2026
January 2026
Saturday 31 January 2026
Sat 31 Jan, 7-9 pm. Blackadder Brewing Company, 618 NW 60 Street, Suite A, Gainesville, 32607. Najmah Nour, najmahdance@gmail.com. Belly Dance with Leela - [facebook][events]
Celebrate Valentine’s season with Najmah & Karen at Blackadder Brewing Company for a joyful, love-filled belly dance night bursting with rhythm, sparkle, and community.
This is not just one performance, but many talented dancers will take the floor, each bringing their own flavor, energy, and expression of love through movement. Expect shimmying, swirling skirts, big smiles, and a whole lot of heart. The event is from 7 to 9 pm, but come early to sip and sway, right before we dance the night away.
Egyptian Technique and Combinations
Luna will teach some typical Egyptian-styled movements, as well as some of her signature ones that she invented over the course of her dance career in Cairo. She will explain how they differ in emphasis, genesis, and meaning to American-flavored movements, as well as demonstrate how to string them together into unique and intelligent combinations. Luna will also break down the movements into "families" according to their qualities and explain how to use that categorization to develop your own unique technique.
Um Kulthoum Choreography
In this workshop, you will learn how to interpret a well known Um Kulthoum song. Emphasis will be on the relationship between lyrics and tarab, and on how to express the song without over-dancing.
Classic Shaabi
Shaabi is a dance form originating from the lower class neighborhoods of Cairo that has become extremely popular in the workshop circuit. But did you know that it's at least as old as some of the classics we're used to dancing to? In this workshop, Luna will choose a more classical piece of shaabi music and explore the relationship between the lyrics, the instrumentation, and tarab. She will demonstrate how to adjust posture, gestures, and expression to capture the feeling of this genre of shaabi music.