Warm Up for the Lower Body

This class presents fast Tribal Style movements that incorporate classic foot patterns and traditional hip work which look stunning when performed by a group.  We will introduce the movements and flourishes, string them together into combos to drill, then drill them in formation with zils.  This workshop is appropriate for dancers of all levels and the moves are ATS® and/or ITS friendly.

In this class, we explore a simple traveling combination and then add arm movements on top. Basic hip and chest movement will also be drilled, with a focus on clean, strong, muscular articulation. A nice, long arm and shoulder drill is included to build strength and stamina for beautiful and graceful arms. We will warm-up and cool-down with a bit of yoga and Pilates so grab your yoga mat as well!

Tribal Style belly dance is known for its uplifted posture, which supports and carries the body and results in a strong, confident presentation.  These pointers breakdown the specifics of posture and explain how great posture can improve dance technique and presentation. 

Shimmies are one of the most impressive yet challenging movements in a belly dance repertoire. In this workshop we will go through a clear and concise break down of the Egyptian style hip shimmy and shoulder shimmy. We will dance through an extended shimmy session to help increase the endurance and velocity of your shimmy. Finally, we will begin to add exciting and challenging shimmy layers and level changes. The workshops begins with a full-body, classical dance based conditioning workout; designed to create a long and strong dancers body.

Yoga cool down for the low back and lateral muscles. Be sure to use some sort of cool down every time you dance, to stabilize the low back and stretch the sides of the body.

Collapsable Sigil is a yoga based sport flow warm up to get your heart rate up and keep flexibility in your practice.

Get your daily dose! The daily dose is a short, efficient practice that has what you need to keep your technique strong, even if you have a crazy schedule: yoga, drills, a short phrase combination, a focus, and a cool down. This daily dose is part of the "Arabic Shimmy" Series.

This is a beginning level Pilates workout designed with the needs of belly dancers in mind. The beginning of this workshop is an introduction to the principles of the method, and guides the student through the main points of stabilization and good form, and includes tips for self-correction. This class focuses on strengthening the abdominals, back muscles while stabilizing the body for belly dance movement. This workout features primarily classic Pilates exercises and offers a variety of modifications for beginners.

This is a belly dance basics class, which will include a traveling combination and an isolation combination. For the traveling combo, we will break down the footwork and then add arm movement and hip locks. Next, isolations of the hips, shoulders, and chest will be drilled separately then put together in a combination toward the end. We’ll also practice walking with hip locks and speeding up the feet for a movement called the “choo choo.” Get ready for a fun shimmy drill, too! Have a mat ready for a pilates warm-up and yoga cool-down.

Basic movements provide a strong foundation for any belly dance practice and are the starting point for variations and complex layering. This spotlight focuses on proper technique for three fundamental slow movements in tribal style belly dance,  Taxeem, Reverse Taxeem and Bodywave, to ensure a dramatic  presentation and prepare for advanced variations.

This class is designed for the beginning belly dancer or anyone looking to revisit and practice some basic belly dance essentials. In this video, we will start by breaking down belly dance posture. Then we’ll work with some basic footwork and traveling, hip locks, upper body isolations, and snake arms. Have a mat ready as we’ll begin with a short yoga and pilates conditioning sequence.

This class presents slow Tribal Style movements, each with a strong Flamenco flavor.  Starting with a short warm-up, we will introduce three movements and their cues, then string them together into a dramatic combo to drill.  This workshop is appropriate for dancers of all levels and the moves are ATS® and/or ITS friendly.

Increasing muscular control, core stabilization, and strength is the goal of this spotlight. We prepare the body to move with quick aerobic steps, then link exercises targeting the abdominal muscles, including the obliques or the the diagonal muscles of the waist and trunk. These exercises are excellent for increasing endurance while developing a strong core to support gestures with the arms and legs, resulting in abdominal definition. This spotlight is from Colette's Tribal Basic Series #5 class.

Get your daily dose! The daily dose is a short, concise practice that has what you need to keep you strong, even if you have a crazy schedule: yoga, drills, a short phrase combination, a focus, and a cool down. This daily dose video is part of the "Arabic Shimmy" series.

This is a short lecture highlighting some of the basic information and history behind Pilates, the creator, the form itself, and why its an excellent practice to compliment belly dance.

This workshop is designed to give the beginning or intermediate belly dancer a foundation for traveling with 3/4 shimmies. In this workshop, we’ll break down the basic 3/4 shimmy, focusing on an even pacing and smooth execution. Pilates mat work, isolation drills, and balance exercise will help to prepare the dancer for the movement. This video includes a basic traveling combination to exercise traveling forward, back, and to the sides. Great for beginning to experienced dancers looking to drill the 3/4 shimmy.