8:00 AM CEST

Dancing with Heritage. Traditional jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia

by SIGRID VAN ROODE

Dancing with vintage jewellery is dancing with actual heritage of actual people. And that heritage has so many stories to tell! In this talk, you’ll get an overview of the wide and varied cultural background of jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia. From wise investment by savvy women to the meaning of colours and shapes, you will gain a deeper appreciation of the heritage value of your jewellery.

9:00 AM CEST

Dance research in the Oases of Egypt’s Western Desert

by KARINA CHISTOVA

• Personal experience
• Safety issues
• The challenges of documenting women’s dance

10:00 AM CEST

How to approach performing Golden era raqs sharqi

by BADRIYAH

Golden Era Raqs Sharqi, an Egyptian dance seen in Egyptian movies from the late 1930′ to 1960′, is returning to current belly dancers’ repertoires. However, what is the ideal approach to this dance style? Furthermore, does the majority of Golden Era performances nowadays reflect Raqs Sharqi performed in Golden Era or our fantasy? In this lecture, we will look at the facts: what moves, costumes and styles are seen in the Golden Era Egyptian movies, and we will discuss the possible approaches to perform this specific style.

6:00 PM CEST

Dom people in Egypt

by JESSICA

Technical aspects: Nomenclature and Characteristics of the Roma communities.

• Supposed origins
• Dom people in Egypt: Groups (Halebi, Nawar, Ghajjar, Belawami…)
• History of the Dom presence in Egypt and their Current situation.
• Ghawazy connection with the Dom 
• Dom in Egyptian pop culture and Orientalism.
  

7:00 PM CEST

The Banat Mazin: A Legacy of Egyptian Traditional Dance

by SHINING

Learn about Luxor’s legendary family of artists known as the “Banat Mazin” and the motivation, struggles and breakthroughs of creating the first website dedicated to honoring their legacy and impact on the landscape of Egyptian folkloric dance. This lecture comes from Shining’s direct experience of living in Egypt to learn from, film and interview Khyria Mazin and her older sisters about their perspectives and experiences as a family of Egyptian artists. Lecture participants will receive select translations of popular music sung by the Banat Mazin.

8:00 PM CEST

What’s Past Is Prologue: Understanding the Present of Egyptian Belly Dance by Exploring Its Deep Past

by NISAA

For many students and practitioners of Egyptian belly dance, learning about the history of the dance is an afterthought.  It’s something interesting to read about in a blog post or to watch in a YouTube video, but not something integral to one’s dance training.  Yet, many of those same dancers have strong opinions about the dance in the present, sometimes comparing it unfavorably to the dance in the past.  Unfortunately, the dance industry is rife with misinformation and misunderstanding regarding the present, precisely because of a lack of attention to what research reveals about the past.  Sound research into the history of Egyptian belly dance is key to building a balanced and informed understanding of the present.  In this lecture, Nisaa discusses deep historical precedents for three aspects of Egyptian belly dance in the present: the transgression of normative Egyptian gender roles, the expression of sexuality and eroticism in the dance, and the incorporation of foreign elements into the dance.  In doing so, she demonstrates how research into the dance’s history provides a more balanced and nuanced perspective on current trends in Egyptian belly dance.

8:00 AM CEST

What makes a good website?

by SHEYLA

I have been working in marketing my whole life and I am also a webdesigner. At this lecture I would like to give you idea about what it means to have a functional website in 2022 and if you actually need one. We will go through some important points like responsiveness, copywriting, SEO, design or selling aspects.

9:00 AM CEST

REELS 101

by KATIE

Reels not getting attention?

Tired of posting practice clips or tutorials?

Short form video is here to stay, and their reach is wider than ever. The great news is that as dancers, we are well suited toward movement and video. The bad news is that most people don’t know how to leverage short form video effectively so that people actually stay and watch.

This lecture will give you hands-on tools to create amazing short videos that showcase your personality and whatever it is you have to offer, regardless of if you are a student, teacher, or gigging dancer.

10:00 AM CEST

The ABC’s of video making, producing and creating

by JRISI & TRISTAN

Top tips from cinematographer Tristan and choreographer/producer Jrisi on how to create a professional dance video that captures your artistic aesthetic sticking to an artists budget and avoiding the intimidating jungle of equipment.

We will discuss what makes a video great v’s what doesn’t and why that is, the challenges dancers face during the pre and post production of creating a dance video.

