Durga Tour

Join Khafif in welcoming the Durga Tour to Pittsburgh, PA!  Take class from Tempest and Sashi!

September 29-30, 2006

Friday Hofla (Sept. 29): at the Rex Theater, with The Mandrake Project CD release party for "A Favor to the Muse"
 Saturday Classes (Sept. 30): at Schoolhouse Yoga in Lawrenceville
 Saturday Show: Cirque Gothique: at the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium in Oakland (across from Carnegie Library)
 Register for classes here:

First class: Darkly Dramatic Body Language
$25
Second class: Gothic Tribal Fusion Belly Dance
$25
Both workshops: $45
Whole package: Both classes plus entrance to the Saturday show (Friday meet n' greet excluded from this packet)
$50
After Sept. 28, entrance is only at the door.  Prices are as follows:
$30 per individual workshop
$55 for both
Class descriptions:

First class: "Darkly Dramatic Body Language"
At the heart of Gothic Belly Dance is the ability to express deep emotions through the dance in a dramatic style. While in theory, this makes sense, understanding how to make this happen physically is another matter. How does one go about transferring matters of the heart, mind, and spirit into a corporeal expression? In this workshop, we learn to take regular belly dance movements and add Gothic accents to them, focusing on expressing emotion, intent, and power through our steps and presence. From facial expression to fingertips, we’ll be dissecting the accents that give Gothic Belly Dance extra substance, drama, and excitement. You’ll take home movement embellishments and flourishes to incorporate into your own style. This class is especially for any dancer who is ready to perform or is considering it.

Second class: Gothic Tribal Fusion Belly Dance
In this workshop you will learn Gothic Tribal Fusion Bellydance moves unique to Ascend Tribal Dance, which showcases the fusion of Tribal Bellydance with the Gothic/Industrial subculture. We will discuss and learn the fundamentals of Tribal Fusion Bellydance; proper posture and technique, specific moves and transitions, leading and following, group improvisation, dance expression, and costuming. We will also explore and learn ways to infuse the look, personality, music and essence of the Gothic/Industrial subculture into this dynamic dance style. At the end of this workshop, you will take with you the experience of an alluring transcendental journey into the world of Gothic Tribal Fusion Bellydance. All levels are welcome.


*About Tempest: *
Tempest is an artist, designer, dancer, and writer currently based in the Bay Area of California. Although she enjoys studying what tradition has to offer, Tempest loves exploring the dance through unusual music and creative costuming, pulling on her visual arts background to "paint a picture" with the dance; engaging the audience through dramatic embodied storytelling, passionate expression, and sensuous, mesmerizing movement. She finds inspiration for her dances in many eras, places, and faces, from ancient cultures and spiritual myths worldwide, to the work of silent film star and original vamp Theda Bara, and turn-of-the-century dance goddess Ruth St. Denis. She is most well-known for her Gothic Belly Dance performances and instruction, and is featured on the first ever GBD performance DVD produced by WorldDanceNewYork entitled “The Darker Side of Fusion” and is set to release “Bellydance for Beautiful Freaks”, an instructional DVD, this fall.
Websites:
-Med’Devi Ink (art, design, the original corset belt...)
-Tempest’s Nouveau Noir Dance
-The Gothic Bellydance Resource

*About Sashi:*

Sashi is a talented performer, instructor and choreographer based in Orange County, California. Sashi has been a student of dance for sixteen years. She began studying African Haitian and West African dance while a student at San Francisco State University. She went on to further her experience of African dance by studying Congolese and West African drumming. In the years following, Sashi found Middle Eastern dance to be the style she was most drawn to as it spoke to her Semitic roots and aesthetic interests. She has studied many forms of Middle Eastern dance including American Tribal Style Bellydance, Tribal Fusion Bellydance, Gothic Bellydance, Egyptian and Lebanese Cabaret Bellydance, Israeli and Turkish Debke, Saidi, and Nubian Folkloric dances. She is most recognized for her alluring and dynamic performances of Gothic Tribal Fusion Bellydance and Improvisational Tribal Fusion Bellydance. Her provocative and ritualistic performances convey her talent for expressing herself through her dance. Inspired by the “Spirit of the Dance”, Sashi views bellydance as the honoring of the divine feminine by creating spiritual and physical unions through movement. This is evident as her ability to cultivate the energy that this dance evokes is translated to each audience member with a look, a gesture, a presence that is unmistakably unique to Sashi and the dance. You can see her perform solo or in collaboration with internationally acclaimed performance troupes in many venues, settings and shows. Information on her upcoming performances, workshops, tour dates and collaborations can be found here.