Janan

May and June Class Schedule Updates

2008-05-11T07:15:32Z

Class Location
Asheville New School of Dance/BeBe Theatre
20 Commerce St.
Asheville, NC

Special Pricing:
If you take both Essentials and Combining in the same evening, both classes are only $17 drop-in or $15 paid monthly.

Essentials of Raqs Sharqi - Belly Dance Fundamentals and Drills
Cost: $12 drop-in; $10 when paid monthly
Class available twice a week
Monday 6:30pm - 7:45pm
Wednesday 7:30pm - 8:30pm

Combining Elements - Belly Dance Combinations & Intermediate Skills
Cost: $12 drop-in; $10 when paid monthly
Class available twice a week
Monday 8:00pm - 9:00pm
Wednesday 8:30pm - 9:30pm

Banat al-Qamar Rehearsals - Troupe Practice (invitation only)
Cost: $10 per practice
Wednesday 6:30pm - 7:30pm
May: 14, 28
June: 11, 25

Qamari Dance Collective - (invitation only)
Wednesday 6:30pm - 7:30pm
May: 21
June: 4, 18

Yay! Great show tonight and fun workshops today :)

2008-05-11T04:26:09Z

Workshop review to come soon - got to get some rest first! :)

Some pics from the Hawaii trip are up now :)

2008-05-06T19:32:37Z

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mahjan/sets/72157604906104188/

It was a lot of fun, but I am glad to be home and enjoying the spring here:)

mahsati_janan @ 2008-04-22T15:28:00

2008-04-22T19:33:32Z

Shimmy South 9 with Aisha Ali

Sponsored by Qadria and Belly Revelations

Held in Raleigh, NC

Topics: Persian Motreb, Ouled Nail, Ghawazee

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.

Ansuya Cabaret Comprehensive Certification

Sponsored by Southern Fusion Productions

Held in Athens GA

Topics: Firecracker Openings, Scintillating Shiftitelli, Basic Beledy, Dramatic Veil, Drum Solos That Rock, Fantastic Floorwork

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.

The making of the Fabulous FanVeilzz DVD

2008-03-05T03:37:07Z

How did it get started?

I was approached by Faye about doing a video because she had received so many inquiries about it and thought it would be a valuable addition and give people ideas on how to use their fan veils. After a little discussion and back and forth, I decided I would at least look into it.

And I was crazy enough to actually try it….

Thinking about it – a lot. I wanted to make sure that if I did this that it would be done well. I have no illusions about putting together a Hollywood quality DVD, or even IAMED…this DVD wouldn’t have those kinds of production values available, but that just means that I would need to be absolutely certain of how we wanted to do this. This is when I started seriously thinking numbers and talking to my darling husband about what would be possible. I wanted the DVD to have professional videography, lighting, and sound, and wanted to keep the background as simple and uncluttered as possible. I know that the “sultan’s palace” look is really popular in belly dance videos, but it was most important to me that everything be clear and visible without any distractions.

I decided on the BeBe, a local black box theatre, as the location. They had a clean and uncluttered stage area, a simple black background and backdrop, experienced lighting and sound people, and were willing to work with me on the project.

But what to include in the video?

Obviously basic level instruction – I canvassed my dance friends and checked with Faye and other vendors and heard that dancers really wanted a very simple break down of everything starting with how to hold and open the fans. I was concerned that it might be too simplistic, but I heard over and over again that it was where everyone wanted to start.

So – I started planning a 3-part introduction video. First, I would cover the absolute basics of using a single fan veil or double fan veil. Second, I would introduce some spins and combinations with 1 or 2 fans. Third, I would wrap up with a set of performances in different styles. For part 3, I would need to have good dancers who would want to participate and showcase their fan skills because I didn’t want it to be just “the Mahsati show.” I wanted people to see how they could incorporate this prop into their own performance regardless of style.

I decided to contact some of my dance friends. I kept it to a very small group of ladies and gentlemen that I had worked with before and that I knew would enjoy it. I didn’t try to pull the “big names” in or call in any favors – I wanted to pay everyone a fair wage an to have the belly dancers on the DVD be representative of all types of dancers. As it stands, I have 2 dancers confirmed and am hoping to have a couple more.

Which brings me to music! You can’t have a dance video without some kind of music! So – I have asked some of my musician friends to help out and have purchased the rights to use a few really nice songs from Falik for the DVD. So far…so good!

