IBCC Instructors
May 2-6, 2012
PRIVATE LESSONS with IBCC INSTRUCTORS: Privates are available from your favourite IBCC instructors and other IBCC participants! Privates must be diretcly scheduled between you and the instructor. Private classrooms are availabe to rent at the reception desk for $20/hr.
Welcoming your IBCC 2012 Featured Instructors:
Egypt
Mahmoud Reda is the pioneer of theatre dance in Egypt. In 1959 he founded the world renowned Reda Troupe. By the mid 60s the troupe had over 150 members including, dancers and musicians. As soloist, choreographer, and artistic director, he was instrumental in creating a legitimate theatrical dance genre that embraced many styles. He has choreographed more than 300 dances including for many Egyptian feature films, and has starred in three musicals directed by his late brother Ali Reda, two of which are major productions and are regarded as mile stones in the history of Egyptian cinema. With the troupe he has performed in prestigious theatres in more than 60 countries such as the Royal Albert Hall in London, The Olympia in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York and Stanislavski in Moscow.
Dance Workshops:
Thursday, May 3, 4:45pm, Main Hall - Dancing to Egyptian Folklore Songs
Sunday, May 6, 9:00am, Main Hall - Dancing to Egyptian Folklore Songs
Lecture: "Dancing is My Life" - Saturday, May 5, 2:00pm, Lower Hall
Khairiyya Mazin
Egypt
Khairiyya Yusuf Mazin is the youngest of the famous Banat Mazin, one of the last exponents of Ghawazi dance, which is perhaps the primary origin of Egyptian "belly dance." She is the sole remaining practitioner of the authentic dances of the Nawari Ghawazi of Upper Egypt. When Khairiyya Mazin retires, one of the most distinctive traditions of Ghawazi dance may come to an end. The Ghawazi are the famed female dancers described so often in Western travelers' accounts since the 18th century, and probably the major wellspring of Egyptian danse orientale.
Dance Workshops:
Thursday, May 3, 11:15am, Main Hall – Ghawazi
Sunday, May 6, 2:00pm, Main Hall - Ghawazi
Question & Anwser Period with Khairiyya:Friday, May 4, 2:00pm, Seminar Room
Tito Seif
Egypt
After years performing in the various folklore troupes and nightclub shows of Cairo, Tito Seif became an exceptional Tahtiib, Port Said, Tannoura and Hagallah dancer. But behind-the-scenes, his specialty was Bellydance. A man performing Bellydance on-stage in Egypt was not socially accepted, so only his close friends and students knew of his hidden talent.
Eventually he moved to the Red Sea resort Sharm El Sheikh where tourists did not hold negative attitudes towards a man Bellydancing. In Sharm El Sheikh, Tito opened a dance school and trained a dynamic troupe that performed for thousands every night.
Eventually Tito gave a short Bellydance segment in a white gallabiyah with a simple black scarf around his hips. This segment of the program became longer and longer until it was the main focus of the show, and included his famous dancing-on-a-drum segment.
Word spread far and wide about this Bellydance phenomenon until, eventually, Tito was invited back to Cairo as a Bellydancer. Simply from word of mouth, he has become known around the world where he is invited to teach and perform.
Workshops:
Thursday, May 3, 9:00am, Main Hall: Shaabi
Friday, May 4, 2:00pm, Main Hall: Shamadan
Sunday, May 6, 4:15pm, Main Hall: Oriental Song
Zahra Zuhair
California, U.S.A.
Master teacher, performer, and choreographer, Zahra is world renowned for her knowledge, authenticity, and dedication to the art of Middle Eastern dance. Raised in oriental dance from a young age, Zahra is known for her musicality, flawless technique, and elegant style. She has trained and influenced many of today’s international, Bellydance stars! Zahra has performed and taught workshops worldwide. Zahra also teaches regular weekly classes in her studio, DanceGardenLA, in Los Angeles, CA.
Dance Workshops:
SOFT, FLOWING ORIENTAL - Friday, May 4, 11:15am, Main Hall
SHARQI - ELEGANT HANDS AND ARMS - Saturday, may 5, 9:00am, Main Hall
SHARQI - UPBEAT AND FUN0 Sunday, May 6, 2:00pm, Lower Hall
April Rose
California, U.S.A.
Beginning at 12 years old, April Rose has been studying bellydance for 10 years. Her first few years of training in Raks Sharki Egyptian Cabaret led her to Tribal Style and Fusion Bellydance, which she now teaches in the Los Angeles area and Austin, TX.
