Warm-up for Dance Improvisation

with Bahaia

^{9:15 am - 9:50 am (UTSA Assembly Room)}

Dive into improvisational movement with our bellydance warm-up class using Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) principles. Focusing on Body, Effort, Shape, and Space, you'll deepen your connection with movement. This class encourages spontaneity and novel movement coordination, preparing you to confidently respond to the amazing live music surrounding you this weekend.

Through fun exercises and creative prompts, you'll enhance body awareness, refine movement quality, and let your expression flow. We'll drop into sensation, balancing body and mind in a supportive, relaxed environment. Suitable for all levels, this class is about discovering the joy of embodied, dynamic dance.

So You Think You Can Listen: The Expressive Potential of Vocals

Workshop with Debbie Smith and Usama Baalbaki

^{10:00 am - 11:30 am (UTSA Assembly Room)}

In this two-hour workshop exploring the role and importance for dancers of vocals and singing in Arab music, we will delve into how dancers can engage with song in a way that is appropriate, responsive and enhances the emotional and kinesthetic experience of working with live or recorded music.

The importance of the voice in Arabic music cannot be overstated. The vocal qualities, skill, and interpretative abilities of the singer are a vessel for conveying the emotion and beauty of a song and its lyrics. Dancers are constantly working with Arab songs- except for instrumental pieces composed specifically for dancers and instrumental taqasim, most other music used by dancers is either a song or an instrumental rendition of one.

So how does the dancer find the way into working with vocals? Anyone can learn how to engage with the vocals in their music in a way that is natural and appropriate and develop their own authentic emotional connection to the song, whether they understand Arabic or not. That is what will be explored in this workshop through listening and movement exercises.

Film Screening - The Fez Documentary

Screening and Talk with Producer, Roxxanne Shelaby

^{12:00 pm - 1:30 pm (BVB Bldg. - Buena Vista Theater)}

Dancer and Drummer Interaction within Musical Phrase

Workshop with Cassandra Shore, and the Georges Lammam Ensemble

^{2:00 pm - 4:00 pm (BVB Bldg. - Buena Vista Theater)}

NAO in SA Dance Concert

featuring Maestro Michael Ibrahim and the National Arab Orchestra Takht Ensemble

^{7:30 pm (BVB Bldg. - Buena Vista Theater)}

Karavan Project Band Dancers, GoLive! Instructors, and special guests from all over the USA will be performing.

Warm-up for Dance Improvisation

with Bahaia

^{9:15 am - 9:50 am (UTSA Assembly Room)}

Dive into improvisational movement with our bellydance warm-up class using Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) principles. Focusing on Body, Effort, Shape, and Space, you'll deepen your connection with movement. This class encourages spontaneity and novel movement coordination, preparing you to confidently respond to the amazing live music surrounding you this weekend.

Through fun exercises and creative prompts, you'll enhance body awareness, refine movement quality, and let your expression flow. We'll drop into sensation, balancing body and mind in a supportive, relaxed environment. Suitable for all levels, this class is about discovering the joy of embodied, dynamic dance.

Storytelling and Mood in Taqasim

Workshop with Cassandra Shore and Michael Ibrahim

^{10:00 am - 12:00 pm}

Cassandra says: "When I dance a taqasim of an instrument I really connect with, my body and mind synchronize in the expression of the mood I feel is being communicated. It sometimes suggests a "storyline" not a clear mimetic story, but a strong suggestion of an emotional narrative. I have found that this approach to taqasim has been very successful for many of my students, increasing their ability to understand, integrate, and convey the moods they are experiencing."

In this class we will experiment, using our individual dance skills, with the ideas of story and mood. We will be accompanied in our musical journeys by the brilliant playing of multi-instrumentalist Michael Ibrahim. All levels are welcome!

Percussive Presentation by Susu and Amina

^{12:15 pm - 1:45 pm}

Ornamentation in Music - Recognition and Response

Workshop with Karen Barbee with Michael Ibrahim (nay), and Isaac Lopez (guitar)

^{2:00 pm - 4:00 pm}

Join Karen Barbee, Isaac Lopez (guitar) and Michael Ibrahim (nay) to delve into this often-missed, critical element to maximize your musical interpretation.

1.5-hr class

East Meets West Dance Concert

featuring the Georges Lammam Ensemble and Isaac and the Metafour

^{7:30 pm}

ACT 1 will feature the music of the Georges Lammam Ensemble from San Francisco, CA.

ACT 2 will feature the music of Isaac and the Metafour from here in San Antonio, TX.

Karavan Project Band Dancers, GoLive! Instructors, and special guests from all over the USA will be performing.

Warm-up for Dance Improvisation

with Bahaia

^{9:15 am - 9:50 am (UTSA Assembly Room)}

Dive into improvisational movement with our bellydance warm-up class using Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) principles. Focusing on Body, Effort, Shape, and Space, you'll deepen your connection with movement. This class encourages spontaneity and novel movement coordination, preparing you to confidently respond to the amazing live music surrounding you this weekend.

Through fun exercises and creative prompts, you'll enhance body awareness, refine movement quality, and let your expression flow. We'll drop into sensation, balancing body and mind in a supportive, relaxed environment. Suitable for all levels, this class is about discovering the joy of embodied, dynamic dance.

Exploring The Roots and Boundaries of Belly Dance Improvisation

Workshop with Karen Barbee, Amina Goodyear, and the Georges Lammam Ensemble

^{10:00 am - 12:00 pm}

The intersection of cultural respect and soulful innovation is a very personal place for each of us. The desire to develop both AND navigate their relationship to one another is what often makes someone a dancer for their entire life.

It’s an interesting balance for non-Arab dancers.

How can we confidently and sincerely be the vessel through which this beautiful music (especially when performed LIVE) is interpreted while honoring both? How can we be grounded and empowered in our knowledge of this dance in a cultural context without becoming limited and guarded in our natural expression.

Does it matter? If so, how much?

Hang out for two hours with Amina Goodyear and Karen Barbee – together bringing over 100 years of experience in Middle Eastern Dance to the discussion – for proposed theories, challenging questions, a chance to deepen our collective understanding and, of course, a chance to practically apply everything to the live music of the Georges Lammam Ensemble.

GoLive! 2024 Matinee Dance Concert

with Isaac and the Metafour, and The Georges Lammam Ensemble

^{1:00 pm - 4:00 pm}

ACT 1 will feature the music of Isaac and the Metafour from here in San Antonio, TX.

ACT 2 will feature the music of the Georges Lammam Ensemble from San Francisco, CA.

Karavan Project Band Dancers, GoLive! Instructors, and special guests from all over the USA will be performing.

GoLive! 2024 Finale Dance Concert

featuring Ghafour Brothers band from Houston, TX plus special guests: Michael Ibrahim ang Georges Lammam

^6:00 pm

Karavan Project Band Dancers, GoLive! Instructors, and special guests from all over the USA will be performing.