January 2008

And it is all moving so quickly now…

Everything is lined up. I have the theatre, lighting, sounds, video, music, and dancers ready. I have most of my script finished and have been practicing it – guaranteed to mess most of it up LOL

I am keeping this record as I go so I can just post it when finished and look back on this project. So far, so good. I have been having a great time with this. There are so many more advanced moves I want to put on the DVD, but I know I have to keep this one to just the basics…and stay between 1.5 and 2 hours. The videographer will be using 2 high def cameras…I am really excited!

More dancers confirmed….

It looks like the line-up of dancers will be Ra’eesah, Show’leh, Reyna & Rick, and me. Three of my other favorites, Asim, Misha, and Masika couldn’t make it due to timing, so I may add another one or two, but this should be a great set.

February 2008

So….Filming!

We filmed on February 3. It took about 5-6 hours altogether from set up through instructional and performances to the end, but it is all finished now! I know there are a couple of small places where I misspoke slightly, but that is fine by me. I am human and elected not to do voiceovers b/c I really prefer it when the instructor actually speaks on dvd. It is probably just a thing of mine, but the crazy smile/eye with a voiceover just makes me twitchy. It probably made it a bit harder since I had to talk through everything, but I think it works.

Standing in the center of the theatre for lighting checks, sound checks, camera checks and all the setup was weird. I haven’t really done that kid of thing since I modeled which has been well over a decade ago now.

I didn't get to see anyone's performances, so I will have to wait until the production people play with it before I can enjoy the dances! *sigh* Now the waiting starts....

It is here and done!!!! The DVD will be available first at Rakkasah with Originales by Faye.

I'll post more details in the next few days :)

Had a blast at Shimmy South 9

2008-03-02T23:32:28Z

I'll try to post more after I have rested :) So much fun!

Mahsati Janan is in Jareeda Magzine!

2008-02-27T20:12:27Z

Hi friends!

My pictures and article have been published in the January/February 2008 Jareeda Magazine. Jareeda, the international magazine for Middle Eastern Dance, is a fantastic publication that focuses on all things belly dance related.

There are a number of theme issues per year for costuming, workshops, videos, music, and dance styles. This is the annual costume issue and I am proud to see my works appear alongside such wonderful dancers as Princess Farhana, Liora, Sarah Skinner, Dhyanis, and many more. I definitely recommend this magazine to anyone interested in belly dance around the world.

You can find my article on page 24 of the current issue. "Peacock Fairy Goddess" is the story of one of my most recent and most meaningful costume creations.

This is actually the second time my costumes have made an appearance in the annual costuming issue, so I am doubly proud!

Happy Dancing!!
Mahsati Janan
www.mahsati-janan.com

Preview....available soon!

2008-02-21T22:49:04Z

the beautiful moon

2008-02-21T03:57:48Z

My husband and I sat outside and watched the lunar eclipse tonight. It was absolutely gorgeous to just sit there and look at all of the stars in the darkness and see the moon's reflected light slowly filter away until it was glowing with with the diffuse shadow of the earth.

It was such a beautiful sight. I keep sneaking back out to see what has changed - I am so fascinated by the universe.

February/March Newsletter

2008-02-06T16:21:55Z

All the good stuff going on right now:

Mahsati Janan - Classical Raqs Sharqi

2007/2008 - Class and Events update

December 2007

In This Issue

Shimmy! Shimmy! Workshops

Ongoing Classes
BeBe Theatre/New School of Dance

20 Commerce St.
Asheville, NC

Monday
6:30-7:45 pm Essential Isolations/Technique
Class is focused on basics and is open to students of all levels.

8:00-9:00 pm Combining Elements
Class is focused for intermediate level, but is open to students of all levels.

Wednesday
7:30-8:30 pm Essential Isolations/Technique
Class is focused on basics and is open to students of all levels.

8:30-9:30 pm Combining Elements
Class is focused for intermediate level, but is open to students of all levels.

All Classes Cost: $12 per class; $17/both on one night OR $10 per class; $15/both on one night if pre-paid monthly

Mahsati's 2008 Schedule

February - March Performances and Workshops

2/16-2/17	Workshops and Show with Tamalyn Dallal (Mauldin, SC)
2/29-3/1	Shimmy South 9 with Aisha Ali (Raleigh, NC)
3/8	Shimmy! Shimmy! Workshops with Mahsati Janan (Morganton, NC)
3/14-3/16	Ansuya Cabaret Comprehensive (Athens, GA)

Quick Links...

Mahsati Janan

BeBe Theatre

Belly Dance in NC

Excellent Start to 2008!

