Ranya Presents "Special Topics"!

for intermediate/advanced dancers and ambitious beginners
always a supportive atmosphere in class - so you can work at your own level

See Calendar and Class Schedule pages for more class and Special Topics program details

For fees & class card info for the Special Topics Series, scroll down or click here
Class cards are good for ALL 1.5- or 2-hour Special Topics workshops with Ranya or guest instructors (for longer workshops, take note of specific fee info and early registration deadlines)

LOCATIONS: This season our Special Topics workshops are mainly being held at 440 Studios, studio 4C on the 4th floor (or studio 3E on 3rd floor for some classes indicated), @ 440 Lafayette St., just below Astor Place in the East Village, near subways R,W, (8th St.) or 6 (Astor Place); www.440studios.com). There are some other studio locations in the mix though, so please double-check before you set out!

CURRENT SPECIAL GUEST WORKSHOPS
more to be announced soon--please check back for updated info

Fri. Feb. 29, 6:30-8pm @ 440 Studios, Studio 4C:
Finger cymbals master class workshop with dance dynamo Aszmara (http://aszmara.com) --Aszmara will teach the fascinating 6/8 and 7/8 rhythms in their basic zill patterns and then some! Feeling the rhythm, moving with the rhythm and improvising on the rhythm-- to make these unusual rhythms feel more usual. Aszmara is a truly inspiring dancer and has loads of ex perience playing unusual rhythms from her extensive work with Souren Baronian's ensemble. This will be a great opportunity to try out these unusual rhythms on the cymbals, and yes, dance to them!

NEW!

Thursdays March 6 6:00-7:30pm @ 440 Studios, Studio 3E ---note: no class March 13
Also Sunday March 16, 4-6pm
SAMEH FAYED of Cairo Int/Adv Oriental & Pop Choreography: Sameh is a terrific, imaginative choreographer whose background in theater dance, folklore, hip-hop and modern enables him to create challenging and fun dances! Come enjoy this special opportunity to study with this talented dancer.

Sun. March 9, 5:00-7:30pm: Najeeb Shaheen & Ranya--Arabic music analysis and practice for dancers *and* musicians! To be held at Najeeb's Place in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (374 Graham Ave between Conselyea St & Skillman Ave) Enjoy Najeeb's terrific felafel and Middle Eastern home cooking after the workshop. $35 at the door, or $30 if paid in advance (by Sat. 3/8)--register with Najeeb or Ranya. Click here for prinable flyer

Fri. March 21 & 28, 8-10pm @ 440 Studios, Studio 4C: Special workshops with Dunya ( http://dancemeditation.org)
Dunya is a wonderful dance teacher and unusual performer whose sense of exploration in movement has influenced many New York bellydancers. Her teaching work has also provided a safe space for those interested in the meditative path through dance and movement. She is the recipient of a dance degree from Juilliard as well as numerous prestigious grants and honors, including an NEA grant. We are soooooooooo excited about these workshops!!!!!!!!! (Class card/drop-in fees apply--2-hour class--see above)
Dunya says: "These materials are drawn from my three years of dance composition training at Juilliard. I've tailored them to Middle Eastern dance. The techniques will enable you to transcend step combinations and move into sophisticated, powerful, and dynamic expression."
"Personal Magic: Dynamic Choreography Skills" (Mar. 21)--Understanding the fundamental tools for beautiful, expressive choreography including: Elements of Dance--Space, Design, Time; Theme & Variations; Fragmentation, Repetition & Evolution, Retrograde & Inversion and how these skills can completely open your dance tool box.
AND "Thinking on Your Feet: Dynamic Improvisation Skills" (Mar. 28) --Be able to improvise to anything. Never be at a loss, never wonder what to do next, and never, ever be bored. Dunya will teach three full-proof techniques. (This workshop builds nicely on Workshop I, but you can also attend this on its own.)

