Hadia

Hadia is considered by all who see her as a dancer's dancer—in every sense of the word. A world-renowned dancer, researcher, and award-winning instructor based in Montreal with a career spanning over 30 years. "She has the energy of a five year old, the wisdom of an old woman and the ageless spirit of a true dancer."

Hadia has lived and performed through the Middle East and has studied and worked with many of the great masters of oriental dance and Folklore including Ibrahim Akef, Farideh Fahmy, Zohair Zeki, Mona al Said, Dina, Ibrahim Farrah, Ahmad Jarjour, Raqia Haasan, and the Kohmeya National Folkloric Company of Egypt.

Her understanding and mastery of the very soul of Raks Sharqi and her innate ability to weave the subtle nuances and textures of oriental music into movement have earned her an international reputation as an exquisite performer of impeccable quality.

Her ingenious teaching skills draw upon her multi-faceted 37-year career as an artist of Middle Eastern, Flamenco, Jazz, African/Afro-Brazilian, Polynesian and Salsa, as well as her 15 years as a registered practitioner and instructor of massage/manual therapy.

She skilfully applies her extensive knowledge of anatomy and kinesiology to create thorough, clear and disciplined breakdowns of all techniques. Her understanding of the peoples and cultures of the Middle East is reflected in her attentive application of oriental rhythms, instruments and phrasing, as well as her ability to encourage emotional and artistic expression.

She has a fullness and depth to her teaching that embodies her deep love and respect for our art form as it challenges, inspires and accommodates all levels of students - novice to professional. Dedicated to educating dancers, all that she knows she willingly shares.

Visit Hadia's website.

Hadia's MassRaqs Workshops

Body Logic Ultimate Technique, Egyptian Oriental (prereq: Body Logic), Turkish Rom

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Katia of Boston

A member of NYC's Middle Eastern Dance Hall of Fame for performance and choreography, Katia received most of her training from her mentor and Lebanese-American dance master, the late Ibrahim Farrah of NYC. She continues to study with Mahmoud Reda in Cairo, Yousry Sharif, in NYC, and International Dance Artist, Velerie Camille in NYC.

Through annual travels to Egypt, as well as travels to Morocco, Turkey, Greece, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia where she has studied dance, Katia has expanded her personal knowledge of North Africa and the cultures of the Near East, their music, and dances.

With 15 years of experience as a night club performer, Katia also has taught extensively in the U.S. and abroad for the past 35 years. She was Artistic Director of the Near East Dance Theatre of Boston for 12 years, and now directs and performs with the "Stars of the East" trio.

Currently, in addition to sponsoring recognized artists from around the US, Egypt, and Europe to teach in Boston, she also organizes a Middle Eastern Dance Retreat annually in late July in Lakeville, MA that includes classic Oriental choreography, folkloric dances, as well as cultural programs and performances.

Katia's dance reviews, articles and photography have been published in Arabesque Magazine of N.Y.C and in Belly Dance New England (formerly known as Middle Eastern Dance in New England Journal). Katia also produced the CD "Youm el Farrah" with music written for her by Lebanese composer Aboudi Badawi.

Her videos include "Stars of the East" featuring a repertoire of 12 folkloric dances by her group "Stars of the East"; "Visions of the East: A Tapestry of Life" which is a presentation of Katia's collection of antique embroidered ethnic costumes and jewelry from her travels in the Middle East and North Africa; "Visions of the East: A Journey through Dance" which is a theater production of her choreography through the years, featuring over 20 Boston dancers.

She also produced two solo performance videos titled "Dance Katia Dance!" now available as a two volume set on DVD. All videos are available on DVD through Katia's website.

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Katia's MassRaqs Workshop

Tunisian Dance

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Karim Nagi

Karim Nagi is a native Egyptian drummer, DJ, and folk dancer. He is the creator of Turbo Tabla, and has released two internationally distributed CDs of this unique brand of Arab House/Electronica using acoustic instruments.

Karim has authored instructional DVDs for the Tabla/Doumbek and Riqq tambourine, as well as two rhythm compilation CDs. He is also well versed in the ultra-traditional styles of music and dance as the leader of the Sharq Arabic Music Ensemble, and the Arab Dance Seminar. Karim performs and teaches Tahteeb Cane Dance, Dabka Line Dance, and Zikr Sufi Dance.

He taught at the New England Conservatory of Music for 5 years, and has lectured and presented at Harvard, MIT, Yale, Bowdoin, Princeton, Stanford, William & Mary, and several Community Colleges. He has recorded music for Bellydance Superstars, Bellyqueen, and the Bellytwins, as well as mainstream artists like Alicia Keys, and The Urban Griot Project.

His performances boast a dynamic concoction of live drumming and dance, done in unison. Because of his proficiency in both music and dance, his workshops deliver students to a new physical understanding of the connection between these two disciplines.

As a dance and drum teacher, Karim has taught in nearly all major bellydance festivals in the United States and Cairo, as well as all major Arab Culture festivals in the USA. Karim Nagi is a true crossover artist, uniting the Cabaret and Tribal, Traditional and the Modern, the Ethnic and the Urban.

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Karim's MassRaqs Workshops

Oum Kalsoum Intros, Rhythm for Dancers

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Meiver

Meiver, the host of MassRaqs, is a fiery entertainer hailing from Dominican Republic, via Boston, Massachusetts. With natural grace (her middle name!) combined with a keen feel for Arabic rhythms, she is one of Boston's favorite and most sought after performers.

Meiver is delighted to be doing, thinking, living, breathing, and researching belly dance full-time as a Performance Studies doctoral student at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL. She also holds a Masters Degree in Gender and Cultural Studies from Simmons College, and a Bachelors Degree in International Business and Economics from the University of Massachusetts - Boston. She has been involved in feminist activism and social justice work for many years, and recently contributed a chapter along with fellow activist Carol Gomez to "The Revolution Starts at Home: Confronting Intimate Violence Within Activist Communities" (South End Press, Cambridge, MA. 2011).

Meiver has been a student, researcher, and practitioner of dances from the Middle East since 1996. She has been performing primarily within Boston's Middle Eastern communities since 2000, and teaching dance since 2002.

She has performed internationally with the Belly Dance Superstars, Collage Dance Ensemble and toured the Northeast of the US with Karim Nagi's Belly Dance Overdrive. Her dance and choreography style combines a unique blend of flavors learned through transnational study of these dances. As a student she has been interested in the many ways belly dance traditions are taken up and cleverly altered with subtlety in many parts of the world, adopting local flavors and preferences, while preserving the ability to please communities seeking traditional performances. Her dance is carefully directed and studied, energetic, and decidedly modern.

Following the long-standing traditions of originality and personal innovation in the performance of Middle Eastern dance styles, her dance reflects love and respect for tradition and culture while it is also infused with individuality and personal grace.

As an instructor Meiver is a careful technician that works to develop her students' physical strength and flexibility, proper posture and clean habits for an ongoing, safe practice. She passes on not only dance movements, but also a method for dance study focused on self-development, enthusiasm for growth, and paths to learning. Her excitement for the subject at hand is infectious; her keen eye and understanding of the dance provides individual, useful and targeted feedback. Her teaching approach emphasizes the development of a dancer's technical skills and artistry, awareness of the dance's history, culture and context, musical literacy and performance readiness.

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Meiver's MassRaqs Workshops

Fluid and Larger than Life: Veil Combinations for Oriental Dance

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