Alaska Awalim presents:

Artemis Elizabeth Mourat
July 27-29, 2012
Space For Movement Studio
410 Second Avenue, Fairbanks, Alaska

Please note that a catered lunch is included in full day registrations,
and dinner is included with the Saturday evening lecture.
Please let us know about any dietary restrictions at least 2 weeks in advance.

We will have an informal, potluck Hafla at the studio on Friday night at 6pmto welcome Artemis. There will be a sign up sheet at the door and performance slots will be assigned on a first come- first served basis, tho you are welcome to send your music ahead of time to be sure it works on our sound system! Non-dance performance is welcome. Please remember that this is a family friendly event and plan all performances and costumes accordingly.

Workshop Schedule
(Full class descriptions below)

Saturday, July 28:
Turkish Oriental, 11am-1pm $45______

Turkish Roman, 2-5pm $65______

History of Belly Dance, 6-9pm (dinner incl.) $65_____

Full day registration & lunch w/o lecture $100_____

Full day registration with lecture $160_____

Sunday, July 29:
Taksim & slow dance, 11am-1pm $45______

Stagecraft for Dancers, 2-5pm $65______

Full day registration with lunch $100_____
Weekend package (meals included) $260_____

Please make checks out to Lara Lotze, paypal payments can be made to lara@alaskaawalim.com
Registration forms can be found at:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BxulQjatmKRnSDFLek02bnAwTEk
and
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BxulQjatmKRnRkZyZi1YbEo4MXc

Workshop descriptions:Please note that both Saturday Turkish workshops are stand-alone topics, however Artemis will also present specific common movements in order to compare & contrast how each is articulated in the two different styles. We highly recommend taking both classes for maximum benefit.

Turkish Oriental Dance
- Turkish Oriental Dance is a highly sought after specialty within the oriental dance family. Its mother is the Turkish Romany dance which was said to "melt a stone." Its father is the lovely Egyptian Oriental dance. Its maternal aunts are the rich and varied court dances of the Ottoman Empire and the Ghawazee Romani dances from the Turkish occupation of Egypt.  Limit 20 participants

Turkish Romany Dance, History and Culture
-The Turkish Romany (Gypsy) people have performed in Turkey for the past 1000 years. They were the most famous street performers during the Ottoman Empire. This is the mother of Turkish Oriental dance.  This material is perfect for your Tribal, Oriental or Romany dance vocabulary. W Limit 20 participants

Knowing your Roots - Belly Dancing from the Temples to the Cabarets - the History of Belly Dance -
As with all things in life, you have to know where you came from so that you will understand where you are now and where to go from here. This ancient art form has been much misunderstood. Its origins came from prehistoric worship, then to the Temples of Hathor and it has flourished for thousands of years in its various permutations, finally makings its way into cabarets worldwide. We will explore the many roots of the dance - sacred and secular. No participant limit.

The Art of Taksim and All Slow Dancing
Slow dancing and taksims are essential parts of what we do as belly dancers. The different instruments require different movements. Learn to listen to the music and to interpret it artistically and convincingly. I will teach you ways to access your movement vocabulary in a relaxed, beautiful and expressive manner. Limit 20 participants

Stagecraft
Regardless of your style of dance song, this workshop is great for everyone and for soloists and group numbers. Topics include: keeping it interesting, floor patterns, smooth transitions and understanding the music..Limit 20 participants

Spring classes, 2012

Foundation level Belly Dance 11am, Saturdays, January through April
$15 drop in, $80 6-week punch card, $50 monthly with an annual contract.

Advanced Belly Dance (instructor permission required) Sundays 5:45pm $75/month

Family Folk Dance Saturdays 5pm
This class is open to participants of all ages, designed for parents who wish to participate in dance class with their family. We will use a combination of creative movement and folk dances from across the middle east and North Africa, including Beledi/home style belly dance. $12/person $30 family maximum, children under 6 free, limit 3 under 12s per adult (it is okay to mix families to get the right ratio if you are coming with friends, as long as a parent or guardian is present for all children present)

All classes are held at Space For Movement Studio. Class will be held regardless of temperature, however make-up classes will be allowed if it is colder than -30 or if there is a travel advisory.

Fall 2011 classes

Ongoing classes:
Tues. 5:30-6:30, beginning- intermediate mixed level technique
Tues. 6:30-7:30, advanced technique
$15 drop in, $80 for a 6 week pass, $140 full semester

6 week session beginning Oct. 8
Sat. 11-noon, introduction to belly dance, $80

$75 monthly all access pass is also available.

Special events:
Oct. 15, 6pm- drum & dance circle. Come right at 6 to learn about Middle Eastern rhythms, or drop in any time for a drum/dance/music jam session. We will have a couple extra drums, but please bring your own (and maybe one to share!) Melodic instruments also welcome. Please consider a $5 donation to cover rental costs, but come no matter what!

Nov. 19, 4:30pm- Costume bra workshop. $50, materials included. Bring a decent fitting bra, preferably hard cup, for sizing (we will not cut or otherwise mar the sizing bra!) and walk out with a custom fit bra, ready to be covered & decorated!

requested bra cup making instructions...

notes from the bra making workshop- © Lara Lotze, 2011
forget bra patterns- make your own! I was so frustrated with *everything* I found, I developed my own method. If you use this method or share it, please give credit where it is due! I spent months researching and experimenting, and I'd like to get at least acknowledgement for sharing my efforts!

