Karim Nagi in Philadelphia!

SOLD OUT!!!

Fatima Bassmah presents an Arab Music Intensive with

Karim Nagi for the first time in Philadelphia!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

11am – 1pm - ARABIC RHYTHMS FOR DANCE

2pm – 4pm – MAQAM AND TAQSIM FOR DANCE

Each workshop is $50 if paid by March 15, $55 after.

Combine and save! *Register for both workshops, $90 if paid by March 15, $100 after.*

Musicians are welcome to register for the workshops to audit as lectures.

Location – Studio 1831, 1831 Brandywine Street, Philadelphia, PA

ARABIC RHYTHMS FOR DANCE - Sunday, April 15, 2012, 11am – 1pm It’s time to raise the bar for rhythmic literacy! A dancer’s immediate connection to the music is the rhythm produced by the Tabla and percussion. Karim teaches each rhythm using the three-sound clapping approach. Karim then performs sample rhythms on the Tabla. Students will learn each rhythm by name, “dum-tak” vocalization, and clapping. Afterwards the dancers will learn choreography segments to help gain bodily control with the sample rhythm, putting theory into practice. He presents 7 to 10 rhythms that vary in complexity, and inspire a variety of movements. By physically personifying each Rhythm, bodily mastery of that rhythm will be achieved. The dancer will be able to perform and teach each rhythm with greater accuracy and authenticity.This movement workshop is perfect for any dancer who wants to better understand what they are dancing to.

MAQAM AND TAQSIM FOR DANCE - Sunday, April 15, 2012, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pmMaqam is the Arabic system of scales and melody creation. All songs, whether classical, pop or dance, are created in a Maqam, which dictates whether the song is happy, somber, uplifting, spiritual or sensual. Singing the maqam often helps the dancer feel the emotion created by the distances between each note. We then align notes in the scale with specific body isolations, allowing them to follow a maqam by using their bodily dance vocabulary. Dancers will learn how to recognize, sing and move to maqams by learning famous song examples. Special attention will be given to Taqsim, the art of instrumental solo improvisation. The dancer will practice interpreting the instrumental music into movement and personifying the mood of the music. This workshop is vital for dancers who wish to better interpret melody into movement.

ABOUT 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.

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.