Sat. March 29, 3:00-7:30pm: Ranya, Rayhana (http://rayhana.com) & Aszmara (http://aszmara.com) --"The Ultimate Improv" (out of the box!)" Three different approaches to improvisational work for Middle Eastern jazz fusion music. $75 advance (by March 21)/$90 at door for whole program; or $30 adv. for individual teacher workshops or $40 at the door. Schedule: Rayhana 3-4:30; Ranya 4:30-6; Aszmara 6-7:30. To be held at Anahid Sofian Studio, 29 W. 15th St., btwn. 5th & 6th Aves, 6th floor--please ring buzzer for entrance only after 2:40pm so as not to disturb Anahid's class in session. Breaks during our workshop will be SHORT, so bring snacks and water with you and please arrive early for the workshop to register and get settled! CLICK FOR PRINTABLE FLYER

SHOSHANA's Technique of Egyptian Legends workshop series: SATURDAYS April 12, April 26 & May 3, 4:00-6:00pm
@ 440 Studios, East Village
$30 or class card + $5 per date

DETAILS:
http://shoshanabellydance.com for more about this fabulous New York dancer/teacher!

Saturday April 12th --studio 3E

PURCHASING CLASS CARDS
FEE: $30 drop-in per class, or use class card + $5.
Series class cards offer discounts and may be used for Shoshana's workshops as well as for any of Ranya's weeknight "Special Topics" workshops at 440 Studios through May 3: 3-class card $65; 6-class card $125; 10-class card $195; you can pay at class, or in advance by Paypal (http://ranya.net/shop for registration info). For a listing of classes offered, visit http://ranya.net/calendar

Also save this date: Fri. April 18, 7-10pm: MIDEASTERN JAZZ SHOW NIGHT @ Lafayette featuring Souren Baronian's Transition ensemble, Ranya, Rayhana, Aszmara and workshop participants!

CURRENT SPECIAL TOPICS WITH RANYA

IMPORTANT SCHEDULE UPDATE:
Ranya will teach only the 6:30-8pm class on Fri. April 4--technique and some cymbals! No 8pm class.
NO CLASSES AT 440 ON THESE DATES:
Tues. April 8 (Breast Cancer Benefit concert);
Fri. April 11 (reserved slots for private lessons to prepare for April 18 show);
Tues. April 15 (reserved slots for private lessons to prepare for April 18 show);
Fri. April 18 (Mideastern Jazz show @ Lafayette)

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STARTING MARCH 18! (through late April)
TUESDAYS 6:30-8:00pm earlier time slot! 440 Studios, Studio 3E
"EGYPTIAN TO THE CORE" /
"EGYPTIAN FROM THE SEAT OF YOUR PANTS"
Technique for Int/Adv dancers

Ranya's knee is back in gear and she is offering more butt-kicking modern Egyptian technique!
Current focus is on weight-bearing in-place and traveling steps and combos with leg-and-butt work and good stretching in between; work with the relationship of your legs and butt to your hipwork, along with some helpful exercises to limber your psoas muscles and strengthen your lower extremities! Maybe that sounds esoteric...but it's fun to dance!

TUESDAYS 8:00-9:30pm, 440 Studios, Studio 4C
OUT OF THE BOX VEIL: FREEING EGYPTIAN TECHNIQUE PRINCIPLES TO SERVE "NEW YORK-STYLE" DRAMATIC VEILWORK
Working with the elegant lift of Egyptian style Oriental dance, and how to free it up physically to work with different kinds of music--Arabic as well as Middle Eastern jazz fusion--coupled with luscious veilwork.

EGYPTIAN "GOOEY TECHNIQUE "/Choreography/Veil & Cymbals Intermediate-level delicious juicy abdominal technique for grounded transitions and extra spice, plus finger cymbals and some veil --Wednesday eves 7:30-9pm at CUNY Grad Center (see class schedule page for registration details--payment/registration for these courses are separate from the Special Topics class card program)

FEARLESS FINGER CYMBALS -- most Fridays this spring 6:30-8:00pm, 440 Studios, Studio 4C (note: no class March 14)
LOOKING FOR A LITTLE "ZILL THERAPY"?
Don't panic! You are not alone: We all need some zill therapy now and then. Many otherwise competent dancers lack confidence in their cymbal playing. And yet cymbal playing is key to getting an audience excited and grabbing their attention. When you don’t feel confident, you don’t play in public, and then you don’t get the experience you need to succeed. We’ll go over the basics for a strong foundation, and build from there. So no matter what your level, come join us, get practice, and build confidence in your playing in front of others—in a friendly atmosphere with honest, helpful feedback. We focus on combining rhythms with stepping to really get them into your body, and then building dance combinations on top of that.