Classes are going beautifully and I am so proud of you all! Wednesday classes in the larger studio have definitely been a great idea - I am enjoying the space and ability for us to work on more traveling and combinations.

In the "Essentials of Belly Dance" class, we are continuing to work with weighted and unweighted movements and how to use the variations in place and traveling. So far you ladies have really done a beautiful job and we'll start transitions and combinations to help cement the learning in the next couple of weeks.

In the "Combining the Elements" class, we are focusing on rhythms this year. For each rhythm we are learning zill patterns, common steps, musical interpretation, and combinations. We are just wrapping up Masmoudi Seghir (beledi) and moving into Masmoudi Kebir....so keep up the good work. You are definitely making me proud!

Hope to see you all again soon!

Happy Dancing!

~Mahsati Janan~

Shimmy! Shimmy! Workshops
in Morganton, NC
March 8, 2008

Part 1:
Shimmy Essentials
In this class you will learn the basics of shimmying from the muscles used for different shimmy styles to the timing and variations of basic shimmies. We will focus on creating clean, crisp shimmies and learning how to combine them with other dance elements to liven up your performance. This class is suitable for all skill levels.

Lower Body
4/4 Classical Egyptian
4/4 Modern Egyptian
4/4 Glute-Suhaila shimmy
2/4 shimmy
3/4 shimmy
Tunisian shimmy
Freeze shimmy

Upper Body
Shoulder shimmy
Chest shimmy

Quick combos

Part 2:
Shimmy Variations, Layering, and Combinations
Continue your journey into shimmies by learning some of the specialty shimmies and how to incorporate them into your dance. In addition to playing with special shimmies, we will use the shimmies from Part 1 and Part 2 in combinations and layering to show the added depth these shimmies can give your musical interpretation. All skill levels are welcome, but familiarity with shimmy essentials will be helpful to get the most from this class.

Lower Body
Side to Side Shimmy
Turkish shimmy
Choo-Choo Shimmy
Forward/back shimmy
Ghawazee shimmy
Hagallah shimmy

Layering with shimmies

Quick Combos

Early-registration prices end February 29
Morning Class - $30
Afternoon Class - $30
Show tickets - $5
Both classes & free show ticket - $45

More information and registration at Rising Sun Tribe.

Yours in Dance,

Mahsati Janan
(828) 318-7572
mahsati@mahsati-janan.com
www.mahsati-janan.com

mahsati_janan @ 2008-01-10T11:41:00

2008-01-10T17:01:38Z

Wow - things have been really exciting lately for me, so I will just try to put as much as I can into a few words :)

Classes at the BeBe are doing really well! I finally managed to get two of the classes switched from the small studio to the larger one to help out with space issues because I have had so many people in class this past few months. The Essentials classes are averaging 12-15 per class (which I try to keep capped at 15, but have been ok with nearly 20 in the big studio) and the Combining the Elements classes are averaging around 5-7 dancers. I try to keep the Essentials at no more than 15 and the Combining the Elements at no more than 10 just to make sure I have enough time to give everyone individual attention.

Hopefully when they re-do the schedule for the studio, I will be able to move the other 2 classes into the larger studio as well. It is so nice to have so much room to work with!

Troupe....well, as many of you know, I have decided to form a new dance troupe - two of them, actually. The first is Banat al Qamar, which will be the student troupe of the Qamari Dance Company. I plan to start with 3-5 members (maybe more if I have solid interest from enough people) and they will be performing at local events, festivals, recitals, and such as they are ready and interested. It is for them to have fun and learn performance skills as they transition from being beginners to intermediate level dancers.

The second is Qamari Dance Company. I have a few definite ideas on this one. It will be advanced to professional level dancers and will be focused primarily at dance oriented, theater, and pro events. This one will probably take more time to get off the ground as I want it to be a meeting of the minds of advanced level dancers. My hope is that in addition to the pro-level dancers involved at first, that some of the members of Banat al Qamar will continue to study and advance to this troupe over the years.

Workshops and shows...
February 16: Workshop and show with Tamalyn Dallal in Mauldin, SC
February 29-March 1: Shimmy South workshops and shows with Aisha Ali in Raleigh, NC
March 8: Shimmy! Shimmy! workshops and show with Mahsati Janan in Morganton, NC

No...I am not leaking the details of the super-secret project here. Just a note to let you know that it is well on its way and will be moving forward pretty quickly now! :)

So - there you have the quick version! Everything dance-wise has been great lately - well, everything in general has been great lately :)

My new website is also up, so feel free to visit here - More stuff to be uploaded and updated there soon!

