Shimmy South 9 was a lot of fun packed into a short time. In a one day workshop, Aisha Ali covered Persian Motreb, Ouled Nail, and Ghawazee dance styles. Of course, due to the brief nature of the workshops, each was only a general overview of the styles, but it was enough of a taste to interest those new to the folkloric types and a good review for those more familiar with the styles.

Everything kicked off with a show Friday night. I heard that the show was absolutely wonderful and high energy, but wasn’t able to make it to Raleigh quite early enough to experience it for myself. So my Shimmy South experience began bright and early Saturday morning. The location was an interesting mix with a raised stage, a dance floor, and carpeted areas set up with tables. After a wonderful introduction from Qadria and a few false starts with the sound system, Aisha started right in on the material.

Aisha’s instruction was peppered throughout with anecdotes of her experiences in the Middle East, with her research, and with great stories about being a professional dancer throughout her life. In addition to explaining the origins of the different dances and movements, Aisha gave us a glimpse into how she learned these things and into the personalities of her dance and travel companions through the years. It was incredibly interesting to hear all of the details of her travels and firsthand accounts of her experiences with the people from all of these different ethnic traditions. We spent the day trying out the basics of the different styles and just having a great time. This was not an intense technique workshop, but had more of an overview and historical focus. We did cover some basic movements in each style and did some lead and follow style practice with Aisha to get the feel for how it all came together.

Saturday night was the second show and it was a lot of fun. The audience was fantastic and all of the dancers I could see in the first half were great! It was a good mix of styles with different cabaret, ethnic and tribal styles all well-represented. Everyone was incredibly supportive and just a ton of fun. I can’t wait to get my copy of the dvd.

I can definitely recommend Aisha’s workshops to anyone who is interested in an introduction in ethnic belly dance styles or who wants to hear firsthand accounts of how the dance has evolved within the past 50 years.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into the Ansuya Cabaret Comprehensive Certification weekend, but since I had taken workshops with her previously and enjoyed them I thought it could be a lot of fun. That part was right on – Ansuya was joyful and fun, as always, and made the workshops interesting for all participants. There was a wide level of skill variation among the dancers – everything from less than 6 months dancing to more than 20 years. It was a fun mix, but it did make me curious about how the certification would be handled. I met up with Soubhi at the beginning of class and we gamely worked through the whole workshop series.

For those who may be unfamiliar with Ansuya’s style, she is straight up old-school American Cabaret belly dance which is a distinct fusion of Turkish, Greek, Lebanese, Egyptian, and a good dash of American flair. It was very popular in the US in the 1960s and 70s, but has become less visible over the years with the focus on specific regional styles, ATS, and tribal fusion. Saying that, American Cabaret still has a lot to offer and can be one of the most entertaining forms around. The workshop was structured around some of the basic part of the cabaret 5 to 7 part routine. For each section we received hand-outs for self evaluation that were only for our own use.

Day 1: Firecracker Openings and Scintillating

First up was Firecracker Openings where we worked on step-touch variations, step-ball-change variations, and traveling with turns. From there we moved into Scintillating Shiftitelli and focused on arm work, undulations, figure 8s and other smooth movements.

Day 2: Basic Beledy and Dramatic Veil

We started the day with Basic Beledy and worked on single hip drop and twist variations and hip circles. Finger cymbals were up next and we made up for lost time by doing all of the finger cymbal drills for the previous sections along with this one. After a short break for lunch, we came back for Dramatic Veil which centered on a basic wrap/unwrap, multiple veil frames, and basic spins with arm variations.

Day 3: Drum Solos That Rock and Fantastic Floorwork

Snaps, locks, shimmies, and layers woke us all up this morning. All of the basic movements you would expect in a drum solo were well-represented. After getting us all moving for the morning with lots of shimmies, we turned in the afternoon to Fantastic Floorwork to finish the weekend. All of the basic floorwork was covered from kneeling hip movements to laybacks to traveling. It was a good workout and a great close to the weekend.

There was a fantastic show along with the workshop, but I am waiting to see the dvd so I can truly enjoy all of the performances. From what I saw everyone did a great job….I just have to wait to actually enjoy the show! I can safely say that backstage was a wonderful experience with all of the dancers helping and chatting together. If even half of the great energy backstage was visible on stage, then the audience had a rare treat!

Overall, I would say that it was a fun workshop set. All attendees received a certificate of completion at the end which Ansuya stated as being Cabaret Comprehensive Certified. The content of the comprehensive was not extremely advanced, but was a great review of or introduction to the American Cabaret style and often seemed like an extremely condensed version of an American Cabaret basics class. The certification does not involve any examination and is based only on attendance at the workshops. Students who attend all three Ansuya Comprehensive Workshops (Cabaret, Fusion, Props) receive an additional certificate as an Elite Graduate of the Ansuya Comprehensive Certification Program. If the other comprehensives come to this area, I will definitely take them because Ansuya is a joy and her workshops are always fun.

I would recommend Ansuya’s Cabaret Comprehensive to anyone interested in certifications, American Cabaret style, or just a solidly fun workshop series.