Egyptian Classical Music De-Mystified!
Everything you need to know for a meaningful and memorable belly dance performance!
Love Egyptian music?
Want to learn how to dance with understanding, meaning and confidence?
This course is for you!
Multi-level/Int-Adv: Suitable for dancers who have one year or more of Middle Eastern dance training OR proficient in general dance movement vocabulary.
If you are eager for a deeper understanding of Egyptian dance music, you may be ready to take your dance to the next level or cross-train and enhance your knowledge with a different cultural style.
In this online course, you will learn how to create Egyptian-Arab style dance with your own flair in Katayoun’s signature format. In addition to a wonderful life-enhancing journey, dancing to traditional and modern Arabic music may bring new and exciting opportunities to share your love of dance with others, whether in personal endeavors or in a professional capacity.
This musical knowledge and respect for the culture builds your confidence and raises your cultural intelligence, which adds meaning and interest to your dance that cannot be achieved with complicated moves, tricks or gimmicks. Aiming to understand the classical Arabic music genre is one of the best goals you can set for yourself as a dancer. With this fascinating knowledge, a whole new world of accessible skills and inspiration is at your fingertips….and hips! It is a thoroughly enjoyable and enriching experience to listen to Arabic music with an in-depth understanding and appreciation.
In most Middle East countries and cultures, everyone dances, and many quite well, though they will likely never perform in public. As an audience, they are not often impressed by technique alone. What makes dancers special and worthy of watching (or hiring) is their ability to be their authentic selves while becoming the embodiment of the music and cultural aesthetics. As an Iranian-born dancer, and someone who first experienced dance and music in the culture, I can tell you this with certainty: it’s not the moves that make your dance memorable or authentic. It’s your understanding of the music along with your authentic feelings and expression that gives meaning to your performance.
To get started and advance, you need a working knowledge of the vocabulary of Arabic music, which includes musical terms, famous artists, popular songs, names of rhythms and names of instruments. While dance technique is important as the vehicle of expression, the movement vocabulary is quite simple with plenty of room to add your unique and personal flair, as did the legendary dancers of the Golden Era.
This course focuses heavily on Arabic music education and understanding, the foundation of the dance, then onto movement interpretation in the context of Egyptian classic songs and modern Oriental sets.
In the context of Egyptian classic songs, we’ll cover:
- Music fundamentals, rhythms and instruments
- Arabic musical vocabulary, concepts, songs and artists
- Movement vocabulary and styling
- Interpretation of traditional rhythms and instruments
- Transitions and choreographic principles
- Improvisation Skills
Through fun guided activities you will learn step-by-step how to:
1. Analyze music for choreography and improvisation.
For belly dance teachers, the information in this course is fundamental in the art form and essential to your continuing educational journey. If you love Arabic belly dance music, especially the classics but find them challenging to teach, you can use this format to introduce your students to these timeless and beloved songs that have enchanted and inspired the Arab world as well as the belly dance world, and will continue to do so for years to come.
Course Curriculum
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StartCharacteristics of Classical Egyptian Music
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StartInstrumentals vs. Introductory Preludes
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StartBasic Music Theory for Dancers
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StartPercussion Instruments
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StartEssential Rhythms
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StartMelodic Instruments
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StartVisual Activity: Musical Instruments Identification
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StartArabic Song Lyrics & Meanings
About Me, Your Instructor
Originally from Iran, I began performing as a teen pageant girl in Virginia Beach, VA. After an illustrious career as a performer, teacher, author, and studio owner in the Washington, D.C. area, a leap of faith drew me to California where my soul and my art were reborn. I am always learning and growing where my creative instincts take me. I bring this evolving spirit with methodology and focus to my teachings.
My repertoire includes seven styles of Iranian/Persian dance and six styles of Arab/Egyptian dance. My ideas about these various cultural forms and performance styles are informed by the following, over the span of my own life experience, as well as 20+ years in the belly dance industry:
- Participation and observation in social and community dance in-culture
- Learning from heritage Arab and Iranian music and dance masters
- Watching and studying a large number and diverse array of heritage dancers and others
- Research and experience of the cultures’ languages, customs, traditions, and aesthetics
- Study and performance of variety of folk and popular songs spanning S.W.A.N.A region (South-West Asia/North Africa), ie. rhythms, voice and dance
- Independent exploration and creative work as an artist, performer and instructor
My teaching format and methodology is informed and shaped by:
- Teacher training at UVA’s School of Continuing & Professional Studies
- A decade in the classroom as a language teacher
- Two decades teaching dance and fitness to all ages and abilities
In 2019, while living in San Diego, I was recruited as a backup singer for Dornob Collective (Persian traditional songs) by its founder, Mr. Farhad Bahrami, a kindred artistic spirit. Mr. Farhad’s vision and creative impulses resonated with me as I was eager to expand my understanding of Middle Eastern music(s) and its fusion tendencies.
I joined the vocal section of Mr. Farhad's Middle East Ensemble at Grossmont College where I learned to sing in Arabic, Armenian, Turkish, and Farsi for the inaugural concert. Shortly before the pandemic lock-down, I made my professional singing debut with Los Bandaritos (Afro-Arab music from the Persian Gulf), led by Mr. Mahmood Shamshiry, for San Diego Museum of Art’s Nowruz Celebration.
I have contributed content to the Belly Dance Business Academy, Al Farah Magazine for Oriental Dance in Norway, and The Belly Dance Bundles of 2020 and 2021. I have taught workshops at belly dance festivals and was a presenter at the National Dance Education Conference in 2018 and 2019. I have authored and published books, which you may find useful:
The Beginner's Guide to Belly Dance: How to Start Your Journey Informed and Empowered
During the pandemic year 2020, I shifted my teaching and performances to online. While I had started this virtual learning space in 2017 with about 75 registered students, it has since grown to 500+ students.
With my signature style and format, my goal is to help you explore culture-specific dance intuitively. Whether it’s for personal wellness, creative expression or performance art, the courses here will help expand your range of expression, movement vocabulary, cultural knowledge, as well as your physical skills and abilities. You can also use these courses to simply enjoy moving and being in your body.
I invite you to join me on an exploratory journey of multicultural and artistic discovery on this secure and easy-to-use learning platform.