After 5 years of dancing with UNMATA, the Sacramento-based dance company lead by Amy Sigil, April now tours internationally with the Bellydance Superstars. She also creates clever, dynamic, and technically complex group choreographies for her dance company, The Nautch Project.
With a bachelor’s degree in Dance from UCLA's department of World Arts and Cultures, April Rose has studied choreographic method as well as a variety of dance forms (including: ballet, modern, West African, jazz, hip hop, Bedhayo Javanese court dance, Bharatanatyam, Odissi, & Khathak classical Indian dances). Studying the role of dance in the production of culture, April Rose is currently working on her Masters degree in Culture and Performance at UCLA.
As a fusion dancer in grad school April Rose is excited by the task of balancing her love for bellydance technique, the ideology of the Tribal Style dance community, and a concern for the ethics of intercultural performance. April Rose's passion for the Tribal bellydance community is fueled by her love of Improvisational Tribal Style bellydance, believing that ITS Bellydance connects local communities to one another across the globe, through dance and exploration.
Workshops:
Friday, May 4, 9:00am, Main Hall:
Contemporary Oriental, April Rose style!
April Rose will teach a choreography that intertwines the languid fluid movement of mid-20th century ‘orientalized’ American Cabaret bellydance with the type of deliberate folk dance influenced footwork and weight shifts that are characteristic of Egyptian stage troupes. Through movement, this workshop illustrates a transnational dialogue happening about bellydance since the 1960’s. This workshop aims to continue this dialogue by contextualizing the movement, set to American R&B music, in the present day.
Saturday, May 5, 2:00, Main Hall:
What is Tribal Improv
ATS, ITS, SGI…..WTF? With her background in the Hot Pot Improvisational Tribal Style of Amy Sigil and informed understanding of Carolina Nericcio’s American Tribal Style and Jamila Salimpour’s Bal Anat Tribal Style, April Rose will lead the workshop participants to gain an overall understanding of Tribal Style bellydance. Through movement and a bit of history, students can expect to leave the class with basic competence in the structure and movement values of Tribal Improv. Students will also gain knowledge about the origins and development of Tribal Style.
Sunday, May 6, 10:45am, Lower Hall:
Unapologetic Fusion
In the game of fusion, the seed of an idea can be planted from the study of one danceform and bloom into a unique entity once transferred through the body of a bellydancer. In this workshop you will learn a choreography that takes inspiration from basic steps in Hula, West African, Hip Hop, and Classical Indian Dances and see how these original steps metamorphose after meeting bellydance technique and Tribal posturing to create a unique sequence of movement.
Sahra Saaeda
California, U.S.A.
Sahra has performed and taught Egyptian style Orientale and Folkloric dance on five continents.
Originally from the Los Angeles, California area, Sahra lived, danced, and researched in Egypt from 1989 to 1995. Since then she has been touring the world teaching and performing Egyptian Orientale and Folkloric dance.
The "Sahra Show" performed over 1600 performances in Cairo, Egypt alone. The ensemble included Sahra, Egyptian musicians, singers, folkloric dancers and authentic Saidi musicians and dancers. Sahra is currently director of Ya Amar! Middle Eastern Dance Company (California, USA) and is a contributing choreographer to many European dance companies.
She is also president of Layali Yasmine Productions, an independent recording and distribution label for Egyptian music, Middle Eastern dance performance and instructional videos.
she has academic degrees in both Dance and Cultural Anthropology, and a MA in Dance Ethnology from UCLA.
Sahra regularly gives lecture/demonstrations on Egyptian dance, costumes, customs, ritual and folklore to doctorate-level symposiums, university ethnic dance festivals, museums, and dance ethnology forums. Sahra has many publications, TV and video credits worldwide.
Dance Workshops:
Thursday, May 3, 2:00pm, Main Hall
Saiidi Dance for the Oriental Dancer: Recognize and embrace those Saidi segments within your Orientale show.
Friday, May 4, 4:15pm, Main Hall
Entrance/Dramatic Movement/Exit Ideas and "choreo-clips" for the three parts of your performance.
