SHIMMY NEWS

Do you Yahoo ?

If you already love to Yahoo then how about joining a group all about this dance and our groups ? Chat about what you did in class, ask questions, help others or just share your bad day with someone. If you have never tried out a Yahoo group then this one is a fantastic and friendly one to join first. To join simply send an email to info@letsbellydance.co.uk and use the title letsbellydance-Yahoo and then get chatting !

Emma's CD choices .
The Very Best 2004-- Nice mix of modern Arabic pop songs
Heya Di Yasmina - Yasmina of Cairo's new album - Lovely traditional songs with a modern feel
Urban Dervish - Oojami - another great album from a band that will become very popular due to its involvement with belly Dance Superstars
Belly dance Superstars - various artists - a very danceable selection by members of the BDSS.
Beginner's Guild to Arabia--3 CDs, Pop, Classical and Lounge--great value.

Sara's CD choices .
Harem (2,3,or 4) -- Unlimited Turkish techno, can anyone own too much ?
Tanyeli--Turkish Belly-Dancer - instant attitude--nothing makes me want to dance like this album !
Modern Bellydance from Lebanon--Emad Sayyah - Joyful and uplifting ! - and almost all instrumentals.
Gathering Season--Solace - Stunning ! - Powerful Tribal sounds, by turn relaxing and invigorating. A must for drills and group work.
Snake Spell--Tim Garside--Not pop, not techno, not bellydance--just good, clean, percussive fun ! (available from garsaaidi@hotmail.com)
The Hour of Two Lights--Terry Hall and Mushtaq-- Warning! - do not buy without listening first. This is a love it or hate it album. I melt at Terry Halls voice and the back

Dance Associations and Publications

M.A.D.N. in Mosaic Magazine (National) - (£17 payable to Mosaic Arabic Dance Network),

or visit the Mosaic web site www.mosaicdance.org

W.A.D.A. (South) - (£6 payable to Wessex Arabic Dance Association),

Membership Details from Sara--sara@letsbellydance.co.uk

Taqasim Magazine (S.W. England) - ( £10 payable to Taqasim)

Afra Al Kahira, PO Box 72, Bideford, North Devon, EX39 1FA

Dance Arabic Magazine - (£10 ),

Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, GL20 5TD

Each offers information on workshops as well as reviews and chat - well worth it if you want to keep up to date with news.

Mersin Taste of Dance

March 1st

Oakridge Hall for all

With Guest Star : Emma Chapman

Aimed at dancers of all levels Mersin's Taste of Dance gives everyone the chance to try out new styles of Middle Eastern Dance in a happy and relaxed atmosphere.

Workshops include :

Segat with Emma Chapman

Headresses with Deborah Fox

Choreography to Inta Omri by

Emma Chapman

And how to use DVDs to enhance your own dancing with Emma Pike

The workshops will be followed by an evening Hafla featuring local dancers and our guest teachers.

Booking form is now on line, or available in class.

Mersin News:

Mersin has recently undergone some big changes with Emma stepping down as co-director and a number of others deciding that they don't have the time to commit to a professional group.

The "old" Mersin will be dancing together for the last time at our Taste of Dance event in March--which will be a sad day as many of us have been dancing together for nearly 10 years.

Mersin will be back in rehearsals by mid March and will perform together for the first time at the WADA show on the 26th April.

Each Autumn Mersin auditions new members and this year we are welcoming dancers who do not train with Sara or Emma for the first time. Our audition process is known as one of the hardest in the country, and this is reflected in the standard of dancer in our troupe. If you would like to be considered for the audition process please either contact Sara or visit the Mersin Home page where details will soon be published.

New Term :

Saturday classes with Sara:

The Sports centre in Basingstoke is offering ten week courses starting on the 12th of January 2008. Sara@letsbellydance.co.uk

11.15 am Key moves and basic combos

Beginners and Improvers

12.25 Group Drum Solo !

Intermediate and Advanced dancers

New Class !!

Announcing a new Daytime class in Basingstoke on a Thursday morning. The daytime class in Reading has been running for a few months now and is proving to be very successful (and lots of fun !). This is our first Family Welcome class, providing somewhere to dance with your pre-school child.

Venue : Oakridge Hall for All (venue of our Xmas Hafla)
Time : 10am (for one hour)
Cost : £5
Level : Mixed ability.

If its successful then the plan is to split the group once it builds into two levels. If this class doesn't suit please see the web site for all the classes in the area - including daytime, evening and weekend sessions.

Black Willow

Now has its own web site :

www.blackwillowtribal.co.uk

Blackwillow provides most of the tribal wear for Emma, Sara, Covert Bling and TribalTastic.

Monday night classes with Emma :

7.45-8.40--Classical Egyptian

intermediate and above

8.40-9.30 - Improvised Tribal style

all levels

Caversham primary

Emmapyke@hotmail.com