St. Charles Community College and Belly Dance with Nisaa are pleased to bring you "Journey through Egypt 1," a 20-hour intensive course on the dances of Egypt, created and presented by internationally-acclaimed Middle Eastern dance researcher, instructor, and performer Sahra Saeeda!
"Early bird" pricing will be available through January 6 (mail-in registration must be postmarked on or before January 6).
Fees:
Journey through Egypt 1 (includes 20 hours of instruction, course materials, and Saturday evening dinner) - $300 (through January 6) OR $340 (after January 6)
Boxed lunch - $8.50 (per day)
Please note that the course is limited to 25 participants. To secure your space, early registration is strongly encouraged.
Click on "Browse Courses and Events" at the left side of the page
Click on "Events"
If you encounter any problems, call 636-922-8233
Weekend Schedule
All of the weekend's activities will take place in the College Center, Room 204. Click here for a campus map.
Friday, January 27
check-in/registration 5:30p-6p
class 6p-9p
Saturday, January 28
class 10a-1p
lunch 1p-2p (on your own...optional boxed lunch available...see registration info below)
class 2p-5p
dinner 5p-6p (included)
class/zar 6p-10p
Sunday, January 29
class 10a-1p
lunch 1p-2p (on your own...optional boxed lunch available...see registration info below)
class 2p-6p
certificates/pictures 6p-6:30p
About Sahra
Sahra has performed and taught Egyptian-style oriental and folkloric dance on five continents. She has performed over 1600 shows in Cairo, Egypt alone. She holds the record in Cairo for the longest running contract of a foreign dancer at a 5-star hotel.
Originally from the Los Angeles, California area, Sahra lived, danced, and directed the "Sahra Show" in Egypt from 1989 to 1995. This show's ensemble included Sahra, Egyptian musicians, singers, folkloric dancers and authentic sa’idi musicians. The "Sahra Show" can be seen on the "Sahra Saeeda" video/DVD, "Ahlan, Ahlan" and "Sahra-Direct from Cairo," and can be heard on the CDs "Sahra Saeeda," "Music for Egyptian Dance," and "Layali Zaman." These recordings are available through Sahra’s independent recording and distribution label for Egyptian music, Middle Eastern dance performance and instructional videos, Layali Yasmine Productions ("Nights of Jasmine").
About the Course
JtE-1 presents an overview of the dance zones of Egypt with attention paid to dance steps and movement, posture and costume recognition, dance zone geographical location, historical consideration and cultural diffusion. Multi-media approach includes learning through viewing films, lecture, study materials, trying on costumes, and experiencing the dance.
This 20-hour intensive workshop includes dance and ritual movement of Cairo, Nubia, Ghawazee, Delta, Suez Canal, Bedouin groups, Siwa, Sa’idi region, and pan-Egyptian zeffah, zar and others. The course is open to dancers, anthropologists, historians, costume vendors and interested persons, female and male.
Includes notebook, study materials, map, DVD and CD. Certificate upon completion.
Learn about the dance of Egypt from a deeper perspective. If you are not just a tourist, if you are hungry to understand, if you don't want to simply learn another choreography,
A limited number of rooms has been reserved at the nearby Drury Inn St. Peters, located at 170 Westfield Drive, St. Peters, MO 63376. These rooms are priced at a special group rate. Among other perks, the Drury offers free hot breakfast, free evening snacks, and free wireless Internet.
To book a room, visit the Drury web site here or call 636-397-9700 and reference group number 2133831 (St. Charles Community College). Please make reservations by January 3 to receive the special group rate. Reservations made after this date will be subject to prevailing rates and availability.
If you prefer not to stay at the Drury, a variety of other hotels are also available in the area. For further information about other nearby hotels, please contact St. Charles Community College Continuing Education at 636-922-8233.
Questions?
For questions about registration, special dietary requirements, lodging near the college, or how to locate the college/campus buildings, please contact St. Charles Community College Continuing Education at 636-922-8233.
For all other questions, including questions about course content, e-mail or call Nisaa at 314-599-0506.
Since returning from Egypt, Sahra has been teaching and performing Egyptian oriental and folkloric dance around the world. Utilizing her academic degrees in both dance and cultural anthropology, along with a Master of Arts in dance ethnology from the University of California, Los Angeles, Sahra has created a series of 20-hour intensive workshops on the dance zones of Egypt. As the director and instructor of the "Journey through Egypt" ("JtE") dance ethnology workshops and JtE Travel-as-Classroom series, Sahra conducts workshops worldwide and yearly tours to Egypt. She has given numerous lectures/demonstrations on Egyptian dance, costumes, customs, ritual and folklore to doctorate-level symposiums, university ethnic dance festivals and dance ethnology forums. She has many publication, TV and video credits worldwide.