Saturday, May 5, 11:15 am, Main Hall
Effort/Shape for the Orientale Dancer: Bring special dynamics to your performance
Yasmina Ramzy
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Yasmina Ramzy is a visionary and a choreographer committed to the presentation of Bellydance as high art. Since 1981, the first 15 years of her career was spent performing throughout the Middle East, often for royalty and heads of state, Yasmina Ramzy then founded the critically acclaimed Arabesque Dance Company and Orchestra, Arabesque Academy and the International Bellydance Conference of Canada (IBCC). She received her key training from leading masters in Egypt and Syria including Aida Nour of the Reda Troupe and Mohammed Khalil, director of the National Folklore Troupe of Egypt. Her unique and highly creative choreographies have won numerous awards and commissioned by many dance ensembles internationally including the Bellydance Superstars. Today, she regularly performs and teaches in over 60 cities on 5 continents. She had produced nine performance and seven instructional DVDs as well as seven CDs. Yasmina writes the “Ask Yasmina” column in the world’s largest Bellydance magazine. As a mentor to many, she is well known for revealing the authentic, organic structure of Mid East dance and its relationship to Arab music.
Dance Workshop: Sunday, May 6, 11:15am, Main Hall:
Fearless Femininity: Shameless sensuality and confidence in you body!Discover, explore and enhance these essential ingredients for all Bellydancers.
Remember the first shimmie or hip circle you performed that gave you a great sense of joy and release of body shame? But now, it is years later and you still have issues with posture and some techniques. This workshop is concerned with the mind and body connection and with drilling out those obstacles that keep you from attaining you dance aspirations.
Leila Gamal
Indiana, U.S.A.
LEILA GAMAL is an internationally acclaimed Middle Eastern Dance artist whose career spans over three decades. Leila has thrilled audiences on concert stages and nightclubs with dynamic performances enriched with womanly strength, sensuality, and acute musical sensitivity.
As master teacher, Leila Gamal inspires students on every level to reach their greatest potential with an emphasis on movement concepts rather than specific stylization. Leila serves as a conduit to the ancient essence of the dance. Her instruction stresses the development of physical form and solid cultural foundation so that dancers, whether beginner or advanced, reach a greater understanding of the history, physiology, and musicality of Middle Eastern Dance.
Dance Workshop: Saturday, May 5, 12:00pm, Lower Hall
Internal and External Energy Flow to Expand your Dance Vocabulary
DaVid of Scandinavia
Norway/U.S.A.
DaVid of Scandinavia is an internationally touring Middle Eastern and Indian dance artist, choreographer and dance coach based in San Diego, CA, USA and Drammen, Norway. DaVid is known for his precise technique, delicacy in artistry and expressive finesse along with his refined musical sense. He draws from his dance and music training, linguistic and cultural explorations in his dance and teaching. This has lead him to performance and instructional engagements in Norway, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, England, Mexico and in the United States. DaVid co-owns the Ethnic Dance Academy in San Diego, CA, USA since 2005 where he teaches and conducts dance programs for dancers and instructors. He has authored comprehensive dance study materials for these programs. DaVid coaches dancers and dance companies for performances and competitions on regular basis and was in 2012 commissioned to coach and choreograph for the Bellydance Superstars show – Bombay Bellywood. DaVid has several times served as a competition judge. He has been a featured artist and instructor at multiple festivals, stages, performance and instructional DVDs, newspapers, magazines. dance publications and TV channels internationally.
Dance Workshop: Thursday, May 3, 12:00pm, Lower Hall
Baladi to Sharqi:Bringing the smoothness
This workshop explores the essential relationship between Balady and Raqs Sharki and brings great value to dancers looking to add strength and smoothness to their dance. LEarn techniques on how to incorporate the heavy hip work and deep, smooth undulations of Balady while keeping your Raqs Sharki lifted and flowy.
Kranti
Lebanon
KRANTI began dancing back early in the 1980s, where he was a member of his village dance folklore group. As part of several professional dance theatre groups, he toured and performed in many Arabic and Middle East festivals. He then joined, trained and performed with the Arab world's finest theatre company, CARACALLA dance group. KRANTI fuses Middle Eastern Folk Dance Style with Modern and Martial Arts techniques, carefully without dropping the value and the beauty of each. Dancing for KRANTI is a state of meditation where he disappears and nothing is there except the dance.
Workshop Description: Sunday, May 6, 12:00pm, Lower Hall
Dabki: The famous simple line dabki dance steps, movements and style; Dancing Dabki with Music and live drumming.
Tamalyn Dallal
Florida, U.S.A.
