Props

Tone and strengthen your arms and upper body with this challenging warm up in which we will work with weights, Pilates, and a little yoga. Get ready to sweat! This spotlight is part one of three of Ashley's "Built for Belly Dance: Upper Body Conditioning Workshop".

Swords, zils, and quick shimmys – nothing pleases an audience more! In this Intermediate level class, fast movements for sword balancing are presented and drilled. Based on the ATS® fast vocabulary, but applicable for dancers of all styles, variations for dancing with a sword while wearing zils are introduced and concepts for fast sword presentations are discussed. Arm modifications are demonstrated and exciting combos are explored.

This class starts with a warm up and conditioning segment focusing on arm strength and flexibility. We then cover a quick overview of swords used in belly dance and specific concepts for group improvisation using swords. Starting with the dancers handling the sword, variations of slow ATS® and Scarlet Thistle moves are presented as well as dramatic poses and flourishes that showcase this “dangerous” prop. Sword balancing, both on the hand and on the head is discussed with Tribal Style movements utilized for hand balancing and the ATS® vocabulary is explored for balancing on the head. Class finished with an improvised drill that strings together multiple movements to create combinations appropriate for choreography or for improvisation.

In this workshop we will focus on belly dance’s most classic prop, the veil. You will get clear and concise breakdowns of veil posture, technique, and 20 unique movements and variations. All of the movements can stand on their or own or seam together to create a lovely 20 part veil choreography.

The workshop includes a warm-up specifically targeting arms, hands, wrists, upper back, shoulders and ribcage as well as commentary on using your veil as a theatrical prop and recovering from veil snafus.

Learn the 5 sections of a balancing routine in this short and simple choreography. This includes level changes, touches briefly on floorwork, gives a few turns to play with, and has a combination or two while balancing your item of choice. Make sure you're warmed up for this one, especially in the legs. Enjoy!

In this Intermediate level class, a choreography featuring the Sword is presented to MWE's song, "Los Biblicos"*. Beginning with an entrance, the piece starts with the presentation of the Sword and dramatic Sword handling. The tension increases as the Sword is balanced and Tribal Style movements and variations are executed. This choreography is applicable to all styles of belly dance and may be utilized by ATS® or ITS groups.

To brush up on Tribal Style Sword Fundamentals, check out Colette's Slow and Fast Tribal Style Sword Classes. *Note: This choreography uses an edited version of the MWE song, "Los Biblicos". The choreography is from 00:47 to 4:06 of the track.

Sedona Soulfire covers classic veil movements including toga, flag, arabian princess, hourglass, untuck, hip frame, and front to back toss. This is section one of her 20 part Sublime Veil Technique and Choreography workshop.

Sedona Soulfire covers classic veil movements including scoops, flourishes, back to front toss, sillouette, and the necklace. This is section two of her 20 part veil workshop, "Sublime Veil Technique and Choreography".

Sedona Soulfire covers classic veil movements including butterfly, frame 1, frame 2, tulip, barrel, helicopter, back butterfly, up and over, and the superstar. This is section three of her 20 part veil workshop: "Sublime Veil Technique and Choreography".

Sedona Soulfire covers classic veil movements including turns, delilah swish, chase, single wing, tidal wave, and the claudia. All moves demonstrated will strung together to create a pleasing short sequence.

This is section four of her 20 part veil workshop, "Sublime Veil Technique + Choreography".

Sedona offers fantastic tips for using your veil as a theatrical prop to add drama to your performances. She also covers how to go about gracefully recovering from the inevitable snags and drops you might encounter on stage.