Folk Dance is INCLUSIVE !!
This class is an intensive introduction to the traditional group dances from the Arab world. These dances are primarily unisex, and emphasize synchronicity and group cohesion. This workshop includes Dabka Line Dance, Basic Tahteeb/Assaya Cane Dance, and the group-healing ritual motions found in Zikr and Zar practices. Each dance is taught efficiently as an introduction to the style, and is an initiation into possible future study. These dances are less glamourous than the performance-oriented heroism of the solo dances found in the Arab world. These are the dances done by "The People" in social, celebratory, and spiritual group settings. They can be taught to dancers at any level, as both a cultural and artistic experience. The group movements and concepts can later be extrapolated into performance-calibre skills and themes.
These classes not only provide a traditional dance experience, they also help teach about Arab and Muslim culture, at a critical time in American political life. The Arab world is dehumanized by the media preoccupation with only politics and conflicts. But dance is so utterly human, there is no way to dehumanize a dancing people. And the mythical "clash of civilizations" between the West and the Arab/Muslim world can be muted. When dancing these inclusive Arab folk dances, all sides will learn something joyous about the other.
KARIM NAGI, is a native Egyptian drummer, DJ, and folk dancer. He is the creator of Turbo Tabla, and has released three i
nternationally distributed CDs of this unique brand of Arab House/Electronica using acoustic instruments. Karim has authored instructional DVDs for the Tabla/Doumbek and Riqq tambourine, as well as two rhythm compilation CDs. He is also well versed in the ultra-traditional styles of music and dance as the leader of the Sharq Arabic Music Ensemble, and the Arab Dance Seminar. Karim performs and teaches Tahteeb Cane Dance, Dabka Line Dance, and Zikr Sufi Dance. He taught at the New England Conservatory of Music for 5 years, and has lectured and presented at Harvard, MIT, Yale, Bowdoin, Princeton, Stanford, William & Mary, and several Community Colleges. He has recorded music for Bellydance Superstars, Bellyqueen, and the Bellytwins, as well as mainstream artists like Alicia Keys, and The Urban Griot Project. His performances boast a dynamic concoction of live drumming and dance, done in unison. Because of his proficiency in both music and dance, his workshops deliver students to a new physical understanding of the connection between these two disciplines. As a dance and drum teacher, Karim has taught in nearly all major bellydance festivals in the United States and Cairo, as well as all major Arab Culture festivals in the USA. Karim Nagi is a true crossover artist, uniting the Cabaret and Tribal, Traditional and the Modern, the Ethnic and the Urban.
LOCATION: Dearborn Dance Academy
22023 West Outer Dr.
Dearborn MI, 48124
