Aisha Studios Presents
Tarifa Salem at Ishanya Dance
Apex, North Carolina
February 23-24, 2024
Raqs Sharqi with Veil and Finger Cymbals, Lebanese Folkloric Handkerchief Dance, Ritual Zaar Dance
Past Events
True Beginner Raqs Sharqi Intensive
December 18, 2022
1-3 PM
Sage Studios
1117 B Ave West Columbia, SC 29169
Raqs Sharqi, better known as “Belly Dance” in the western world is a beautiful ancient art that has been handed down from generation to generation among Arab cultures. It’s intrigue grew here in the US after the appearance of the first “Little Egypt” at the "Street in Cairo" exhibition at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Tarifa is presenting this opportunity to true beginners who may have never had the chance to take a Middle Eastern Dance Class or who may have been too intimidated to jump into an open “Belly Dance” Class. This 2 hour intensive will include a thorough, yet risk free warm-up to prepare your muscles to execute the basic movements characteristic to Lebanese style Raqs Sharqi, including steps, isolations movements of head, shoulder, chest and hips as well as the sultry undulations where the entire vertebral column will be engaged in articulating movement in both sagittal and frontal planes. This intensive is being offered as a sneak peek into the “True Beginner Raqs Sharqi” class Tarifa will be offering after the start of the New Year.
Registration Fee
$35 by December 11, 2022
$45 After December 11, 2022
$55 Parent/Child (child must be 12+)
*Payment should be sent via PayPal “Friends/Family” to paypal.me/tarifasalem to secure your spot.
Veil Vibes with Tarifa
October 7, 2023
Esmeralda Dance Studio
1583 Broad River Rd. Columbia SC, 29210
Join Tarifa this October for her “Veil Vibes” Workshop which will provide students with basic skills on handling and moving the veil to enhance the beautiful movements that are so characteristic to Raqs Sharqi in its most traditional style. A beautiful 3 minute choreography created by Tarifa in 2003 will be taught for you to add to your own personal performance repertoire. This workshop is recommended for all levels of students who have had some Middle Eastern Dance experience and enjoy learning all the nuances of Arabic dancing and choreography.
Required: Appropriate Dance Wear , Silk or Chiffon Veil between 7 & 9 feet in length. (Tarifa will bring a few extras for those who don’t have one.)
Early Registration Discount Fee through September 29th: $40
From September 30th - October 6th: $45
At Door Fee: $50 Cash Only
(College Student Discount Fee: $35 but MUST show ID)
*Payment via PayPal (friends/family please) at the following link: paypal.me/tarifasalem
OR mail check or money order to Donna Smith at 800 Betsy Dr. Columbia, SC 29210
NO REFUND POLICY IN EFFECT!
To learn more about Tarifa Salem go to www.tarifasalem.com/about
*There will be a Casual After Party (Hafla) for participants at Tarifa’s Private Residence (2 miles from the studio) from 3 - 6 pm. Mezza and Beverages will be provided. You are welcome to bring a pre-prepared snack or bottle of wine. Please let Tarifa know if you can come. You are welcome to bring your significant other. Address will be sent privately to all those who RSVP or you can get the address at the workshop! (Tarifa has pets… lots of pets!)
Tarifa Salem Eastern Dance Arts and Sage Studios Presents
“Nihayat Alsayf Raks Baladi”
September 3, 2022 2 - 5 pm
Sage Studios 1117 B Avenue, West Columbia, SC 29169
This Event by Tarifa Salem Eastern Dance Arts and Sage Studios is a “Summer’s End Dance of the People” (Nihayat Alsayf Raks Baladi) celebration. Tarifa will teach the most beloved dances of her heritage in the afternoon followed by a celebration at the Studio afterwards where we can enjoy dancing with and for each other.
Raks Baladi, in Arabic means ‘Dance of the people’ or ‘Dance of the country’. It is the older and more traditional dances akin to folkloric dance styles of particular regions of the Middle East. Raqs Baladi is a dance that traditionally women perform at parties, weddings or other celebrations usually in the home to entertain other women who are friends and relatives. Of course, most of these dances today are done by both women and men in mixed company celebrations such as weddings, christenings or other large family gatherings.
The first hour of this workshop will feature a short dabke sequence created by Tarifa specifically for those who are unfamiliar with the dance. After a short break, Tarifa will teach the beautifully grounded but feminine steps of the “Happiness Dance”with a handkerchief in the style she learned as a child by her beloved maternal grandmother, Abla Farrah who was born and raised in Amioun Lebanon. Her dancing was her way of coping with the nostalgia she had for her family in her country of birth. Fortunately there were many other people from Amioun who settled in her small western Pennsylvania community during the diaspora of folk from Syria and Lebanon in the early 1900s. Needless to say, these folk engaged in these dances at every celebration, big or small and the dances were handed down to their children and grandchildren as if they had never left the Middle East, fortunately for Tarifa. Students should wear comfortable dance attire with a hip scarf (no coins) and bring two handkerchiefs or small scarves. Shoes are recommended for the “Dabke” portion of class.
$45 Early Registration through August 27, 2022
$55 After August 27, 2022
*Payment should be sent via PayPal “Friends/Family” to paypal.me/tarifasalem to secure your spot.