Happy dancing, everyone!!

Very Cool Quizzes

2008-01-03T07:36:01Z

Ok - first try, my scores were as follows

http://tonometric.com/rhythmdeaf/
I scored 92.3% on this one

http://tonometric.com/adaptivepitch/
1.2 here

http://jakemandell.com/tonedeaf/
86.1 here

These were actually really cool and I feel like I contributed to science LOL

Now - my plan is to retake them later and see if my scores change!

Absolutely fabulous! Art by NikkiJ

2007-12-20T03:05:01Z

As part of my holiday joy this year, I received custom commissioned artwork by NikkiJ - I am now a fantastic anime-styled Egyptian dancer and Peacock Goddess!

Want to see the costumes/pics that inspired these? You can visit my flickr account or just look behind the cut

Learning about yourself by seeing through other's eyes

2007-12-11T14:12:32Z

Johari and Nohari windows are ways that you can learn about yourself by having people choose 5 or 6 words to describe you.

If you would like to help me out, please answer how you perceive me at:

With words that are my positive characteristics: http://kevan.org/johari?name=mahsati_janan

With words that are my less than positive areas: http://kevan.org/nohari?name=mahsati_janan

Be totally honest :) I am interested :)

Belly Dance Classes with Mahsati - December 2007 Newsletter

2007-12-02T21:57:47Z

Belly Dance Classes with Mahsati - December 2007 Newsletter

~December Message~
Note: There will be no class on the following days

No Class - Monday 12/24
No Class - Wednesday 12/26
No Class - Monday 12/31

due to the holidays. We will be having class all other days and will begin January with the Wednesday class 1/2/2008.

This has been a wonderful month! Thank you so much for making classes such a great experience. In the Essentials class this month we will be completing our section on undulations and upper body isolations and working on traveling and combinations based on what we have learned. For the Combining the Elements class we will be working on a variety of different transitions and styles in preparation for starting the new year.

For everyone: If you have any requests for specific styles or dance movements you would like to learn in 2008, please let me know and I will make sure I have them in our lesson plan.

Upcoming Events
12/8/2007 - Holiday Hafla sponsored by Onca and Amanda
12/17 and 12/19 - Last classes for 2007...Hope to see you there!

Happy Dancing!

~Mahsati Janan~

~Ongoing Classes~

BeBe Theatre/New School of Dance
20 Commerce St.
Asheville, NC

Monday
6:30-7:45 pm Essential Isolations/Technique
Class is focused on the basics and is open to students of all levels.

8:00-9:00 pm Combining Elements
Class is focused for intermediate level, but is open to students of all levels.

Wednesday
7:30-8:30 pm Essential Isolations/Technique
Class is focused on the basics and is open to students of all levels.

8:30-9:30 pm Combining Elements
Class is focused for intermediate level, but is open to students of all levels.

All Classes Cost: $12 per class; $17/both on one night OR $10 per class; $15/both on one night if pre-paid monthly
The Oasis - A Beautiful Workshop and Two Shows!

Oasis Workshops and Shows 11/2007

~Workshop with Gina~
11/17 - Jillanna and Merry Bellies of Ringgold, GA, sponsored a workshop by Gina of Atlanta. Gina taught a lovely modern Egyptian style drum solo choreography and, as always, was wonderful! I highly recommend any workshop with Gina for dancers interested in Americanized Egyptian or modern Egyptian style. She is truly fantastic!

~Gems of the Oasis Show~
The show was fantastic as well - It was held at Barking Legs Theatre in Chattanooga, TN, and included very talented dancers from around the Southeast. It was a great location and the dancers were all so much fun! I highly recommend any of Jillanna's events. You can see video of my classical Egyptian style performance here:

~Underground Oasis - Experimental & Gothic Show~
This show was a definite treat! There were dark gothic numbers and more airy fantasy numbers by local artists and invited guests. Liora performed in both shows and did an absolutely beautiful job. She is such a fun dancer to watch. She also taught a mini-workshop the next day, but I wasn't able to attend this time. I do love her classes and recommend her to anyone interested in tribal fusion belly dance stylings! I danced in the show as well in my peacock theme and loved the chance to do something a little different. It is always fun to work with different styles on occasion. You can view the video of my more fantasy-styled performance here:

Yours in Dance,
Mahsati Janan
(828) 318-7572
mahsati@mahsati-janan.com

Ask me a question, get an answer :)

2007-10-23T20:32:22Z

1 question...
1 chance...
1 honest answer...
That's all you get...

