ARABESQUE

Snake Charmer & The Belly Dancer Present

Arabesque 2023

Arabesque 2023 gala show October 21 , 7 pm El Paso Community College Administrative building A Auditorium, 9050 Viscount featuring Karen Barbee Adkisson , live music and some of the most talented belly dancers of the region.


Arabesque 2023



  • Gala Show Tickets $20 in advance and $25 at the door .
  • Interested in show tickets workshops, vending, and/or performing?contact us: (915) 691-1938 or email us at snakecharmerthebellydancer@yahoo.com
  • Dancers registered for workshops and performing in the gala show will be receiving updates via email and FB.
  • True to Snake Charmer & The Belly Dancer tradition. We will be celebrating our meet n greet at one of our local restaurants TBA.
  • If you’re interested in performing for the Meet-n-Greet, please express your interest on our registration form below or email us at snakecharmerthebellydancer@yahoo.com

    Arabesque 2022

    A cultural exchange. Join us for a journey to a deeper understanding of the Arab culture through music and dance with Karim Nagi,  May 21 and 22 .

    Gala Show , Saturday May 21  @ 7 pm 
    International Museum of Art
    1211 Montana Ave, El Paso, TX 79902
    Karim Nagi is a native Egyptian immigrant to the USA, and a true crossover artist uniting the Arab tradition with the global contemporary world. He has released fourteen CDs, ranging from traditional Arab music to fusion and electronica. He has authored instructional videos for Arab percussive instruments and Arab dance styles. As a dance and drum teacher, Nagi has taught in dozens of festivals in the United States, Asia, Europe and Cairo, as well as most major Arab Culture festivals in the USA. He is also a public speaker with a TEDx talk.
    He taught at the New England Conservatory of Music for 5 years, and has lectured and presented at Harvard, MIT, Yale, Bowdoin, Princeton, Stanford, Berea, William & Mary, Georgetown, plus Bunker Hill & Attleboro Community Colleges. He has lectured internationally on Arts & Diversity at Kaoushiung (Taiwan) University, Beijing University, and University San Francisco de Quito Ecuador. Additionally, Karim Nagi’s Arabiqa program has conducted over 400 school assemblies across America, exposing young audiences to Arab traditional arts.
    His most recent project “Detour Guide” incorporates English language storytelling with Arab music & rhythm, along with graphic & video art, to describe the experience of Arabs life & culture. Over the past 4 years Nagi has been the beneficiary of two Doris Duke Grant for the Islamic Arts through the Virginia Tech “Salaam” project and Young Audiences of New Jersey “United We Create”. He has also just been re-elected for a second term to the board of directors for Chamber Music America. In September he gave a TEDx Talk “The Tambourine, My Partner is Diplomacy & Disruption” which can be seen on the official TED website.
    For more information about Karim Nagi please visit:
    Arabesque 2022 workshops with Karim Nagi at The International Museum of Art 1211 Montana, El Paso Tx . 79902 . May 21 and 22 , 2022 .
    1) RHYTHM FOR DANCERS:
    Saturday May 21. , 9 to 11 am .
    It’s time to raise the bar for rhythmic literacy! A dancer’s immediate connection to the music is the rhythm produced by the Tabla and percussion. Karim teaches each rhythm using the three-sound clapping approach. Karim then performs sample rhythms on the Tabla. Students will learn each rhythm by name, “dum-tak” vocalization, and clapping. Afterwards the dancers will learn choreography segments to help gain bodily control with the sample rhythm, putting theory into practice. By physically personifying each Rhythm, bodily mastery of that rhythm will be achieved. This movement workshop is perfect for any dancer who wants to better understand what they are dancing to.
    2) CYMBALISMS (Zills,
    Saturday May 21 , 12 to 2 pm