Having started her study of Middle Eastern dance in 1976, Tamalyn Dallal has enjoyed a prolific career. She has taught and performed in 38 countries. In 1990, she founded the non profit arts organization "Mid Eastern Dance Exchange" in Miami Beach, through which she mentored thousands of dancers around the world. Through sixteen years of directing the organization, Ms. Dallal produced numerous stage productions and dance festivals, including the famed Orientalia Festival of Ethnic Dance in Miami Beach for fourteen years.
She authored three books, They Told Me I Couldn't, about living and dancing in Colombia in the 1980's, and the instructional bookBelly Dancing for Fitness. In September, 2005, Ms. Dallal moved to Seattle, Washington, and began her latest endeavor, "40 Days and 1001 Nights", in which she lived in five Muslim countries for 40 days each (Indonesia, Egypt, Zanzibar, Jordan, and China's western most province, the predominately Muslim Xinjiang Autonomous Region.)
Meanwhile, Ms. Dallal continues to teach Middle Eastern dance workshops, perform, and do speaking engagements around the globe.
Dance Workshop: Thursday, May 3, 2:00pm, Lower Hall:
Hands & Arms
Sashar Zarif
Azerbaijan/Canada
Sashar Zarif is an internationally renowned multi-disciplinary artist, educator, and researcher in the field of dance ethnology and ethno musicology. A faculty member at York University Dance Department and Research Associate at York Centre for Asian Reseach, his areas of interest are identity, globalization and cross-cultural collaborations.
His research, artistic practice and education activities are based on the Sufi-Shamanic arts of Central and Western Asia including Azerbaijan, Iran in the west to Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Western Mongolia in the East. His area of practice includes both traditional and contemporary forms. Zarif has collaborated with such renowned artists as Alim Quasimov ( also a soloist of Yo-Yo MA’s Silk Road Ensemble) and Rizwan- Muazzam Qawwali. He performs nationally and internationally with his company, Sashar Zarif Dance Theatre, and is the recipient of many awards and nominations including Azerbaijan State Artists for the people Award, Chalmers Fellowship and Dora Mavor. Zarif sits on the board of director of Dance Ontario and World Dance Alliance – Americas.
Workshop Description: Friday, May 4, 10:45 am, Lower Hall
Gossip: Cultural Body Language
This workshop will introduce dances that are about the cultural body languages of Iran, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Badakhshan, Pamir, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Kirkizistan and will teach a traditional choreography based on these dances. These dances involve gestural movements as well as dynamic postural movements. The participants will learn traditional movements that stem from cultural body languages and gestures with the cultural explanation behind them. This will provide rich learning material to use on their own.
Tatiana Kaptchinskaia
Russia/Canada
Born in Russia, Tatiana has received extensive training in classical ballet, Russian , Gypsy, and Ukrainian folklore styles of dance. Over the past several years however, Tatiana has focused her training purely on Bellydance.
As a member of Arabesque Dance Company for the last four years, Tatiana has been performing across Canada and teaches weekly classes at the Arabesque studio.
Tatiana is known for her fluid and elegant moves and thrives on sharing her passion for Bellydance with the audience, allowing them to experience the beauty of this most feminine art form through her.
Dance Workshop:
Fluid Fusion: Friday, May 4, 2:00pm, Lower Hall
Paola Blanton
Brazil
Dance artist and movement coach Paola has been dancing her whole life, rooted in the traditions of Balkan dance, with extensive work in Middle Eastern and Lyrical Dance via Isadora Duncan. She teaches her art at her own studio and travels regularly to present her ideas and research at international festivals. She began her professional dancing career in Brazil, where she lived for eight years while teaching Humanities at Escola Graduada de São Paulo. She has performed in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. A native of Macedonia, her life path took her first to the U.S., where she earned two University degrees, then Brazil, Asia, and back to Brazil, her permanent home. Paola is now further evolving her art at her new studio in the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil, on the Sao Paulo coast. She teaches dance and theatrical movement to disadvantaged children a well as regularly scheduled Raqs Sharqi and Lyrical Dance classes for women.
Workshop Description: Friday, May 4, 12:00pm, Lower Hall
Macedonian Gypsy Wedding Chocek: blending earthy Balkan steps with Oriental hips in an easy-to-learn community circle dance infused with the spirit of Balkan Gypsy weddings. Set to lively, infectious Gypsy Brass Chochek music from Goran Bregovic.
Linda Riyad
Tennessee, U.S.A.