Ask me 1 question.
Any 1 question, anything,
no matter how crazy it is.
An honest answer.

No catch.
Except one. All comments will be screened so your question stays private between you and me, and only you will get to see my answer to your question.
But I dare you to repost this
and see what people ask you.

Howlin' at the Moon - Greenville

2007-10-15T00:17:39Z

Group3
Originally uploaded by mahjan

We went down to Greenville this weekend for the Howlin' at the Moon workshop and masquerade show sponsored by Show'leh and Southern Djinn. It was absolutely wonderful. The workshop with Liora was a lot of fun and it is always a joy to watch her slink her way around a room.

The show was exciting with lots of acts from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina (and probably more!) Everyone did a beautiful job on their costumes and themes for the show. Since this was a masquerade, everyone's creative sides really came out. We had fairies, zombies, prisoners, witches, gothic ladies, a necromancer, and I'm not even sure what else! Liora brought down the house with her rendition of Vogue - and I think Madonna could definitely learn a few moves from her! :)

Show'leh and Southern Djinn did a great job with all of the decorations and kept everything running smoothly despite some problems with the sound system. Lots of pics from the performances are up on my flickr account linked through this group picture.

If you ever get a chance to attend one of these events - go! Show'leh, Ra'eesah, and all of the Greenville dancers are part of a beautiful community. I am always honored to take part in their events.

Fall for Me Habibi 2007 - Greenville :)

2007-10-03T15:12:42Z

The big update on the weekend is here :)

Friday night: Hafla!
We got into Greenville around 8 and were just in time to make it to part of the student hafla. Two of Ra'eesah's students had already performed, but they graciously re-performed their dances for us! I was really impressed at the progress they have made and am looking forward to seeing lots more in the coming years. Everyone was really sweet and I am glad we made it - even if it was pretty late. :)

Saturday: Workshop!
I taught a wonderful workshop on layering essentials and combinations at the Ma'at International Dance studio at Poe Mills and had a fantastic time. The experience levels ranged from first day of class (literally!) to over 20 years as a professional dancer, so it was a fun challenge to keep everyone engaged and adjust each segment for all of the different levels. The dancers did a great job and I think they had fun playing with layers in a new and different way. Hopefully I will get a couple of pictures from the workshop I can post here. The space is absolutely gorgeous and I am looking forward to teaching there again. Special thanks to Ra'eesah for sponsoring me - I really loved it!

Saturday night: Show!
The Fall For Me Habibi 2007 showcase was held at the Caspian Grill. Other than a few technical difficulties with music here and there the evening was a great success. Dancers from Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina graced the stage (and maybe other places....I didn't get the chance to find out where everyone was from). All of the performances were just beautiful - it is great to be part of such a talented community of dancers. We took video, but the restaurant turned the lights down low so most of it was just too dark. I will see what I can do with it and post it if it turns out.

Tease

2007-09-18T21:36:05Z

In progress and to go live in 2008 -

Qamari Dance Company and Banat Al-Qamar (student troupe)

:) Exciting times over here!

9/29 Greenville, SC: Fall For Me Habibi Show & Layering Workshop with Mahsati

2007-09-07T01:07:51Z

Here is the info for the 9/29 workshop and show!

FallForMeHabibi-Mahsati 2
Originally uploaded by mahjan

Night at the Oasis - Knoxville

2007-08-20T19:07:20Z

Mahsati @ Knoxville
Originally uploaded by mahjan

I went to a fabulous event this weekend sponsored by Debka in Knoxville. Linda of Tennessee taught 2 hours each of workshops on belly moves and a nice choreography and then a great show.

I loved getting the chance to meet everyone - there were some absolutely gorgeous dancers. The location was incredible - a good dance floor and mirrors everywhere.

Debka's students did a beautiful job (as did Debka). I missed out on most of the second half of the show backstage, but I will get to enjoy it all on dvd. There was an Azerbaijani scarf dance that I really wanted to see. The show was great overall. I especially loved visiting with Linda - it is the first time we have met and she was both talented and a joy to be around.

I am absolutely exhausted now....getting home at 3am for work at 7am is a little more adventurous than I like in my old age, but it was definitely worth it!

Oh! And it is official now: I am teaching a 3 hour workshop on layering techniques and combinations as part of the Fall for Me Habibi celebration in Greenville next month - more details to come. :)

Upcoming Class Schedule/Performances/Etc.

2007-07-30T18:34:19Z

This is certainly a busy time for me!

