Saltanah Dance
Workshops with Deborah Newberg are available in Santa Fe or in your town:
1) Choreographies! ~ Choose from over 20 Oriental, Folkloric, Arabic Pop and Creative Fusion dances by Deborah! List of dances available on request!
2) Egyptian Dances!!! A Dancing Introduction to some of the wonderful Folkloric Styles of Egypt ~ This sampler gives just a taste of some of the diverse dance cultures of Egypt! Saidi, Ghawazi, Nubian, Bedouin, Cairo…. a vast world of dance!
3) Dancing with Arabic Rhythms ~ Beginning at the beginning (hearing the beat!), then “Where is the one?”, hearing Dums and Tecs, and then moving quickly on to learning 8-10 of the most important Arabic rhythms and how to feel and dance to them, as well as how to hear them change! Valuable handouts.
4) Dancing with Odd Rhythms ~ Have fun dancing with Odd Rhythms! Main focus will be on Turkish 9/8 and 7/8, and we’ll also visit the Arabic 10/8 (Samai), the Armenian 10/8, Persian and Moroccan 6/8s and even 11/8 and 5/8!
5) Entrances & Travelling! ~ Creative variation in step patterns and how to perfectly fit step patterns to the music…. Step patterns in twos, threes and fours and ways to combine them….
6) Dancing with Finger Cymbals ~ Marrying your hands to the feet to the beat! (Beginning to Intermediate level).
7) Dancing with Veils ~ Veil Basic Movements, Posture and Sculptural Evolution, Travelling and Entrances, Musicality, and Energy through Space (Whooshing, melting, flying and turning)!
8) Balancing Dance…. ~ Candle Tray Or Sword…~ Circus-style entertainment or Meditative ritual…or both? Technique and performance skills
9) Listening with the Body, Musicality for Dancers ~ We will focus on developing deep listening within the body, connecting physicality to musicality, in order to become more sensitive, creative, musical and original as dance artists. The exercises in musical understanding, interpretation and embodiment enrich both improvisation and choreography. We will be working with rhythm first, then melody, breath and phrasing, interpreting different musical instruments, dynamics and intensity, detailed precision vs. surfing the music, and the responsive musical body.
10) Drum Solo!!! ~ Rhythms!!! Steps, accents and shimmies!!! Communication!!! Energy!!! Strength!!! Humor!!!
11) Taqsim, the art of Melodic Improvisation ~ When the musician improvises, the dancer responds in the moment to the music, a beautiful aspect of our dance form. We will focus on interpreting the colors of the instruments through movement, breathing with the phrasing of the music, rising and falling with the music, and feeling the music in our own individual way….
12) The Balady ~ A wonderful traditional improvisational part of an Egyptian Oriental dance show, with deep roots in how people dance socially. We’ll learn the structure of the Balady progression and how to improvise within it.
13) Spanish-Arabic Style for Belly Dancers ~ Brazeo (Flamenco Arms), Rhythmic Step Patterns, Musical choices and Spanish Styling for Belly Dance….
14) Spiritual Belly Dance ~ Finding the source of your own dance, Breathing in the present moment, Feeling the music and allowing your dance to flower from that center….