    Sagat, Finger Cymbals w/ Movement): You are a dancer and a musician at the same time. Your hands can play any rhythm that a drummer can play. You can accent the orchestra, follow the dynamics of the song, or simply choose the right moment to not play. Sagat (Egyptian word) and Zills (Turkish word), when played correctly, can add to a dancer’s dynamism and effect. Karim will teach multiple sounds (Dum, Tak, Tik, Tok, Kish) to give the cymbals the desperately needed variety. He will teach ambidextrous technique, so the dancer can play, and Move, in both left and right directions. He will also teach several famous rhythms, so that the dancer can communicate to a drummer or to her own students. In addition, Karim shows how to play with a melodic song, when to play a rhythm vs. accents, and when to stop or not play. Finally, he shows movement combinations, both stationary and traveling, while playing the cymbals. Each dancer will be transformed into a moving musician.
    3) LIVE DRUM SOLO FOR DANCERS (movement class):
    Sunday May 22,  9-11  am
    Some dancers fear it ! Some overuse it ! Yet everyone adores a solo where the rhythmic drums and the accurate body lock together. Melodic songs are lyrical and eloquent. But drum songs are percussive and articulate. Fact: drum solos in the Egyptian, Arabic, or Cabaret style are systematic. There have predictable themes. Each is like a variation on a famous story, retold with new voices and with different accents. Karim is a drummer and a dancer, so he knows what both creatures need in order to breed together. He will teach the iconic Hagalla sequence, the shimmy-to-roll-relation, dum hips & tak shoulders, signaling, Masmudi’s many Dums, Wahda Kabira to Fallahi. Ayoub’s momentary Zaar, and how to ‘Finale’ together, benevolently!  After this class transforms you, a deaf man will be able to hear the drums by watching your body. This class uses exclusively LIVE drumming, and teaches the dancer how understand and communicate with the drummer, what to expect, and how to be ready for improvisation.
    4) SAIDI TAHTEEB & ASSAYA:
    Sunday May 22 , 12 – 2 pm 
    Dancing with sticks and canes is a quintessential expression in Egyptian village dance. The southern half of Egypt, know as Upper Egypt due to its higher altitude, is called “al-Sa’id” in Arabic (pronounced iSa-yeed)”. The Saidi people are famous for this semi-acrobatic stick dance called “Tahteeb” for men and “Raqs Assaya” for women. It is essentially a form of martial art where the manipulation of the stick and the demeanor of movement replicated village life or battle scene. The main motions with the stick include spinning, twirling, rowing, flipping and striking. Often two dancers will enact a friendly battle with synchronized sparing and coordinated strikes. But the essence of the Saidi dance is in its demeanor. The body moves heavily and confidently with a subtle pulse. Grace is more valued than aggression. This dance is done solo or in groups where the sticks are operated in unison, and men and/or women play together. Karim teaches with the strait cane (any dowel between 3′ and 4′) and covers all the basic spins, flips and strikes. He stresses ambidextrous technique and utilizes both hands for the entire lesson. Double Cane is also demonstrated. The class culminates in a short choreography.
    • Gala Show Tickets $20 in advance and $25 at the door .
    • Interested in show tickets workshops, vending, and/or performing?contact us: (915) 691-1938 or email us at snakecharmerthebellydancer@yahoo.com
    • Dancers registered for workshops and performing in the gala show will be receiving updates via email and FB.
    • True to Snake Charmer & The Belly Dancer tradition. We will be celebrating our meet n greet at one of our local restaurants TBA.
    If you’re interested in performing for the Meet-n-Greet, please express your interest on our registration form below or email us at snakecharmerthebellydancer@yahoo.com

    SWEETHEART DEAL:


    Arabesque 2022



    Arabesque 2020- *RESCHEDULED*

    Arabesque 2020 will be rescheduled for October 23 and 24, 2021
    New Location:  International Museum of Art
    Address: 1211 Montana Ave, El Paso, TX 79902
    Interested in workshops, vending, and/or performing?contact us: (915) 691-1938
    *An intensive boutique with Moria Chappell*

    Offerings :

    1) FOOTPRINTS IN SPICE a workshop by Moria Chappell

    Time: Saturday, October 23, 9-11am

    Footprints In Spice

    Before the famed Silk Route, there was the ancient Spice Route linking the first civilizations of the globe through trade.  Each began as a goddess-worshipping civilization with dance as an offering in ritual, celebration, and cultural exchange.

