Home >> Current Students >> Beginner Level Classes Beginner Level Classes

Descriptions of the Choreographies taught in the Beginners' level Classes

BEGINNERS' LEVEL I COURSES

BEGINNER'S LEVEL II COURSES:

Below a description of the standard beginner dances:

Beginner's Level I

Jasmine This dance was originally choreographed by arguably the most famous Middle Eastern dance choreographer of the late twentieth century -- Ibrahim Farrah. It is our beginners' level finger cymbals Dance. The choreography incorporates both folk & cabaret styles, which makes it exciting & innovative. It is a cute, fast paced dance, which is lots of fun to learn. And, best of all, Jasmine gives you the opportunity to smoothly incorporate playing finger cymbals in a choreography. Props: Finger cymbals are required for this class, which can be purchased on the first day of class.

Vele Ya Vele Vele Ya Vele was choreographed by Schadia. This is a lively song that has a very cute & sassy modern Egyptian style dance to go along with it. You will definitely have fun AND break a sweat in this class. The only "props" needed are Energy & At-ti-tude! :) Props: None

Irkosily Veil Dance This is our new beginners' level veil dance. The American film industry and popularity of belly dance in the U.S. has been a big influence on the world of modern oriental dancing. Because of this influence, there developed over the years a style in belly dancing called "American Fantasy." The American Fantasy style incorporates some western dance technique as well as the use of props, such as veils, into the dance. Irkosily was choreographed by the lovely & talented Margo Adu O'dell. It is a wonderful choreography, which assists you in learning how to use our most beautiful prop -- the veil. This is an elegant & graceful dance that will make you feel like a beautiful princess. Props: A veil is required for this class. You can purchase a veil on the first day of class.

Irkosily Beledi Dance This is a cute and sexy dance that was originally choreographed by Margo Adu O'dell and spiced up a bit by Schadia. This dance has some really innovative steps & is very cool. It is fun, fairly fast-paced & sassy with touches of elegance and grace too. Something for everyone! Props: None required.

The Pharonic Dance This dance was choreographed by the very gifted dancer Dahlena. It was given a complete make-over by Nazeem Allayl Dancer, Saleema and is even more fabulous than before. The Pharonic Dance takes beautiful new age music & fuses it with the most ancient of Egyptian movement. It is a modeled after the dances of the Pharos of ancient Egypt. Props: This is a candle dance and incorporates the use of candles into the choreography.

Mizmar This dance was originally choreographed by arguably the most famous Middle Eastern dance choreographer of the late twentieth century -- Ibrahim Farrah. Schadia has updated the choreography & given it new energy and flare. Mizmar is a choreography in the classical Egyptian style. It is flowing, graceful and powerful & a student favorite. This dance is just what you picture when you think "belly dance." Props: None

Every Way that I can This beautiful beginners' level dance was choreographed by Aya, a premier dancer in the Nazeem Allayl Dance Company, to the song Every Way that I can. The song contains traditional Turkish rhythms interpreted in a western pop style and won the highly acclaimed European song competition Eurovision in 2003. Aya's choreography is inspired by the traditional palaces dances of Turkey, but also has a western edge & flair to it and includes some light, beginner level, Turkish style floor work too! Props: None

Nar Chicegi This class is a Beginner's Level I course, and is designed for students with little or no previous dance experience. This dance was choreographed by Aya, a premier dancer in the Nazeem Allayl Dance Company. You are going to love its playful, flirtatious feel! Aya choreographed Nar Chicegi in the beautiful Balkan Turkish style. It is a soft, sweet, flowing dance to a song about a lively and mischievous woman seeking her true love. You will be using a veil in a fun and playful way and will also be doing some really neat folk steps. Props: A veil is required for this class. You can purchase a veil on the first day of class.

Yoam Wara Yoam Yoam Wara Yoam our newest Beginners' Level I Dance. It is a cabaret style fusion dance, which was choreographed by Schadia. The choreography is soft, graceful, and sweet, with a little sassy-ness too. Yoam Wara Yoam means "Day after Day" in Arabic. The song is about two loved ones, who have been separated, but are finally able to reunite & be together at long last. Accompanying your choreography notes with this dance will be the song's lyrics and their English translation. This way you can understand all the words and even sing along if you want! Props Required: None

Technique Course (Level I)

If you need to burn off some of those holiday pounds, this is the class for you! This class will focus exclusively on belly dance technique. Your instructor will go over basic moves with you in great detail -- breaking down individual moves and showing you ways to establish and improve your belly dance technique. This class gives you the workout of your life! Be ready to sweat, burn off some serious calories, and work hard!!
The difference between this class and a choreography class is that in the technique class you focus on individual areas of the body and establishing the muscle memory for individual moves throughout the six-week course, whereas in the choreography classes you learn an entire choreography to a piece of music during the six week course. Both kinds of courses are technique driven and will give you a great workout. They just have different focuses, i.e. the Technique Course focuses on repetitive practice of individual moves, while a Choreography Course progresses through a specific choreography.

Props: None

Beginner's Level II

Cadez Cadez is a beautiful and elegant veil dance with a lot of Spanish flair and flamenco attitude. The song is of the very popular genre of Spanish/Middle Eastern fusion music. This class is a challenge, but you are rewarded with an amazing dance by the end of the course. Props: A veil is required for this class. You can purchase a veil on the first day of class.

Amar Haween Amar Haween is a modern Lebanese "folk" dance. You can throw all of your stereotypes about folk dances out the window though, because this dance is flashy, fun & rockin' out!! This dance was originally choreographed by Ibrahim Farrah, a Lebanese-American and arguably the most famous choreographer of Middle Eastern dance in the later 20th century. Although the choreography remains true to the original feeling that was given to it by Ibrahim Farrah, Schadia has changed it over the years to fit her style. Finger Cymbals were also recently added to the dance. Props: Finger cymbals are required for this class, which can be purchased on the first day of class.

El Salaam The dance to El Salaam was choreographed by Schadia, with strong influences from Jillina. The song is sung by Hakim, who is an extremely popular & talented Egyptian singer (not to mention being a complete cutey pie!!). Middle Easterners love this song & for good reason. It rocks! The choreography is a modern Egyptian cabaret style dance. It is VERY cute & sassy & lots of fun to perform. Props: None

La Azon La Azon was originally choreographed by Jillina & changed by Schadia & Saleema to reflect the Nazeem Allayl style. The song "La Azon" is sung by the hugely popular Egyptian singer Muammad Foad. The dance incorporates both Egyptian beledi and cabaret styles & is a fun celebration of life!