– What inexpensive equipment to use
– Lighting ideas
– Why quality is key
– What you can to make your videos look better

Join us for an interactive straight shooting workshop that will help decipher the tricky side of video creating from dancers.

6:00 PM CEST

What it Means to Be A Business Owner

by SAMANTHA KARIM

Samantha will be discussing the foundational pillars of how to start running a successful business.  From being a solopreneur to having a team, there are some factors that each business owner can consider in order to create a seamless and professional experience for clients/students.

Samantha also takes the business owner’s feelings and considerations into account.  The client is not always right. You will gain clarity on what your next steps are and where you can take your business.

There will also be a Q&A section so participants can ask Samantha questions freely and candidly.

7:00 PM CEST

Engaging your audience: The guide to successful email campaigning

by ANOUKH

Our inboxes are full of newsletters we don’t read. So how is another email in your reader’s inbox going to get you your next booking, or fill up your upcoming dance workshop?

This talk on email campaigning is designed to help you stand out from the crowd. And not end up in the graveyard of unread emails. Anoukh will take you through the dos and don’ts of creating an engaging and successful email campaign. You’ll learn the basics of user-friendly email copy, and how to take your newsletter content to the next level. With quick wins you can apply immediately. 

By the end of this talk, you’ll know:

• The building blocks of a successful newsletter
• How to engage your audience with valuable content
• Why automations can save you time
• What numbers like open rate and clickthrough rate really mean

8:00 PM CEST

Is it a gig or a company – why most dance professionals are overworking and under earning 

by CERA BYER

8:00 AM CEST

Dance Therapy & Therapeutic Capacities of Oriental Dance

by AMANDA ROSE

Therapeutic Experiences, Benefits and Implementation

9:00 AM CEST

Eating disorders in the life of a professional dancer

by SHARON KIHARA

I’m a bit of a casual speaker, and enjoy for lectures to be more of a conversation, so questions are most welcome during my talk. I’ll be telling stories from my years on the road with eating disorders, what that looked like and also didn’t look like, and what recovery from anorexia and bulimia has been for me. These experiences are common yet hidden in the dance world at large, and I believe that starting a dialogue about mental health and eating disorders is important.

10:00 AM CEST

A talk about body acceptance

by CHRISTINE YAVEN

6:00 PM CEST

Behind The Curtain, Under The Make Up – Mental health And Bellydance

by SHRUTI

The physical and mental aspects of being a dancer are inseparable. So why do we pay attention to just one of the aspects? Is it because one is visible and the other is under the surface? As dancers, tending to our mental health should be just as important as our physical training. Shruti talks about her experiences on chasing perfectionism, community stresses, and the dance industry’s overarching culture. She hopes to share and discuss pathways that can help us all move into a happier, kinder future, together.

7:00 PM CEST

The Creative Psyche

by DHARA

Your practical guide to erasing burnout, working through creative blocks, and managing your mental health

As a performing artist, you may be feeling stuck, demotivated and stressed. Even though your heart is in the right place and your mind is full of ideas, you feel overwhelmed and lost. You wish to unleash your creative flow, but don’t know how.

This lecture is designed by an artist/psychotherapist for artists and performers. The aim is to equip you with a strong understanding of what causes stress, burnout and creative blocks, and how to manage them. You will walk away with a practical toolkit to help you take better care of yourself, open the channels of creativity and feel more fulfilled.

8:00 PM CEST

A Beginners Toolkit for Well-Being

by EBONY

Most of us, at some point, get into the business of being busy. For some of us this can be motivating, exhilarating and might even give us a feeling of being productive and purposeful. But, what about when it doesn’t?

In this talk, I’ll share my personal tried and true methods for striking a healthy balance between rest and work, creativity and organization, and the magical and the practical.  

8:00 AM CEST / prerecorded

Crash Course in LGBTQIA+ Inclusivity In Dance Spaces

by KAMRAH

In some countries, raqs sharqi (“belly dance”) is facing a sharp decline in participation, and one of the causes is the inability to attract younger dancers to this art form. This workshop will cover topics on how to be more inclusive to this generation of dancers – since 15% of Gen Z identifies as members of the LGBTQIA+ community – and dancers of all types and genders from all generations.