    In FOOTPRINTS IN SPICE, you will learn how the Spice Routes carried these goddess-worshipping dances around the globe to form what we know today as Belly Dance, Odissi Indian Temple Dance, Southern Chinese Dai Dance, Cambodian Chinese and Thai Apsara Dance, Javanese Solo Dance, and Tunisian and Berber dance.

    This is a journey that connects Mesopotamia to Egypt to the Indus Valley and beyond.  Over a millennium of trade in spices, incense, dance, and religion established a working network among Arab, Indian, Indonesian, Chinese, and South Asian nations long before European traders came to dictate the role of dance and its beginnings.

    FOOTPRINTS IN SPICE utilizes a PowerPoint presentation to show trade routes, stone temples, statuary, religious iconography and archaeological finds.
    It will accompany Moria’s explanation of similarities among distinct dance styles and how, if traced as a linguistic of the body, demonstrates how many of the sacred dances around the world may have evolved from an originating grandmother dance.

    Grown from Moria’s personal travels, findings, trainings, and reflections, this fascinating presentation is a living theory which is made available to individual interpretation and experimentation.
    Let your Tribal Fusion Belly Dance seeds grow back to the first civilizations for inspiration while staying grounded in actual fact and history.

    2) SACRED DANCE  a workshop  by Moria Chappell

    Time: Saturday October 23, 12-2pm

    SACRED DANCE is the willingness to let go of dance as an outer practice and use it as an opening to an inner world where movement unifies the dancer with the great dance of creation.
    Called “the moving mystery,” sacred dance holds in simpatico ancient and modern ecstatic practices expressed through Javanese

    Temple Dance, Cambodian Temple Dance, Chinese Dun Huang, Chinese Dai Dance, Apsara Temple Dance, Hula, and classical Indian Odissi Temple Dance.  It is from the crucible of sacred dance that these movements arise and are made available to fuse with contemporary art forms.

    Moria will show the gestures and postures of temple dance to demonstrate how the timeless principles of sacred dance come alive and work their way toward incorporation into your temporal dance.

    With the aid of an illustration-rich PowerPoint presentation,

    Moria guides you along the journey of seeing how these movements travel down through the ages and how belly dance is a continuation of the first dance.

    As part of the sharing of these mystery traditions, Moria will show how the navel contains the memory of divine essence and also serves as the dynamic axis for all circular motion, in dance as well as in the universe.  The goal of these practices is to encircle the inner landscape with sacred movement and thereby draw the divine from within.

    SACRED DANCE will culminate in a beautiful, devotion-oriented choreography that can become part of a dancer’s daily practice, or serve as an introductory piece for a spiritually oriented stage


    3) Chakra for Belly Dancers ,  a  workshop by Moria Chappell

    Time :Sunday October 24, 9-11am

    CHAKRA FOR BELLY DANCERS  is based on Hindu mythology and yogic study describing seven energy centers within the body that can be stimulated via specific physical movements.

    Using belly dance movements, breath work, and color visuals in an elegant PowerPoint format, Moria leads dancers step-by-step along an energetic path that not only practices muscular isolation as it pertains to belly dance, it  goes a step further and shows how these isolations tap the chakra energy-centers to promote increased energy, relaxation, creativity, intuition, emotion, voice, and expression.

    When using refined muscular techniques to delve into the energetic centers of the body, belly dance  becomes the living dance of a yogini.

    4) Sacred Geometry Choreography , a workshop by Moria Chappell

    Time: October 24, 12-2pm

    SACRED GEOMETRY CHOREOGRAPHY is based on the blueprint of Creation revealed in the timeless geometric codes seen in all life forms from our DNA molecules to snow flakes, pine cones, the branching of trees, or a nautilus shell.

