Class in Egypt- Amora Shams

jenc

jenc

New member
I would be very sceptical of anyone who claims to be able to teach you in that length of time. The featured video that she posts in the link shows belly rolls only - which are NOT an important part of Egyptian style.
 
Amanda (was Aziyade)

Amanda (was Aziyade)

Well-known member
jenc said:
I would be very sceptical of anyone who claims to be able to teach you in that length of time.
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You can even get familiar with the MUSIC in 30 days.

Sorry but if you want to study in Egypt, I'd say hit one of the festivals. Ahlan Wa Sahlan or Nile Group.

Egyptians tour the US a lot. Tito, Momo Kadous, Yousry Sharif, Faten Salama, Raqia Hassan -- they have been sponsored in the south and midwest. Others you can catch in Dallas or Chicago or Miami.
 
Elfie

Elfie

New member
Amora Shams is my favorite belly dancer. The woman has fantastic skills. She's a second generation Spanish bellydancer who was taught by her mother... she's been dancing since childhood, I think.

Her website: Amora Shams - Oriental Egyptian Dance - BellyDance - Raqs Sharqi - Biography CV

YouTube - Belly Dance Amora - Become Belly Dancer in just 1 month!

YouTube - Belly Dance Egypt - Live improvisation with orchestra 2009 - Become Belly Dancer in 1 month

YouTube - Amora belly dance Egypt - Become Belly Dancer in 1 month

YouTube - Belly Dance - Amora Shams year 1999 - Become Belly Dancer in 1 month


I admit that the gimmicky aspect of her marketing gets a little silly, but she is a beautiful dancer, and I like watching her dance.
 
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Kashmir

Kashmir

New member
Nailah_Siti said:
:: Become an Oriental Belly Dancer in 24 days. Courses in Egypt or in Spain and Morocco ::

I was just wondering if any of you have done this course and if it is something I should start saving my lunch money for in the next few years. I have wanted to go to Egypt since I was a little girl and what better excuse than to learn Egyptian belly dance from its origins!
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Frankly I wouldn't waste my money. If it was a brush up course for people who are already reasonable belly dancers - it may be useful. But she says "independly of the starting dance level". So in 72 hours she is going to cover movement generation, music, choreography, a number of styles, "veils, sword, isis wings, candelabrum, cane for Saidi, cymbals", "make up, sowing, travelling, marketing", "basic Egyptian Arabic lenguage".

Movement generation requires development of muscle control which, unless you already have the skills, will take at least that long. My beginner course covers just shoulder shimmy, hip rock and shimmy, horizontal eights, hip circles over 10 hours (with some other material). At the end of this most need another 10 hours to do anything vaguely bd like. 10 000 repetitions for a new motor skill.

I have a reasonable ability wih languages. With written Arabic experience I took over 20 hours to get thru basic Pimsleur to be able to exchange greetings tell the bellboy to come back later. I certainly couldn't have a real conversation.

I used to attend an intensive with Dr Mo Geddawi - 40 plus hours over a week - in that time dancers with years of experience would add a little to their skills in a handful of areas. For instance 5-6 hours on saiidi gives a good introduction - but not expertise. And Dr Mo himself has 50 years of dance experience - and decades as a teacher.

So, save you money and attend some good workshops with experienced teachers closer to home. If you want to go to Egypt, either go to one of the Festivals or hook up with an experienced person for a dance tour. (Person should be experienced with belly dance eg teacher or vendor, speak reasonable Egyptian, have good contacts in Cairo, and be organized)
 
Nailah_Siti

Nailah_Siti

New member
I'm looking at options to possibly go in the next year or so. I've seen her dance and she is quite good. I definitely don't believe it is possible to learn in a month, however I wouldn't mind spending a month there ;-)
 
Safran

Safran

New member
Nailah_Siti said:
however I wouldn't mind spending a month there ;-)
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In that case I would suggest you spend that month in Cairo and take private classes with different teachers. I think learning with multiple teachers would contribute much more to your goal.
 
Kashmir

Kashmir

New member
Nailah_Siti said:
I'm looking at options to possibly go in the next year or so. I've seen her dance and she is quite good. I definitely don't believe it is possible to learn in a month, however I wouldn't mind spending a month there ;-)
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Good dancer does not equal good teacher. If her mis-spelt site is any indication she is not that professional either.

You say you have been learning about 6 months. Realistically you are not ready for any intensive - have you tried any of the very experienced teachers in the States? Many run longer workshops which would give you a taste of what you are in for.

I did my first 4-dayer after 4 years. It took a lot out of me and much of the information could not be integrated because I didn't have handles to hang it on. After that it took several months to bed in what I did remember. Wind forward a few years and I'm doing 8 days at a stretch - and still I need to go home - without any more new stuff pouring in - and work on it in my own pace for at least 6 weeks - often longer. If you do four weeks I suspect you'll get very little to go away with - unless you do the same material over and over in which case you won't cover a tenth of what she is hyping.

If you want to go to Egypt - by all means go - do a private a day (1-2 hours). I can recommend both Yasmina and Carolyn as good dancers and teachers - with the ability to speak English and teach. Frankly I'd be surprised if you'd get much out of most of the Egyptian master teachers for another 5 years or so - they don't teach technique as such, many have little English and many expect a good grasp of ability to pick up choreography - often with a underlying modified ballet technique (hip drop, hip drop, backwards pirouette repeat and arabesque).

The other possibilities are the Nile Group or Alan Wasalan.

While waiting, listen to lots of Arabic music and sign up for an (Egyptian) Arabic class. Good luck.
 