Linda Riyad is a celebrated Middle Eastern Dance Performer and Instructor based in Nashville, TN, USA. She is known for her well-rounded approach to Middle Eastern dance in her roles as an artist, life-long student, and instructor. As a leading professional in her field, she performs and instructs in the U.S. and abroad. Her professional performance group, Atlantis World Dance Company has built a reputation in the SouthEastern U.S. for its authentic, polished performances of classical, modern, and folkloric dances from the Middle East and beyond. Recently returned from her debut performance in Beirut, Lebanon, Linda is honored to return to Toronto as an instructor at the 2012 IBCC teaching her highly unique "Belly Moves" workshop.
Dance Workshop:
Saturday, May 5, 10:45am, Lower Hall:
Belly Moves:
Linda Riyad offers a unique addition to the 2012 IBCC. This workshop demystifies often difficult (even frustrating or intimidating) abdominal isolations. Students will enjoy a wealth of information/exercises ranging from anatomy and stretches to advice about when these moves are appropriate in our dance. Linda's signature belly moves go beyond accents, rolls, and flutters to include belly button slides and even circles! Dancers that have taken this workshop rave about their new level of body awareness and ability to analyze their dance movements.
Willow Chang
Hawaii, U.S.A.
For dance audiences worldwide, Willow fuses scholarly devotion with emotional, dramatic presentation to give performances that take ones breath away. Whether performing a traditional raks baladi, or retelling ancient myths through original contemporary dance, or elegantly pushing the boundaries of fusion dance forms, Willow connects with audiences, moving and amazing them.
For the dancers in her companies Jasmine Revolution and SANGHA Dance Theater, Willow leads with compassion, choreographs with imagination and innovation and creates unforgettable performances for her dancers and audiences alike. Through methodical and holistic ways, she incorporates the wisdom of master teachers, continued discipline, ferocious reading, cultivation of sacred practice, annual global travel, nurturing new and old friendships and continued analysis of these relationships – to discover how they inspire the creative process.
Workshop Description: Thursday, May 3, 10:45am, Lower Hall
Shadow Dancing- pt. 1: Divine Taksim
Explore the oldest way of learning, by watching and following. Following warm up and drills, I’ll lead the class into “Shadow Dancing”-a fun way to sharpen your ability to follow and be in the moment,
as well as try on a different styles. We’ll dance to both classical and non-traditional music to experience different flavors and feelings. Dancers will be given oral, emotional and creative prompts along with movement break downs to assist in creating flowing, emotive dance. We'll dance to extended, continuous music to build stamina and follow through with the intention of the journey we began.
Mayada
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Since discovering Middle Eastern dance in 1994, Mayada has become a dynamic teacher, a popular performer, a creative choreographer, and creator of Canada’s first bellydance magazine, MID-BITS as well as recently premiering Bellydance Talk Radio online!
Workshop Description: Saturday, May 5, 9:30am, Lower Hall
Mayada's Crazy Combos
Melissa Gamal
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Melissa began her formal dance training in Ballet with six years of study at the Canadian Conservatory of Dance in Toronto. She began training in Middle Eastern dance at the age of 16 with instructor Raven Crow and has since continued to refine her technique at Arabesque Academy with master instructor Yasmina Ramzy, and senior teachers Mary Cabral and Emese Dosa. Her passion for the dance has led her to study with many world-renowned dancers such as Tito Seif, Randa Kamel, Aida Nour, Nagua Fouad, Orit Maftsir, Sahra Saeeda, Leila Farid, Jillina, Hadia, Camelia and many others. In 2008 she had the honor of being invited to perform in the gala show for dancer Leila of Cairo, held in Montreal. Her newest venture in Middle Eastern arts is learning to play the Dumbek with instructor Suleiman Warwar. Melissa started her apprenticeship with Arabesque Dance Company in 2005, and became a lead dancer in 2007. She is proud to have been a part of their last three stage productions, ASALA, EGYPT and OUM. Melissa instructs weekly classes at Arabesque Academy and is an established soloist in Toronto and the GTA.
Workshop Description: Friday, may 4, 9:30am, Lower Hall:
Layering With Ease
Learn how to layer hip and chest shimmies over isolations with better control and quality of movement
Roula Said
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Roula is an inspiring teacher who has been sharing the wisdom and pleasure of bellydance for over 20 years. Along with her warm and poetic teaching style, Roula brings fluency in the Arabic language and a vast knowledge of Middle Eastern music. She has studied with some of the leading educators in the field including Yousry Sharif, Yasmina Ramzy, and the late Ibrahim Farrah. As a musician, she has studied with George Sawa, Simon Shaheen, Bassam Bishara and master musicians in Syria.
