Pop Up Tuesdays
Join us for a different poppin' pop up each Tuesday!
Check out the various topics (updated each month) we're offering and sign up now before all spots are taken!
(classes are limited to 10 students only to allow you enough breathing room in the class)
Flamenco Bellydance Fusion
Tuesday, 1/6
7:30-8:30pm
Discover your inner passion and power with this electrifying bellydance-flamenco fusion choreography!
(No previous experience needed)
The fire of Spanish flamenco style combined with the softness of Egyptian bellydance will give you a fresh way to move and a new way feel feminine and powerful!
What is Flamenco?
Flamenco is a dance style typical to southern Spain and is characterized by its strong footwork and floral hand gestures. The use of long-tailed skirts and large shawls is also common in this dance form.
Why Flamenco-Fusion?
Flamenco’s flair and raw passion fuses beautifully with the round moves and hip expressions of bellydance to form together a flower that is soft yet thorny.
Flamenco’s origin in Andalusia- a region of Spain that was under Muslim rule for centuries and therefore has developed an Islamic culture, also creates an historical, cultural connection to Arabic dance.
The region’s proximity to Morocco also has a cultural influence of the dance, an some even say the term flamenco comes from the Arabic word “Fellah” (farmer), implying the dance’s Arabic roots.
I myself am of Sephardic (Spanish) origin and have an ancestral connection to the music and dance of both Andalusia and the Middle East, so fusing flamenco with bellydance is a natural endeavor.
What’ in the class?
You will learn the flamenco Floreos (hand gestures), expressive Arabesques, fancy footwork, mesmerizing hip articulations, all put together in an enjoyable choreography to a beautiful Spanish-Arabic song.
As a bonus, this dance will also strengthen your upper body and get a beautiful, tall posture!
Join me for a mini choreography that is as refreshing as it is fun and to find your own Duende (passion)!
*Space is limited to 10 students only, so save your spot NOW before they're all taken! We DO turn away at the door when capacity has been reached! (it's for your benefit and comfort :) )
Details:
Tuesday, 1/6
7:30-8:30pm
Open Jar Studios
1601 Broadway, 11th floor
Veil Choreo
Tuesday, 1/13
7:30-8:30pm
Learn to work with delicate silk veil to add magic and color to your dance, plus get a really good ARM WORKOUT!
In this Pop Up you will learn fundamental veil techniques, original, spectacular veil combos, and conditioning exercises to build stamina and flow with the veil that will also enhance your overall dance, as a bonus.
You don’t need any experience, but if you have some you will enjoy a new and challenging combos to add to your arsenal of skills!
You don’t even need to own a veil. We will have plenty to use in the studio, but definitely bring your favorite with if you do have!
Join us for a fun and challenging experience that will leave you feeling worked out and gleaming with exuberance!
Details:
Tuesday, 1/13
7:30-8:30pm
Open Jar Studios 1601 Broadway, 11th floor
Belly Dance in Heels
Tuesday, 1/20
7:30-8:30pm
Add grace, elegance, balance and a new level to your dance (literally) when you learn how to belly dance confidently in HEELS!
In this one-of-a-kind workshop you will:
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Learn how to properly walk, turn, and dance in heels
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Improve your posture
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Strengthen your calves
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Learn about injury prevention
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Develop body awareness in your heels
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Gain confidence
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Discover your inner Diva
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Learn a fun choreography!
The workshop combines belly dance technique for all levels, from beginner to professional, with foundations from heels dance. You will leave the class with an abundance of information and practical drills and exercises for you to keep practicing on your own!
I personally wear my high-heeled (2.5”) salsa shoes to my weekly shows at restaurants and parties, and I had to practice A LOT before I got comfortable dancing in them. I didn’t even use to wear street heels before and now I’m spinning around in them like a little fairy And you can too!
Type of shoes needed for the class:
Your shoes should SUPPORT your ankle and prevent it from moving around inside the shoe. The sole on the front of the shoe should be smooth and flat (not a platform). The height of the heel depends on your comfort level. If you are just starting out with heels you can use a shorter, wider heel. Salsa/ballroom shoes are best, but street shoes that fill those requirements will do.
Here's an example: https://a.co/d/86FtjPG
Details:
Tuesday, 1/20
7:30-8:30pm
Open Jar Studios 1601 Broadway, 11th floor
Electro Sha'abi (Egyptian Hip Hop)
Tuesday, 1/27
7:30-8:30pm
Electro Sha’abi/ AKA Mahragan/ AKA Mahraganat is the hot contemporary street style out of Egypt that will bring you to ecstasy once go for it!!
This style will truly electrify you with its rawness, carefree movements, high-energy, and the MUSIC, my gosh, THE MUSIC!!!!
These infectious and super viral Mahraganat songs out of Cairo, Egypt are taking over clubs all around the world, and listeners can’t help but dance their hearts out to them in ecstasy!
Mahragan (festival in Arabic, or the plural- Mahraganat) is a musical style developed in the poorest neighborhoods of Cairo, Egypt around 2014 in the start of the Arab Spring as an outlet for the difficulty of life, and is BANNED by the Egyptian government for its explicit lyrics criticizing the governments and mentioning drugs, alcohol, and sex.
This ban, however, did not stop local artists from bravely breaking the rules and independently recording their music on their phones and computers, sharing it on platforms like YouTube, and exposing their music far and wide. The Mahragan is now the most popular musical style not only Egypt, but all around the world.
These poor, unknown and resource-limited artists are now high-paid big stars that bring the world music that is groundbreaking and super fun to dance to!
I, myself, was lucky enough to perform with one of the biggest current Mahragan artists Shehta Karika (known for the popular song “Ekhwaty”) when he was in NYC!
With Mahragan star Shehta Karika
Since this is new dance its moves are still in development, by they derive from styles that have preceded it such as classic Sha’abi (street style from Egypt), and the Baladi (folkloric style from Cairo that developed into Sha’abi), plus free-formed moves created by the young non-dancers of Cairo, mixed with hip hop and breakdancing.
You will see a lot of cute, sassy hip and chest movements you know from bellydance, plus unique steps and hand gestures that form together a hot, electrifying, and current dance style!
Join the class to learn a short, new choreography, explore new movement vocabulary, and experience true ecstasy!!
Details:
Tuesday, 1/27
7:30-8:30pm
Open Jar Studios 1601 Broadway, 11th floor
Remember- class is limited to 10 students only so don’t wait- save your spot NOW!