    The workshop begins with a PowerPoint presentation designed to inform the dancer about the specific shapes and overarching proportions which govern the unfolding universe.

    This mechanic of expansion, known as the “golden ratio,” is clearly visible in physics and biology as well as ordinary movement, and more importantly, sacred movement.

    In SACRED GEOMETRY CHOREOGRAPHY you will be trained to see these shapes in order to bring awareness to the angles, circles, and lines you use to create traditional choreographies.

    During the class, dancers will learn how to make these shapes with her body as well as how to bring sequence and intention into the equation so that she can transfer this knowledge onto the stage.

    The goal of SACRED GEOMETRY CHOREOGRAPHY is to help dancers enhance their abilities in the Sacred Performing Arts by learning ways to successfully articulate movements at the core of divine creation in order to transform the profane into the profound


    Arabesque 2021



    UPDATE:Dancers previously registered for workshops and performing in the gala show will be receiving updates via email and FB. Save the date

    If you’re interested in performing for the Meet-n-Greet, please express your interest on our registration form below or email us at snakecharmerthebellydancer@yahoo.com 

    ARABEQUE 2020 MORIA-10

    Cory Zamora
    Webster defines Master as a learned person; an artist or performer of great and exemplary skill; one who has control over something. When Cory dances this definition comes alive: you see a Master. She has the ability to tap into the energy of the music and make the music hers. It is not Cory who follows the music, the music follows her. Her ability is amazing. When she begins, she controls the room, putting those that are fortunate enough to observe in ane-stricken trance.
    B. Musson
    About Cory
    Cory Zamora is the only child of legendary inventor for Howard Hughes, and gunsmith to the stars, Manuel Zamora.  Dance instruction in Tap, Ballet, Flamenco, and interpretive were started at age 3 with
    Miss Ruth Kettle of Culver City, Ca. Further instruction was with Vaudeville brother and sister act, Joan and Bill Swore. Extensive study in method acting came with many workshops and classes in the Hollywood area. In Junior High and High School, Cory enjoyed membership in Thespians, and The Curtain Call Clubs.  
    Age eleven brought vocal lessons with Bernice Mathison of Culver City. Her coloratura vocal skills were enjoyed by many in convert and opera productions in the Los Angeles area. Three years of scholarships from The Patrons Society for New Musicians of Santa Monica, put her in a vast public eye. With the passing of her father, she decided to focus all her attention on her first love, dance.
    Her first view of Middle Eastern dance was at the famed Fez Supper club in Hollywood Ca. There she met her three teachers, Laura Best, Jenaeni Rathor, and Feiruz Aram. In 1972 Cory brought her knowledge of dance and production to the Central Valley, CA. Where she has earned the title of “The Valley’s Finest.” She proudly held the position of house dancer at Sassoon’s Armenian restaurant for 9 years till its closing, and still enjoys a family friendship with its owners, the Karoians to this day.
    Cory’s focus is on the total package. All skills are strong not just a portion of the dance. All her students start zills (finger cymbals) on the 4th week of instruction. Floor, veil, and proficiency of all rhythms are required by anyone seeking to join this Family.
    All service clubs know Ms. Zamora for her vast knowledge in lectures of history, and spirituality of the dance. She considers her dancers and musicians her family, and has devoted her life to these children.
    The Ultimate Legend of Belly Dance and The Queen of AMCAB Cory Zamora
    Performing in the  Arabesque Gala Show Sat. July 13  , 7pm @ Scottish Rite
    Workshops @ Scottish rite
    Saturday 11:15 to 1:15 Veil
    1) Anatomy of the SoCal AMCAB set (a introduction part A )
    Opening -Veil – Middle – Floor Work -Drum Solos and Closing :
    With The Focus on Veil Work (4 yard Veil) . The workshop will give an over view of the Anatomy of the SoCal AMCAB set, the history , the culture and a list of music options that you can use .
     
