Nisaa is pleased to offer the following lectures online via Zoom.  Before registering, please read ALL the information below, and if you have questions, e-mail or call 314.599.0506 for more information.  Stay up-to-date regarding upcoming class sessions by subscribing to Nisaa's monthly newsletter!
February 2025 Online Lectures!
Registration and Payment Information
PLEASE READ ALL THE INFORMATION BELOW

Fee:

$30 USD per lecture
$50 USD for both

Please note that class fees are non-refundable after the start of the session.  Classes missed in the current session may not be used as credit for classes in future sessions.  Registrations are non-transferable.

Registration:

Register here with PayPal.  Click on the links to the right.  You don't have to have a PayPal account to use this method of payment.  Please be sure to register with a current e-mail address - Nisaa will e-mail Zoom meeting links to this e-mail address!

Important Information:

  • Register at least 24 hours prior to the start of the lecture.
  • Check your e-mail!  Nisaa will e-mail you the Zoom meeting link for the lecture within 24 hours of the start of the lecture.  If you have not received an e-mail at least two hours prior to the start of the lecture, please contact Nisaa immediately to request the Zoom meeting link.  Please do not wait till the last minute!
  • A recording of each lecture will be available for viewing for 14 days after that lecture.  All purchasers will be notified by email as soon as recordings are available.
Café Culture: The History and Significance of Coffee Houses in Egyptian Traditional Musical Culture
​Saturday, February 8, 2025 | 2-3:30 PM US Central Time

For centuries, coffee houses have been important gathering places for Egypt’s professional entertainers. These spaces have long functioned as sites of networking and negotiation among traditional musicians, as well as staging points for the business of meeting and negotiating with customers. Join Nisaa for a historical and cultural overview of the musicians’ qahwa (coffee house), including insights gleaned directly from Egyptian traditional entertainers. Learn about the history of these important spaces, including the famous coffee houses of Muhammad Ali Street in Cairo and Siyam Street in Mansoura. Step into a world rarely experienced by people outside of Egypt’s traditional musical culture!


Cairo for Belly Dance Historians: A Guide for Finding the Roots of Raqs Sharqi in Modern Cairo​
​Saturday, February 22, 2025 | 2-3:30 PM US Central Time

The Egyptian concert dance now known as raqs sharqi emerged at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries in the urban centers of Cairo and Alexandria. The bustling entertainment halls of central Cairo provided particularly fertile ground for the development of this new, innovative dance style from earlier, traditional dance forms. In this lecture, Nisaa takes participants on a guided "tour" of the streets and neighborhoods that nurtured the emergence of raqs sharqi at the turn of the century, from Azbakiyah to Imad al-Din Street and beyond. By comparing the modern Cairo landscape with late 19th and early 20th century sources, Nisaa illustrates the location of numerous venues of tremendous importance to the emergence and development of early raqs sharqi, even though some of the original structures have long since vanished. A great primer for belly dance historians planning a future trip to Cairo! All participants will receive a PDF map of sites discussed in the lecture!