2020
May 2020
Sunday 17 May 2020
Sun 17 May, 10 am. Casa Micanopy Retreat Center, 22259 NW 75 Avenue Road, Micanopy, 32667-7698. Leela Corman, 718-687-7433. Belly Dance with Leela - [facebook][email][events]
LUNA OF CAIRO RETREAT RETURNS!
Gainesville, Florida welcomes LUNA OF CAIRO in another retreat style workshop and evening showcase!!! This years workshops and limited on-site lodging will be held at the AMAZING Casa Micanopy Retreat Center—a gorgeous retreat center overlooking 6 acres of landscaped and natural scenery!
ADDRESS
22259 NW 75 Avenue Road
Micanopy, FL 32667
Casa Micanopy is a short 15 minute drive south of Gainesville
LUNA BIO
Luna is an international belly dance star who has performed in Egypt's top hotels and Nile cruises. She has an exceptionally exciting style of dance, and has been featured on Egyptian television channels such as El-Tet as a star dancer. Luna has also appeared in the music videos of some of Egypt's most popular singers, including Higazi Mitqal, Mahmoud El-Hosseiny, Simsim Shehab, Ragab El-Prince, and Ahmed Salah, and was a featured dancer in several movies.
In addition to performing, Luna is in high demand to teach belly dance workshops around the world. She has taught all over the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, England, Poland, Japan, and Egypt, to name a few. She is also a regularly featured teacher at Raqia Hassan’s Ahlan wa Sahlan Festival.
Luna also holds a Master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University, where she studied radical Islamist movements in the Arab world. She is fluent in Egyptian Arabic, Spanish, and English, and holds a B.A. in journalism and political science. Luna keeps a blog about her experiences as a foreign belly dancer in Cairo. You can keep up with her and her crazy adventures at Kisses from Kairo* (www.kissesfromkairo.blogspot.com).
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SCHEDULE AND TOPICS
SATURDAY MAY 16TH 10:00-12:00
Egyptian Technique & Combos
Luna will teach some typical Egyptian-styled technique, as well as some of her signature moves that she developed over the course of her dance career in Cairo. She will explain how they differ in emphasis, genesis, and meaning to American-flavored movements, as well as demonstrate how to string them together into unique, unpredictable combinations. Luna will also break down the movements into "families" according to their qualities and explain how to use that categorization to develop your own unique technique.
SATURDAY MAY 16TH 1:00-3:00
Mawwal Workshop
Most Arabic songs start with or contain a mawwal, improvised singing. This is often the most beautiful part of the song, but also the most difficult to dance to because it lacks melody and rhythm, and because the lyrics are in Arabic. In this workshop, Luna will show you how to tackle dancing to three different types of mawwals, using the lyrics, singer’s voice, and emotions as your guide for a truly convincing, Egyptian performance.
SUNDAY MAY 17TH 10:00-12:00
Improvisation Workshop
Learn the fundamentals of improvising. In this workshop, you will navigate through a piece of music while planning a course of action on the spot. Luna will demonstrate how to listen to a piece of music, establish a movement theme, and use your short term memory to create a performance that is consistent and authentic. Luna will also explain how to keep your improvisation exciting without doing every move you know.
SUNDAY MAY 17TH 12:00-1:00
Special Surprise 1-hour Workshop! Topic to be announced soon!
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REGISTRATION
PAYMENT OPTIONS: PayPal or Check
Send PayPal to Gainesville.Raqs@gmail.com
or
email Gainesville.Raqs@gmail.com to request address to send check (no fee if paying by check)
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WORKSHOPS
*All 4 workshops (does NOT include lodging)
COST: $200 + $7 PayPal Fees=$207
or
THREE-MONTH PAYMENT PLAN:
Down payment to hold your spot:
$50+$1.75 PayPal=$51.75
Then, 3 more Payments of $51.75, due March 1st, April 1st, May 1st.
*sorry, all payments are non-refundable
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EVENING HAFLA
Evening Show at Blackadder Brewing Company
Saturday May 16th 7:30pm
Enjoy an amazing evening with some of the best dancing in Florida!!!!
Location
Blackadder Brewing Company
618 - A NW 60th Street
Gainesville, FL 32607
Show starts at 7:30
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OPTIONAL FIELD TRIPS
Friday, May 15th
GILCHRIST BLUE SPRINGS STATE PARK
Join Oralia and Najmah Nour as we take a moment to slow down and paddle board or canoe or just splash around these amazing springs. You can rent paddle boards and canoe’s at the springs.
Cost: There is a $6/car cost to get into the springs and then whatever you want to spend on renting equipment or bring your own. We will organize a carpool.
https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/ruth-b-kirby-gilchrist-blue-springs-state-park
DINNER
We will also organize a dinner get-together Friday night for any of you who want to meet up with us. Location and time will be announce as we get closer to the event.
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Plenty of Off site lodging available in Gainesville including:
Closest Hotel to the Retreat Center
Wyndham Garden Gainesville Hotel
2900 SW 13th Street, Gainesville, Florida 32608, US
Hotel only a short 15 minute drive from Retreat Center
Airbnb--another popular Gainesville Lodging option
Plenty of Airbnb in Gainesville
and
there are a couple of Airbnb house's located in Micanopy
Egyptian Technique and Combinations
Luna will teach some typical Egyptian-styled movements, as well as some of her signature ones that she invented over the course of her dance career in Cairo. She will explain how they differ in emphasis, genesis, and meaning to American-flavored movements, as well as demonstrate how to string them together into unique and intelligent combinations. Luna will also break down the movements into "families" according to their qualities and explain how to use that categorization to develop your own unique technique.
Um Kulthoum Choreography
In this workshop, you will learn how to interpret a well known Um Kulthoum song. Emphasis will be on the relationship between lyrics and tarab, and on how to express the song without over-dancing.
Classic Shaabi
Shaabi is a dance form originating from the lower class neighborhoods of Cairo that has become extremely popular in the workshop circuit. But did you know that it's at least as old as some of the classics we're used to dancing to? In this workshop, Luna will choose a more classical piece of shaabi music and explore the relationship between the lyrics, the instrumentation, and tarab. She will demonstrate how to adjust posture, gestures, and expression to capture the feeling of this genre of shaabi music.