     Sunday 9 to 11:00am Zills
    2) Anatomy of the SoCal AMCAB set (an introduction part B)
    Opening -Veil – Middle – Floor Work -Drum Solos and Closing :
    With The Focus on Zills , they never come off . The workshop will give an over view of the Anatomy of the SoCal AMCAB set, the history , the culture and a list of music options that you can use .
     

    Silvia Salamanca

    is an internationally acclaimed performer, choreographer and instructor from Mallorca, Spain.  A life-long dancer, she graduated at the age of nineteen as a major in ballet and performed professionally as a modern dancer in major Europe festivals with the contemporary dance company of the University of Barcelona.She started her career as a belly dancer in 2001, when realizing the enormous benefits that this art-form brings to women in both body and soul. In her own studio, she keeps observing how women can get closer to their self identity and discover oneself in a new level, increasing self-esteem, and getting deeply in touch with the feminine essence in their soul through bellydance.
    As a natural evolution in her journey, Silvia discovered tribal fusion in the USA and combined it with a deep research into her own cultural roots: Spanish gypsy and Arabic. Hence with her work in the field of Zambra Mora (spanish gypsy-oriental dance fusion) Silvia gained international recognition and is currently invited to teach workshops and perform as a headliner in major festivals world-wide. Silvia is also known for her work dancing with swords, which she feels depicts the strength of women.   Silvia is also the director of Shunyata Belly Dance, a nationally awarded tribal fusion company and a proud member of Urban Gypsy, Houston’s premiere ITS troupe. silviasalamanca.weebly.com

    The Great Silvia Salamanca , will be in El Paso July 13 and 14 teaching and performing at the Arabesque 2019 .Gala Show Sat July 13 @ Scottish Rite
    Meet n Greet dinner Friday . July 12 TBA .
    1. Sat. July 13 at 9 am , With Fire and Passion Oriental dance combinations from the heart and soul of Spain.
    Description: In this workshop we will fuse the best of both worlds, the beauty, felinity and sensuality of the rab dancing with the power and energy of the “gitanas” (Spanish gypsies). Bring a skirt, get ready to use it as we learn new ways to kick it and move it!
    2.Sat. July 13 , 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm Cues and Blades ITS moves with the edge of the sword.
    Description: Dancing with a sword and bringing in the sisterhood of ITS? Is that possible? Heck yes!!! In this workshop we will learn a series of moves (slow tempo AND fast tempo) based on the ITS format that use the edgier prop available… The sword!!! We will begin breaking down the moves, and explaining the necessary technique to execute them well, and we will also include a few formation changes that use the shapes of the blades to create mesmerizing patterns in a group.
    3. Sunday July 14 11:15-1:15pm Authentic Movement a healing workshop.
    Description: Our Bodies carry muscle tensions constantly. Sometimes, those tensions are created as an involuntary or unconscious response to an emotional or mental issue.In such cases, they evolve into a permanent pain, numbness or a lack of motility. As a result we lose the natural grace of our body and we see diminished our capacity for pleasure. In this workshop we will scan the body and all the emotions that arise in the main areas and with simple, non invasive and joyful movement exercises we will experience how we can get back all of our natural health.
    Registration for workshops and show tickets below
    WORKSHOP FORM 2019 PDF Workshop Form Application

    Regular Price Workshops 2019




    Gala Show Tickets 2019



    Artist interested in performing please express interest via email or by indicating so on the registration form. All performers must register for at least one workshop no later that March 15 2019 .

    Vending opportunities available for the Arabesque  2019 .  Please contact us at snakecharmerthebellydancer@yahoo.com or 915-691-1938
     
     

                        Arabesque 2018

    Arabesque 2018 Gala Show will start at 7:00 pm
     Sat . July 14 Scottish Rite Temple 301 E Missouri El Paso Tx.
    Show tickets $20 early bird and $25 at the door

    Arabesque 2017 EB Show Ticket



    Workshops by Helena Vlajos and Moria Chappell @ the Scottish Rite Temple
    Sat and Sun. July 14 and 15 
    Doors open at 8:00 am for registration and shopping