standard and professional caliber.   All classes are a good workout and are designed to stretch, strengthen and build stamina through traditional Middle Eastern Dance movement .  

MUSIC  I teach finger cymbals and since the new student is usually drawn first to the power of the drum, I teach the different basic drum rhythms.    In the more advanced classes, I work with the students to learn about traditional songs. We explore, dancing to their melodie as well as percussion.  Wen possible I talk about the  words, meaning and history of a particular song.  I also give information about the various composers and artists who originally performed these pieces that we use and recognize as dance classics.   I work with  students on how to interpret the music using their bodies as a visual instrument and how to capture the emotion of the musical selection through their dance. I provide students with a list of CD's that are good for practicing bellydance. 

COSTUMING I LOVE THIS PART!  I   We work with many types of costuming ideas, from Cabaret to Ethnic to many regional folkloric styles.  I also bring in Ethnic Costumes for show and tell. I advise, where the best fabric, trim and bead shops are locally. I keep students informed of festivals where I know vendors are going to be selling their goodies. I periodically set-up special workshops for my students where I bring in  artists experienced in teaching   do-it-yourself costume construction.  I also bring people in to class who make and sell costuming. Additionally, I provide my  students with lists of  vendors who sell belly dance supplies  and accessories on the internet. 

What to Wear to Class    To start belly dance you need 3 garments: workout or yoga pants, a top of your choice such as a   tank top or tee-shirt and a hip scarf for your hips.  How to choose your class attire:   Your first consideration should be to select clothing which allows you to move freely and does not constrict your movement in any way. Also consider that you want to wear a fabric that wicks moisture away from your body as you will sweat.    Stay away from garments like jeans,  which restrict movement and due not transfer moisture away from the body. Even if jeans are stretchy, they are not stretchy enough.  Yoga pants and a tank top  are great as they provide the needed stretch plus they are usualy made from fabics which wick away perspiration!  As you spend more time belly dancing, you may want to start to wear costumes to class such as Pantaloons and Long Skirts.  Long full skirts are fun,  but please wear yoga pants or leggings under them as we do leg kicks as part of our warm up exercise. You will need to wear some sort of a hip scarf or belt at the hip line so you can focus on hip movements.    I teach bare midriff,   but, going bare midriff is simply an option,not a necessity to enjoy this dance.  NOTE:  the only  garments I oppose in class are garments with glass beaded fringe.  Since we mostly dance barefoot, beaded fringe can often times break and the little bits of glass bead can end up in your foot Here is a list of local vendors who sell dance class practice wear.  

FOOT WEAR  Most Dancers enjoy dancing barefoot. But for those who wish to wear foot covering,  I suggest a soft slipper like a ballet shoe or hermes sandal.  You can have great fun with Middle Eastern Dance simply by putting on the garments that you use to do the dance in.  Dance class gives  an opportunity to wear beautiful, whimsical garments that you may never wear otherwise.  Many students enjoy putting on their  their favourite flowing skirts, colorful hip scarves, armloads of bracelets, coin headpieces, and embroidered vests to class once a week.  It's all up to you, be creative as you please.  IF YOU SEW, I will provide you with a simple pattern to make pantaloons and a circle skirt and veil

 I hope this gives a few basic ideas. Whether you  intend to make belly dancing your career  or you dance just for fun, buy costuming from Egypt or make your own: CATCH THE SPIRIT! Get the creative juices flowing, adorn yourself, be beautiful, dance well and have fun................. Malia                Back to Home