CHARACTER IN PERFORMANCE -- ACTING FOR DANCERS -- most Fridays this spring 8:00-10:00pm, 440 Studios, Studio 4C (note: no class March 14; Dunya teaches special topics March 21 & 28)

Back by popular demand, this series is a refinement of last year’s workshops that explored different aspects of character in performance, using “method” and physical acting exercises and applying them to our dance. In addition, we work with dance movements, angles, and poses that give life to these moods, and explore how specific muscles and postures express different feelings that can enrich a dance performance and move audiences.

How to be the “Hostess with the Mostest”, giving the gift of your performance without expecting anything in return, and also how to receive the gaze of your audience while you take a bath in the spotlight. Focus on different kinds of eye contact and Breathwork for Performance.

Inner and outer energy work for solidifying your personal strength and building your charisma

Exploring Character in Performance
These sessions will allow dancers to bring out different aspects of their personality in performance, using the language of Egyptian-style dance and the Arabic show as a vehicle for personal expression. (Sometimes we also work with more free-form styles of dance.) Character work is a liberating vehicle for bringing out different moods in the dance and allowing dancers to tap into universal human emotions to bring them into greater communication with an audience. Method and physical acting techniques will be applied to the dance context (body-part-leading, intentional objectives, obstacles, endowment, sense memory, etc.), paired with Oriental dance techniques. We'll cover the range of fun and serious moods, and participants will have the opportunity to perform together and for each other in a supportive environment.

"GIVING--The Hostess with the Mostest: Generosity as a Performer, Sharing the Love" Many times dancers give their power away to the audience, relying on their attention or approval, instead of building their power and still giving their performance freely to the audience. Practice giving the gift of your performance...without expecting anything in return; we'll work on techniques to build confidence so you are not relying on the audience for your strength, but still connecting with the audience and making them feel welcome.

"RECEIVING--Taking a Bath in the Spotlight" Receiving the spotlight (during a taqsim , for example) is an intimate moment for a performer onstage, allowing the audience to see you as you enjoy a (semi-)private moment under the lights. Developing the comfort to open oneself to receive the attention of the audience and the energy of the space around you is the work of this class. We'll also explore ways to bring a spread-out or distracted audience in to your focused moment.

"Access Your Inner 'Ho' ...and still keep your PG-13 rating " Taking a cue from Fifi Abdou, Dina, and other Cairo stars, enjoy "workin' it" with flirtatiousness and subtle show-off sexiness, keeping it relatively classy and not quite crossing the line into trashy. But we can get pretty close. We'll explore how to find your boundaries in this style, looking at the context of the dancer's role in Egyptian society and examining our own biases about sexuality in the dance.

"The Lighter Side of Being a Bitch" What many of us think we should never do if we want to win over our audience--be a bitch! Dancers work very hard to be nice and well-liked, but in fact, the audience is often fascinated by bitchiness or snobbiness, provided it is done in a tasteful way, with a wink, while allowing the performer to maintain strength. In fact, as master teacher Bobby Farrah used to say (with relish, quoting Joan Crawford, wasn't it?), "Sometimes the only thing a girl can count on...is being a bitch!"

"Passion in Performance: Keeping it, Releasing it" Some of us as dancers could not wait to get out on stage and express our unbridled passion, only to find that in traditional Arabic dance style, there is a pretty tight lid on what many of us think of as unbridled passion! Nevertheless, it simmers, and we want to find ways to release it. This content addresses ways of freeing up emotion inspired by tarab (musical ecstasy), and exploring a passive rather than active approach to expressing passion.

A la carte 1.5-hour classes $25 drop-in at the door; 2-hour classes $30 drop-in

Series class cards (for this series: expires April 29, 2008—non-transferable, no credits or exchanges):
3-class card: three 1.5-hour classes: $65
6-class card: six 1.5-hour classes: $125
10-class card: ten 1.5-hour classes: $195
.....(for 2-hour classes, 3-, 6-, or 10-class cardholders pay $5 supplement for the extra ½ hour)

You can make payment online in advance via Ranya’s website, or pay in person on your first day of attendance.

Questions? For registration or class content questions, contact us at office@ranya.net (Kisha) or ranya@ranya.net (Ranya)