We are very excited to be hosting Princess Farhana for a two-day belly dance and burlesque workshop!

Internationally acclaimed dance star Princess Farhana has performed, taught and written about Oriental Dance and burlesque for twenty years.  Her unique and theatrical style spans everything from fusion to classical raqs sharqi (belly dance) and retro-style burlesque.  She has appeared in The Middle East, Europe and The United Kingdom, as well as across the U.S.A., and danced at concerts with Arabic superstars Amr Diab, Hakim, Natacha Atlas, Sabah, Rageb Alama and Alabina.  She has performed for numerous events for dignitaries and celebrites, including The Saudi Arabian Royal Family, former First Lady Hilary Clinton, Al Pacino, Gwyneth Paltrow, The Rolling Stones and many more.

As a belly dancer, she has appeared on the cover of every major Oriental Dance magazine, and was voted "Cabaret Dancer of The Year" 2006 & 2008 by Zaghareet Magazine.  She has been featured in many oriental dance performance DVD's.  As a burlesque artist, she has been a judge at the U.S.A.'s legendary international burlesque competition, The Miss Exotic World Pageant.  She has been featured on the cover of many belly dance publications and on the cover of the London Sunday Review's feature on American Burlesque. 

On Saturday Princess Farhana will be leading two belly dance sessions, and on Sunday she will teach a burlesque workshop.  Each class session is two and a half hours of fun and learning!  See below for full descriptions of each workshop session.  

There are limited performance opportunities in the Saturday evening show.  If you are interested in performing please e-mail Eyes.of.Bastet@gmail.com for a Performance Request sheet.

If you are interested in vending please e-mail Eyes.of.Bastet@gmail.com for information.

Schedule of Events:

Saturday, Nov. 5th:

8:30-9:30      Registration Opens

9:30-12:00    Great Eights: All Figure Eights, All the Time!

12:00-1:30    Lunch

1:30-4:00      Volitile Combinations!

6:30               Doors open for show

7:00               Show!!

Sunday, Nov. 6th:

9:15-10:00    Registration Opens

10:00-12:30  The Naughty Side of Little Egypt: Contrasting Belly Dance with Burlesque - History, Technique, and Performance

Each workshop is 2 1/2 hours long, and costs $35.  Register for multiple sessions and receive a discount!  If you register for the whole weekend prior to October 21st you will receive $25 off.  Please note that your registration for the workshop is non-refundable.

The show on Saturday is free to any participants who register for more than one session. Additional tickets are $7 each.  For any participant registered in only one session a ticket to the show is $5.

Session Descriptions:

Great Eights: All Figure Eights, All the Time! (Saturday 9:30-12:00)

       This workshop is dedicated to the belly dance staple, The Figure Eight, in all it’s myriad forms! No matter what style of belly dance you perform, you will be able to incorporate these unique Figure Eight variations into your dancing.

       After warming up and stretching, we will go over safe posture, knee and pelvic placement and positions, and Figure Eight foundations for the hips and upper torso, and then expand upon them to include unique variations on the basics, including shimmy layers, un-even eights, speed and level changes, combining them with undulations, as well as traveling and turning with eights. We will go over foot work and floor patterns for some luscious combinations well as beautiful arm work to frame them. This class is open to all levels. Class notes provided.

Volatile Combinations! (Saturday 1:30-4:00)

       Add some dynamite to your dancing!  These explosive, dangerous, and somewhat naughty combinations fuse the very best elements of traditional belly dance with hot Fosse-style jazz and some seriously sassy showgirl attitude.  From fan kicks to floor work, from gooey to glamorous, from angular to arresting, we will concentrate on incendiary fusion moves great for almost any style of dancing.  We'll go over concepts for beautiful body lines, clean technique, intricate weight transfers plus level and spee changes that cause an audience to look twice, but never look away!

The Naughty Side of Little Egypt: Contrasting Belly Dance with Burlesque - History, Technique, and Performance (Sunday 10:00-12:30)

       Though belly dancers often bristle at the comparison to burlesque artists, the history of the two dance genres are historically entwined in America. THIS IS NOT A FUSION WORKSHOP!

       This class will focus on the differences- and similarities- between Oriental dance and burlesque, and how both types of dance changed and influenced each other. Starting off with a bit of belly dance and burlesque history, we will move through technique, contrasting the movements of both genres, and explore how they affect each other today.

       * * THIS CLASS IS PG RATED- NO NUDITY REQUIRED open to all levels