MEDA - Middle Eastern Dance Artists

Friday April 4, 2008
6:30-9:30p	Hafla-Style Show
Saturday April 5, 2008
9:00-10:00a	Registration
10:00-12:00p	Dances of the Ouled Nayl
12:00-1:00p	Box Lunch In-House (Cost Included)
12:25-12:45p	MEDA meeting-- Everyone's invited
Notice:	Due to unforseen circumstances, Ishmael will not be able to teach this weekend.

1:00-3:00p	Sahraoui Moorish and Guedra
6:30 -8:45p	Banquet and Lecture:
	"Algerian Women throughout History"
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Healing Workshop
9:00-10:00a	Registration
10:00a-12:15p	Preperation for the release of sadness,
	pain, etc. through music and dance
12:15-1:15p	Box Lunch In-House (Cost Included)
12:40-1:00p	MEDA meeting-- Everyone's invited
1:15-3:15p	Trance Dance (come with an Open Heart)
	Please bring a small, light blanket and a long shawl(no coins)
Descriptions
Ouled Nayl
Algerian ’Dancing Girls” of the Ouled Nayl Tribe fascinated and inspired the West for more than a century. They became known worldwide through Western accounts, written by well- established writers; paintings by famous painters; and a huge number of Colonial postcards. In the past fifty years their dance tradition disappeared….
The Nayli tradition consisted of learning the dance as a child from her mother. The girl would then leave her home at the onset of puberty; making her way to other oasis in order to start a new life while traveling and performing; getting paid with jewelry; and living a life of a courtisane. When she earned enough, she would return to her home oasis, look for a husband; marry; and end her professional career; after which she would hand down her dancing skills to her own daughter.
Desert Sahraoui Moorish dance of the Reguibat
This dance originates from Mauritania but also existed in Algeria and Morocco. It is called Nakh, Guedra, or Hair dance. The dancer tells a story using facial expressions and hand movements and symbols. The dance ends often with the Hair dance, where the dancers dance until exhausted. The dance symbolizes Birth, Death and Rebirth.
Guedra
This solo dance is performed by Moorish women of the Blue People from Mauritania and is found in Morocco in the region of Goulimine. It is also called “The Dance of the Hands”. The term Guedra is related to a pot covered with a skin that is used as a drum. Women play it to accompany the dance. The dancer starts standing; but ends the dance sitting on her knees covered with one or two veils. She moves her arms, hands, and fingers with great precision. This dance symbolizes Life. It could be classified as a Trance dance.
Algerian Women throughout History:
Amel will give us a background on the radical changes that affected Algerian women's lives as a result of the wars of colonization, decolonization, the establishment of independence, and the injustices toward Algerian woment during the events of the 1990's and their contemporary situation.
Zar-Hadra Sufi Dance: Self Healing Through Whirling and Trance
Zar (in Egypt, Sudan and the Middle East) and Hadra (in the Maghreb) are one of the few still existing ancient healing ceremony performed by women for women originating from Africa.In Algeria as in many Arab countries it is still common that women get together in order to release sadness, pain, frustration and diseases through music and dance. Amel Tafsout grew up with this dance form and also studies healing and trance medium-ship at the College of Psychic Studies in London, U.K and is an accredited spiritual healer. Her personal interest is ‘Women and Shamanism’ and her main research field is “Women and Sufism”. She has been leading Sufi workshops in many European countries and the U.S. Amel has enabled many women and men to release their fear of changing, to embrace their rebirth and to surrender to the New Life!
The workshop will have two parts: Part 1: Amel will start with warm ups, breathing exercises, body work, and sound healing. She also will introduce whirling and spinning. Amel says, "I will start very slowly until you feel ok before I gradually teach you the next step, which is a little bit faster. Remember that I will do a lot of bodywork and breathing exercises beforehand. You should not feel dizzy." Part 2: Amel will give some background about the Trance. It is crucial that if we want to “let go” we need to feel “safe” in the community; as only a “safe” environment can enable us to release.