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Amanda (was Aziyade)

Amanda (was Aziyade)

Well-known member
I hope it's okay to repost this:

Learn How to Belly Dance in Less than a Month?? | Leyla Najmas Hip Phylosophy. Belly Dance Videos, Articles And Tips


It's really sad because it leaves students with the idea that this is something that is easily mastered.

This cracks me up: Our Certificates are not recognised by any institution, they are only a written proove that our students have achieve the Belly Dance Levels under a point of view of high quality and very experienced Belly Dancers and BD teachers that have been recognised through many years as the best belly dancers in England (Amora), the best foreigner belly dancer in Egypt (Amora), best Belly Dancers in Morocco (Alia & Amora), best BD in Spain (Alia) and best BD in France (Amora).



So based on the Amanda School of Bellydance, I hereby certify the best bellydancer in Indiana (Amanda), the best bellydancer in the midwest, (Amanda) and the best bellydancer to bellydance across state lines (Amanda).


:) Amanda
 
Shanazel

Shanazel

Moderator
If I may also repost...

Announcing the Shanazel School of Belly Dance Arts! All your questions answered in unarguable phrases! Movement vocabulary carved on stone tablets harvested from the pyramids! Firm division lines for dance styles and fusions available for $10 a dozen. Certifications a specialty. Be the first in your neighborhood to receive the gospel from The High Grand Snickelfritz of Belly Dance herself, and amaze your friends with your expertise at your next hafla. Costumes, choreographies, and lattes also available. The first hundred dancers to sign up will receive their choice of a pink stuffed boa constrictor or a year's subscription to The High Grand Snickelfritz's newsletter, The Syncopated Dancer. All acolytes passing a series of arduous exams will be allowed to perform with Shanazel's troupe, The Belly Button Jewels of the North Platte.

The Belly Button Jewels relaxing in their private green room between performances




Shanazel has been voted Best Belly Dancer in Northwestern Allendale, (population several) by an assortment of her peers, none of whom had to be bribed too heavily.
 
Nailah_Siti

Nailah_Siti

New member
Thank you ladies for your opinions. I have plenty of time to figure it out, it would be at least 2 years before I even have extra funds as Im getting married next yr. I know how hard this is, so I found it strange that someone would suggest that a lifetime of learning could be crammed into one month. I am attending a workshop next week that is four hrs long with a break. I also am starting cabaret style classes the 15th and possibly doin online classes (my daily morning practice could be better). I am blessed to have previous dance experience as a professional entertainer for a dj company so I catch on to moves very quickly, however I want to be able to feel the music and I know I have to start from zero on that. Pandora is great for exploring different music but I want to know what emotions are hidden in each song. Well anyway Im rambling now so... Lol
 
Nailah_Siti

Nailah_Siti

New member
Also, who are some great teachers in Egypt? I need to move, there is just no way these awesome teachers will come to lil ol west virginia sniff
 
Kashmir

Kashmir

New member
Nailah_Siti said:
Also, who are some great teachers in Egypt? I need to move, there is just no way these awesome teachers will come to lil ol west virginia sniff
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Honey, I live in New Zealand - small country population 4 million. Any decent study I need requires a passport :D

In Egypt I can recommend:
Yasmina (ex UK)
Carolyn (ex Australia)
both great dancers, teachers and fluent Arabic speakers. Both also have (had? riots in Cairo may have impacted them) bed and breakfasts.

Aida Nour, Raqia Hassan, Lubna Emam, Mohamed Kazafy - probably in that order. All expect a certain level of technique - ie they won't teach you how to do a hip-drop-release but can teach interpretation and difference genres and folklore if interested. Various levels of ENglish - usually enough to say what they want but not to answer any complex question.Mohamed Kazafy requires a very high level of exisiting technique. I suspect even in two years it would be too early.

Randa Kamel requires extremely advanced technique and strength. Give it another 5 years or so before considering it.

Egyptian ex-pats include Denise Enan in quebec, Canada (my favourite teacher), Yousry Sharif in New York (inspirational but hard), Dr Mo Geddawi in Berlin, Germany (a wealth of knowledge)
 
Nailah_Siti

Nailah_Siti

New member
Thanks! I'm all about 5 year plans, if I save $25 a month for 5 years I will be good to go! In the meantime, I'm just going to work on being the best me I can be. Guess that dampers my graduation from grad school gift in 2 years to myself, oooo unless I go and see some performers! :clap: love it!
 
Amanda (was Aziyade)

Amanda (was Aziyade)

Well-known member
I don't know if she's deliberately scamming anybody -- I'm sure she wouldn't see it that way.

But it is one thing to hand students a binder full of information, and quite another to actually LEARN that material. I'm sure she gives you a lot of information -- maybe even enough that she believes it's enough to get started as a pro.

I can teach you the basic movements in 18 hours (or 18 classes). Maybe even in 12. Would you have "mastered" them? eh, no. I can spend another 12-16 hours giving you the lowdown on how to design a business card, set up a fan page on Facebook, and advertise on the major dance sites. And I can give you a list of popular songs bands play.

In short, in 30 days. I can outfit you with a 3-ring binder full of information on basic dance steps and basic business marketing information, but that don't make you a pro.


You can get Zumba certified in a weekend, without any prior training. If you view bellydance like Zumba, then her claim isn't outrageous.

Of course, what's outrageous is thinking bellydance is anything like Zumba, but that mentality IS out there.
 
Nailah_Siti

Nailah_Siti

New member
GREAT comparison! I totally didn't think of it that way. My worries are for the people who AREN'T part of this forum and see that and just send their money away without knowing what they are really getting into. At least I had someone to ask, I don't even like to plan workshops that are far away unless I have some proof that the teacher is competent. I would hate to take off work, travel umpteen hours, spend boo-koo dollars and come home in the same predicament. Actually the predicament would be worse because I would be broke! lol
 
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