Roula's current passion as a teacher is Seven Waves, a holistic, bellydance infused system of movement and soundmaking. Seven Waves is deeply transformative, seriously fun, and imparts a profound experience of integration and wholeness.
Workshop Description: Thursday, May 3, 9:30am, Lower Hall:
Seven Waves with Roula Said (and live musical accompaniment)
An exploration of authentic movement and sound making through an Arab lens.
Be ready to use your body and your voice in a spirit of curiosity and pleasure - no singing experience required.
Joharah
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Joharah of BellyUpBellyDance Studio has created a haven for bellydance students of all levels. BellyUp is known for offering nothing less than excellence in Egyptian dance training. BellyUp students benefit from the fact that Joharah is a well trained and experienced Egyptian dance artist and performer that is constant learning, growing and further educating herself, which keeps her classes fresh, exciting and her students continually inspired and coming back for more ! Not only does she attend Egyptian dance conferences, workshops and training programs with Master instructors throughout each year, BellyUp hosts Master teachers at her studio where students can attend these educational intensives on a regular basis in an up close and personal learning environment. BellyUp's students have trained with Egyptian dance artists Fifi Abdo, Khaled Mahmoud, Mohamed El Hosseny, Faten Salama, Ahmed Hussien along with Nourhan Sharif, Ranya Renee, Aziza, Carolena Nericcio and Mira Betz plus other local area teaching talent. Joharah also took a large group of students to Cairo, Egypt for the week long Nile Group Dance Festival where Joharah was also a Master Instructor. Joharah has studied intensively with every major Egyptian dancer available.
Workshop Description: Sunday, May 6, 9:30am, Lower Hall:
Saiidi: A fun, high energy Saidi/Raks Assaya choreography/combinations.
* students should bring cane - but there will be loaners and choreography will be modified for those who don't have a cane
Suleiman Warwar
Palestine/Canada
Suleiman Warwar was born in Nazareth, Palestine in 1977. He began playing Arabic Tablah or Dumbek at age 6. The self-taught musician was the lead Dumbek player in his high school orchestra in Nazareth and performed traditional and modern musical pieces around the country. Suleiman immigrated to Canada in 1995 where he was introduced to Latin American, African, Turkish and many other types of music. As well as traditional Arabic percussion including Dumbek, Duff, Katim and Riqq, Suleiman also plays Bongos, Congas and Djembe. His innovative style of drumming has led him to play with such artists as Bassam Bishara, George Wasouf and in various peace movement events. Suleiman is a sought after master dumbek artist who is invited around the world to teach. He is the lead dumbek player for the Arabesque Dance Company Orchestra and has composed many popular drum solos available on his CD entitled "Beyond Rhthym" and the Arabesque Dance Company CDs entitled "Nawaem", Asala 1 Live, Asala 2 Live, OUM and NOOR.
Workshop Description: Sunday, May 6, 3:15pm, Seminar Room:
Dumbek (Arabic Drum)
Dr. George Sawa
Egypt/Canada
George Sawa was born in Alexandria , Egypt in 1947. He studied Classical Arabic music at the Higher Institute of Arabic Music specializing in qanoon, voice and theory. After immigrating to Canada in 1970, he studied ethno-musicology and obtained his doctorate in Historical Arabic Musicology at the University of Toronto.
He has taught medieval, modern and religious Middle Eastern Music at York University and the University of Toronto, and is the author of "Music Performance in Early Abbasid Era 750-932AD" published in 1989. George Sawa has given numerous concerts and lecture demonstrations at universities, museums and art galleries in Europe and North America He has been teaching at Arabesque Academy, School of Middle Eastern Dance and Music Arts since 1995 and regularly teaches alongside Yasmina Ramzy in many dance workshops.
He was awarded the 1990 Ontario Folk Arts Recognition Fellowship for his performances and lecture demonstrations on the qanoon. George served as a performer, composer and music coach in R. Murray Schafer's RA in Toronto (1983) and Holland (1985). As well as serving as the Musical Director for the Egyptian exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum, George has arranged music for and directed the musicians of the Arabesque Dance Company Orchestra since 1996 where he also plays the qanoon and naye in all of their performances.
Workshop Description: Saturday, May 5, 4:30pm, Seminar Room:
Understand Music to Perfect Your Dance