Topics include:
My story – experiences in being a trans masculine person in a woman-dominated dance form

9:00 AM CEST

The Cultural Politics, Identity and Power of Greek Bellydance

by Panayiota

A Greek perspective from a native Middle Eastern/Anatolian Greek of whom will dissect and analyse the complexities of a cultural art form that is both loved and hated within its own country. A brief synopsis of the journey of Greek belly dance through the Genocide survival of native indegenous Anatolitan Greek refugees of present day Turkey. We will look at the influence and expansion of this indegous art form through its influence in other countries. Most importantly and most complex will be understanding the political and racial discriminations and shame that has left a mark on Greek bellydance in Greece. Of which influence has affected both as an art form and as discrimantion towards ethnic group of people. This lecture will help you dive right in, with no filters on the importance of the Greek bellydance presence and the historical impact its had within our global dance community.

10:00 AM CEST

Culture invisibility: why are north-african traditional dancers less visible than western dancers

by RAÏSA LEÏ

We will talk about the complexity of being a professional artist specialized in traditional north-african dances when you are native.

Main topics will be: 

• the status of professional dancers in North-Africa and diaspora
•  invisibility when living in an ex-colonizer country – the example of France 
• how to fix this issue ?

6:00 PM CEST

What Should The Name of This Dance Be

by KARIM NAGI

In this non-confrontational and contemplative talk, Karim Nagi will discuss terms such as Middle Eastern, Oriental, Tribal, Belly, Fusion, MENAHT and Arab, and help people asses their “dance inventory”. This talk helps dancers begin to understand how titles & names affect the identity and longevity of a dance art form. The concepts of cultural colonialism, arts-tourism, exploitation, and cultural advocacy will be analyzed dissected.

7:00 PM CEST

Inclusivity in Dance: how the narratives we hold can restrict who participates

by AUBRE HILL

This workshop will introduce a variety of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion tools for examining how the narratives we hold as a community can limit who feels welcome. Explore how our personal experiences, bias, and views can restrict our approaches and ideas. This lecture is not a judgement of our past but an open look at how we can do better moving forward. Participants will leave with proactive tools to help nurture inclusive, safe spaces for our dance community to thrive.

8:00 PM CEST

What is the definition of being a true Ally?

by Khadijah

Becoming an “actionable” ally.
An ally is any person that actively promotes and aspires to advance the culture of inclusion through intentional, positive and conscious efforts that benefit people as a whole. Everyone has the ability to be an ally! Disclaimer: This will NOT be a platform for blame , shame and guilt. In this workshop we will discuss scenarios and ideas when it is wise to rise up or to fall back in an effective way, learning when to speak up or when to simply listen. This is a rare opportunity to have safe “round table” discussions with a MENATH / BIPOC woman to learn tips , gain ideas and how to bring awareness and spread knowledge throughout your community.

8:00 AM CEST

Being Invited – how to work professionally with festival organizers, event agencies, sponsors

by JASIRAH

– preparing portfolio,
– presenting your terms and conditions,
– how to behave during the event,
– what to bring,
– your boundaries at work,
– saying no, what you should not agree for
– why am I still not being invited?

9:00 AM CEST / prerecorded

Injury Prevention & Improved Performance for Belly Dancers

by SIOBHAN

Dance allows us an outlet to express ourselves through movement. However, as professional dancers we often spend a lot more time on our dance practice than we do on maintaining the condition of our “instrument” – our bodies!

In this online lecture, we’ll be covering best practices to dance safely and strongly while improving our dance performance. We’ll be discussing:

• What we know about injury in (belly) dance according to current scientific research
• How to structure your practice (or classes) for optimal performance and injury prevention
• A selection of specific exercises to help support our belly dance practice

10:00 AM CEST

Ride the wave or create the wave?

by MERCEDES NIETO

Choices and challenges for a personal path as a professional dance.

6:00 PM CEST

Dancing for Audiences of Origin

by SHAHRZAD

In this lecture Shahrzad will discuss what shes learned during her extensive career working for North African and Middle Eastern clientele, how their preferences differ from western audiences, and what it take to work as a dancer in places like Egypt.

7:00 PM CEST

How competition works: being a participant, judge and organizer

by JULIA FARID

8:00 PM CEST

Uniqueness of dancer

by ESMERALDA

How to be loyal to the dance identity and still have your essence alive and strong?

How much of the real you is important to be present in your performances in order to reach and deliver uniqueness?
This is what we are going to talk about and discuss in this lecture specially prepared for Al Raqs Confere!