Workshops
Tailored bellydance classes for events, private groups and individuals.
Are you looking to add some variety to your local provision for dance tuition, a teacher to add to your festival bill, or an extra attraction for a community event or celebration? I am available for one off, or regular workshops, for your event, festival or educational establishment.
Workshops usually last around 2 hours.
Workshops will be tailored to your needs, but below are some outline ideas to start from.
Add some real sparkle to your event by booking me to perform, as well as teach a workshop. Inspiring and fun!
For complete beginners
Come together and bellydance
Content: Basic bellydance movements are taught in a safe and fun way. We look at funky sharp moves, gooey smooth moves and expressive, dreamy arm movements. Each movement is broken down, then practiced to a varied soundtrack of beautiful Arabic and fusion music. The latter half of the class is devoted to led dance and improvisation, so dancers can get straight into using their new skills and dancing together.
Target Audience: This is a great workshop for festivals and gatherings. Women's festivals, spiritual festivals, music festivals, community projects.
Introduction to Egyptian bellydance
Content: Classic and recognisable movements from Raqs Sharqui and Raqs Shaabi. We look at hipdrops, shimmies, slides and circles. Building moves into combinations and improvised dance.
Target Audience: School groups, festivals, cultural events
Introducing Egyptian Folkloric Dance - Saiidi
Content: The joyful and earthy art of saiidi. As well as learning the steps, we will look into the history and culture of the dance. Costuming, props and music.
Target audience: School groups (12+), cultural/folk events.
Note: It is also possible to adapt this workshop for other folk styles, such as Ghawazee and traditional Baladi.
Party Bellydance
Content: Fun, funky and sassy bellydance moves to upbeat pop music. Bring out your inner bellydancer! Borrow a shimmy belt and shake your thing.
Target audience: Parties and events, great for a hen party or birthday party.
Baby Bellies (prenatal)
Content: Gentle and flowing moves to get you moving and feeling beautiful and graceful in your pregnant body. Relaxing, calm and revitalising. Kash is a qualified perinatal yoga teacher and doula and has written this workshop to include moves that ease pregnancy niggles, and help during birth.
Target Audience: Expectant mothers (12 weeks to term) and their companions. Great for a baby shower or mother and baby event.
Shimmy kids
Content: Basic moves for little dancers. Fun music, and if you like, learn a little about Egyptian music and culture. Learn a very simple choreography together.
Target Audience: Ages 6-12. School groups, birthday parties (Princess Jasmine theme perhaps)
Parents and carers are welcome to join in!
Chair based bellydance
Content: Upper body, arms and veil dancing.
Target Audience: All ages and abilities. This is a great workshop for older or disabled dancers.
I can also teach a mixed ability veil workshop with differentiation for dancers with different levels of mobility and learning needs.
Open level workshops - for beginning to more experienced dancers
These workshops are for dancers who are competent with the foundation bellydance moves
Fierce and Fearless
Are you a nervous dancer looking to cultivate some fearless stage presence? Or a more experienced dancer looking to expand your repertoire with a new sassy stage persona? Through a combination of exercises to break down barriers, and explore our creativity we shall release the inner diva in every dancer. We will practice styling some basic combinations to 3 distinctly fierce characters. As a naturally shy person myself, I will share my secrets to radiating confidence, personality and humour to delight your audience.
Balancing act
Learn to structure a balance prop based choreography. For swords, pots and trays. Learn tips and tricks for successful technique for balancing. Students will need to bring a suitable prop for balancing (sword, cane, tray etc). Kash is known to never be shy about bringing out a sword dance, dancers love to learn about this impressive act.
Vintage Inspirations
A combination based workshop, learn techniques, styling and 3 fun combinations, inspired by 3 of my favourite Golden Era dancers.
Expressive arms
Graceful and expressive arm pathways and gestures add a whole new dimension to your dance.
Dancing with veil
I makes and dance with beautiful silk veils. Learn some graceful and light moves with veil, and perform them in a short choreography.
Raqs al Assaya
Saiidi with cane. Learn some funky saiidi steps and learn how to build the cane into your performance for impressive effect.
Party like a pro
Are you a bellydancer who feels lost at the end of a hafla when it's time to improvise and party? Presenting a useful toolkit that will get you up on the dancefloor, confidently strutting your stuff along to any music! Spontaneous improvisation and musicality.
Improvisation for performance
Learn how to present a polished performance without choreography. With recorded or live music. Feel the music, keep your audience engaged and perform a new dance every time.
Dancing with fire
This workshop covers the practical basics of performing safely with fire, and gives participants the chance to experience dancing with different fire props. For insurance reasons, students will not usually be handling live fire, but dependent on the venue it may be possible for me to provide a demonstration.
Make up for performance
Make up can be a tricky art, but performance make up is a whole other world. Learn to build a look that is durable, danceproof, and looks fabulous under stage lighting or flash photography.
Costume construction
Find out how to make stageworthy costumes. How to convert a lingerie bra into a strong base for costuming, belt base construction, sourcing materials and upcycling.