Upcoming Dance Classes:

New Classes at BeBe Theatre/New School of Dance

20 Commerce St.
Asheville, NC

Mondays (Starting September 10)
6:30-7:45 pm Essential Isolations/Technique
Class is focused on the basics and is open to students of all levels.
8:00-9:00 pm Combining Elements
Class is focused for intermediate level, but is open to students of all levels.
Cost: $12 per class; $17/both OR $10 per class; $15/both if pre-paid monthly

Wednesdays (Starting August 1)
7:30-8:30 pm Essential Isolations/Technique
Class is focused on the basics and is open to students of all levels.
8:30-9:30 pm Combining Elements
Class is focused for intermediate level, but is open to students of all levels.
Cost: $12 per class; $17/both OR $10 per class; $15/both if pre-paid monthly

New Class Session at Namaste Yoga

57 Broadway Avenue
Asheville, NC

Sharp Moves and Shimmy Techniques
August 7 - September 25
Tuesdays
7:30-9:00 pm Essentials Isolations/Technique
Class is focused on the basics and is open to students of all levels. This session will center on sharp moves and shimmy techniques to use in your dancing and to add spice to your layering.
Cost: $15 per class OR $96 for pre-registered session

Recent and Upcoming Performances:

Night at the Oasis - Knoxville, TN

August 19 at 8:00 pm
Linda workshop and show sponsored by Debka

Mahsati will be performing August 19 as part of the Night at the Oasis show along with many other wonderful dancers from around the Southeast.

From July - Mahsati at Leyla Show in Ringgold, Ga

Mahsati perfomed July 7, 2007, in the Leyla Jouvana show sponsored by Jillanna of Merry Bellies. It was a great event full of beautiful performances by dancers from across the Southeast.

2007 Belly Dancer Demographics Survey:

http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e241acw2f2x8n33m/start

A few stats so far:

(343 Survey Responses)

Reported Gender
Female	92%
Male	2%
Other	<1%
No Response	6%

65% of Belly Dancers who responded reported having a college degree.

Other misc. updates

I finally got around to removing myself as moderator on the old Bal Fahjar and Amani Dance Ensembles Tribe. As neither Troupe Amani nor Bal Fahjar are in existence any longer, it seemed like a good time to finish removing myself from the association. My former dance partner has continued on and has a new troupe, so I passed the moderation for the tribe over to her. I am going to be really busy in the coming months, so I probably won't be able to keep up moderating tribe and lists for troupes that are no longer active. I *think* this will be a good thing overall. I miss my previous Bal Fahjar troupe girls and keep in touch, but I am too far away to be as active in their dance lives as I would like. Thankfully there are a lot of fantastic teachers in the Tampa area (like Madrina, Sevdiah, Karen, and Xenobia) that I am happy to recommend.

I may be re-forming a troupe up here sooner than originally planned. With Fabiana and Diana both sending me their students it means that their troupe girls are now homeless and I definitely want them to still have a troupe if it makes them happy to perform. I will talk it over with them when I can and see what everyone's thoughts are.

Everything is going really well in my life right now. i am planning to teach some more out of state and local workshops soon and have some fantastic dance friends and colleagues here.

Ok...I think that is all for now, but I'll check back in if I think of anything else!

Finally....the schedule for the next couple of months is ready to go!

2007-07-21T02:05:40Z

A pic from the Leyla and Roland show in Georgia :)

2007-07-18T21:18:47Z

Mahsati Janan - photos by Bob Edens, www.bobedens.com
Originally uploaded by mahjan

Yay! Absolutely love the photography by this guy - he took some really great shots of all of the dancers at the Leyla and Roland show.

The Morocco Workshop and Show

2007-06-22T13:26:24Z

Mahsati Janan - Faye's Fan Veils - 15
Originally uploaded by mahjan

Yay! The workshop and show were a lot of fun. I danced with the fan veils from Originals by Faye and really had fun with them.

While practicing with them I noticed that you really have to treat them more like double veils than fans, though there are a few things you can do with fans that are unique. This pic is some basic hip drops while bringing the fans down from overhead. :)

Morocco was interesting as always - she has such an incredible wealth of information and experience. I was really touched that when I came off-stage after dancing she complimented both my dancing and use of the fans very highly. It definitely means a lot coming from someone who has seen so much dance over the years!

I got to visit with Ra'eesha, Sharifa, Jessica, Reyna, Asim, and lots of other friends while we were there - really nice.

Special thanks to Onca for bringing great workshops to the area - it is always greatly appreciated! :)