Arabic and Balkan Music Courses

Chas Whitaker and Maren are starting a series of Arabic and Balkan music workshops in Bristol and Bath.

Introduction to Arabic Rhythm is a twelve week drumming/percussion course led by Chas which is particularly suitable for those with no previous percussion experience.

Maren leads a twelve week Introduction to Arabic and Balkan Music, covering folk and classical traditions. No prior knowledge of this music is necessary, just a basic proficiency on any instrument.

Both courses take place on Thursday nights from May 10 at St Werburghs Community Centre in Bristol - cost for the 12 weeks is £72 or £60 concessions. There are two Arabic Rhythm classes on offer - beginners and improvers.

Maren's Introduction to Arabic and Balkan Music is also on offer on Monday nights from May 14 at the Percy Community Centre in Bath - prices as above.

For information about the Arabic Rhythm course, email chaswhitaker @ yahoo.co.uk - for information about the Arabic and Balkan Music course, phone 01761 420664 or email marenlueg @ yahoo.co.uk

See also the website at www.arabicdrum.co.uk

Tribal and Restaurant Workshops in Bristol

Everything Egyptian is holding the following workshops in Bristol.

On Sunday 10 June, Deb from Black Willow will lead an introduction to tribal dancing and how to create the tribal look with plaits, shells, beads, hair pieces etc.

It takes place at Headley Park School - morning session from 11am till 1pm costs £22, £20 for early bird booking, or £15 for teachers. The afternoon session from 1.30 till 3.30pm costs £17, £15 and £12. You can book both workshops for £30 if you don't qualify for the early bird or teacher discounts.

On Sunday 17 June, Dawn Marie (AgarmaTan) will show you how to dance in a restaurant, working with the audience and adapting to limited space. This workshop takes place at the Statis Restaurant, Baldwin Street, Bristol from 11am till 1pm - it'll be closed to the general public. Prices are £22, £20 early bird or £15 teachers.

To book, call Everything Egyptian 0117 935 9040 or 07977 247763 - for more details check the website at www.everythingegyptian.co.uk

Arabian Nights in Swansea - May 18

Suhayla presents the third annual Arabian Nights hafla at the Swansea Dockers Club, St Thomas, Swansea on Friday 18 May.

It features special guest Mandy McLouglin and a Middle Eastern buffet.

The hafla is open to women only - it takes place from 7.30pm till late with tickets costing £10.

Contact Ali 07878 128293 or Ray 07919 626711.

On Saturday 19 May, Mandy will be holding a veil workshop, suitable for beginners, at the same venue.

The workshop runs from 11am till 1pm and costs £10 - call Ali on the number above for to book a place.

Belly Dance 4 Bumps

Cardiff-based teacher and performer Stephanie Gawne Hamza is the star of a new DVD aimed at expectant mothers.

From her own experience, Steph says belly dance can help pregnant women feel positive and more accepting of their changing shape as well as providing a useful form of relaxation, enhancing the connection with the unborn child.

Belly Dance 4 Bumps costs £15 plus £3 postage and packing.

See www.bellydance4bumps.co.uk for full details.

SOS - Save our Swords!

You couldn't make it up - or could you? Sword dances could be outlawed under a government crackdown against offensive weapons.

The following comes from Afra al Kahira and Val Rainbow:

"Apparently, as a knee-jerk reaction to recent upsurge in juvenile knife crime, our lovely Mr Blair is looking at introducing legislation that will ban the use, import and storage of swords for any use at all!

"Meaning that those of use who dance with them will be breaking the law and will be expected to hand them over for destruction!

"What a lovely country we live in!"

A petition against these plans has been set up and can be accessed online:

petitions.pm.gov.uk/swords/BtOH7mELePByAoyl5SA2jbD

Habiba Tangerina gets bigger

After three successful events, the monthly Habiba Tangerina performance night at Que Pasa in Taunton is getting bigger, as Shema explains:

"On 4th May, we will have the use of the ENTIRE VENUE (up to 700 people!!) rather than being tucked away upstairs but it is important that this is well supported in order to keep the managers happy and continue to offer us this access.

"We already have a number of fantastic performers lined up, with our special guest, Tara Ibrahim. However, I am looking for more performers to make the best use of a large stage and floor space.

"So, if you are a performer, or are part of a group, or know of another performance group who can travel to Taunton, then I would be really interested to hear from you/them.

"This is a great opportunity to perform on stage to a large audience of friendly and enthusiastic people and I always manage to present a variety of styles, so Traditional, Modern and Fusion dances are equally welcome and valued - please don't think that this is a purely cabaret night because it isn't!!!

"This is an open platform, so anyone can apply to perform and my only reason for saying 'no' would be if we are already full that month!!

"I want this to become a supportive event , counteracting some of the 'politics' in our community, and giving both amateurs and professionals the chance to showcase their mulit-faceted talents; myself and the venue manager are also trying to secure as much publicity as possible for this venture, particularly for the May re-launch.

"I would also like to hear from any other dancers, performers, musicians, bands, acrobats etc from other cultures as the second half of the evening will have a definite multi-cultural feel to encourage our community to work with other talented individuals and groups so please feel free to forward this on to anyone who you think might be interested.

"Thanks so much for your time, and I hope to see you all there!!!"

For details, call Shema on 07779 295519 or email shema.dance @ yahoo.com - and see the webiste at www.tangerina.org

PS I went to Habiba Tangerina myself on Good Friday. It was a great night - everyone did very well despite the distracting disco music coming from the ground floor. Should be even better next time!

Ozgen Hafla and Workshops - May 19/20

Turkish male bellydancer Ozgen is coming to south Wales for a hafla and workshops on the weekend of May 19 and 20.

He'll be starring at the Turkish Delight Hafla at the Eastern Leisure Centre, Rumney, Cardiff, on Saturday 19 May - also featuring DJ Andy Roberts, the Everything Egyptian bazaar, raffle and more.

The hafla takes place from 7.30 till 11.30pm with tickets at £5.

Workshops take place earlier in the day at Maindy Pool in Cardiff from 1 till 4pm when Ozgen will be teaching Turkish choreography, some zill technique and Turkish Gypsy Rom.

Contact Sue Lloyd on 07708 376887 for more about the Cardiff workshops and hafla - performance slots are available.

On Sunday 20 May Ozgen will be holding a general level workshop at Rhyd-Y-Fro Community Hall, Rhyd-Y-Fro, Pontardawe.

It costs £20 and runs from 12 noon till 3pm. There will be breaks, so bring something for lunch.

To book a place, contact Lisa Tel on 01792 869453 or 07801 145866 or email lisaburkl @ yahoo.co.uk

1001 Nights - Saturday 5 May

The 1001 Nights Society is staging a day of workshops and its eighth extravaganza show at the University of Bath on Saturday 5 May.

Tutors include Medea Mahdavi, Carmen Jones, Jacqueline Jamal, Karine Butchart, Melanie Norman and Charareh Pourzand covering a range of styles - traditional and classic Persian, Arabic Taqasim, Egyptian, Turkish gypsy and tabla solo.

There'll also be yoga with Shokuh Zahedi and a session on Persian eye make-up with Zohreh Yeganeh-Lalehnia.

The workshops take place from 10am till 6pm, followed by an evening show with dancers, live musicians, DJs and food from 7.30pm till 1am.

Workshops cost £10 each or £7 concessions, while the show costs £20 or £13 concessions - discounts are available for booking several workshops with or without show tickets.

All tickets have to be booked in advance - for details phone 01225 313646 or email 1001nights @ bath.ac.uk

The full brochure can be downloaded from www.bath.ac.uk