(I hope to post pictures soon, but I am lousy at getting things to load on my slow connection!)

Supplies from http://www.bramakerssupply.com/ *underwire(long) *underwire casing
Supplies from Joann's *Pellon- request the thickest stiffener/interfacing available
General supplies *1/2 inch medical/first aid tape *craft scissors *sweedish tracing paper or other drape-able pattern paper *standard sewing supplies (thread, sewing machine, pins, etc)

step 1- find a set of underwires that fit you. They should lie flat against your chest, without pinching any breast tissue.

step 2- get out your best fitting bra, preferably a hard cup of some kind. if you need to fill a cup to get it to reflect actual breast size (soft cup bra) fill a balloon with rice until it is the appropriate size & place it under the cup.

step 3- use medical tape to mark a line from the bottom center of the cup, across the nipple line to the under arm edge. (if you can't eyeball it, use chalk or something washable to mark your nipple while wearing the bra you are using for sizing)- on most bras, this should put the end of the line at about 1/2- 1 inch below the top of the under arm edge of the sizing bra.

step 4- find the center of that line and use the medical tape to mark a perpendicular line from the center to the bottom side edge (so you should have a T of tape on the bra)

step 5- carefully take the tape off the bra and place on your pattern paper. Use the edge of your underwire to start a curve of the right shape on either side of the tape- we are going to take a tuck here in a minute, so you are going to have to continue & adapt the curve such that it goes around the bottom of that T smoothly.

step 6- cut around that curve line and down the (horizontal) center of the tape at the top of the T.

step 7- use medical tape to attach your pattern piece to the edges and center of the underwires. Here is the really tricky part. take 2 tucks, one on either side of the center, to get the bottom edge of the curve to fit the wire while adding depth to the center to hold the boob. tape along the length of your tuck, from the edge all the way to the center (extend the line all the way to the center edge!)

step 8- take the pattern piece off the wires. Mark each section of the pattern out, middle, in, use arrows to indicate which side of the pattern piece is the outside (so it will look something like this: <--out|mid|in--> ) cut down the middle of the tuck-tape.

step 9- trace this onto new, pristine pattern paper and add 1/4 inch seam allowance to both sides of the *middle* section only. Remember to transfer all your markings

step 10- somewhere around here, you have pattern paper with half a strip of medical tape stuck to it. Find it and use that tape as the bottom of the next pattern piece. it should be min. 1 inch higher than the medical tape. cut a 45 degree angle from the top of the medical tape into the top part of the pattern piece on both sides. Note that, since you measured across the nipple line, you are guaranteed at least 1 inch of nipple protection coverage! You can make it more if you need to.

step 11- trace all pattern pieces on your pellon twice- remember to flip the cup pattern pieces for the second cup. I usually mark the pieces cut from the flipped patter pieces with a 2, in addition to transferring the other markings.

step 12- pin the pattern pieces for the lower half of the cup with a1/4 inch overlap- this is why we didn't need seam allowances on all the pieces! pin a lot, because it is hard to maintain the curve when you sew if you don't!

step 13- sew the bottom part of the cup.

step 14- pin the upper edge, with 1/4 inch overlap, sew.

step 15- sew the other cup

step 16- invert both cups (this *should* minimize the lines of excess pellon, but feel free to shear it down with scissors if you still have excess) The bra cups will still look a little wide and flat

step 17- sew underwire casing to the inside of the bra cups- leave a little extra to fold over at the ends.

step 18- insert underwires. Wow! admire that curvy, perfectly fitting cup!

step 19- depending on what kind of straps you use (halter, standard, etc) you will need to take a tuck in the top to make it contour properly. simply cut in the middle to the seam line, overlap and stitch. Use craft scissors to trim & shape the center top edge of the bra (the instructions here essentially have one bra cup running into the next for folks who want full coverage, but since pellon does not fray, it is easy to just cut away to your desired shape.)

Notes on finishing the bra will come in another post.

Spring/Summer workshops & classes

Spring/Summer line up

Reminder- regular classes run through June 7. Beginning/mixed level drop in class Tuesdays at 5:30, Performance class 6:30, $15 drop in or $80 6 week punch card.

Mother/Daughter Belly Dance Party
May 21, Noon-1
In honor of Mother's Day, I've decided to make May's belly dance workout a mother-daughter affair! Register for class and bring your mother or daughter for free! Ages 8-108 welcome, and I'll accept unofficially adopted family members if your real relations can't be with you. Beginners welcome. Feel free to dress up & have fun with this one! Saturday, May 21, Noon-1pm, $10/pair.

Quarterly Zill Drill
Saturday, June 11, 2-4 pm

Costuming Series:
Bra & Belt construction from scratch
July 16, 4-6pm
How to make a strong, supportive bra from scratch, from materials to design to lining, plus belt construction, basic costume construction and draping and fitting principles. Materials fee included, please bring your own cover fabric to work with. $35

Beading & Embellishing
August 20, 4-6pm
Bead and sequin embroidery technique and design for costumes, appliques and fringe. Materials fee included. You are welcome to bring your own base if you are working on a current project. $35

Happy Spring!

It's that time again!
Quarterly Finger Cymbal Intensive is coming up
Saturday, March 19 from 4-6pm at Space For Movement.

Brush up on basic technique, learn a new rhythm or two, then work it
all into a simple dance routine. This month we will focus on the
rhythms typically found in an Egyptian Beledi Taqsim routine. All
levels welcome! $20, online registration available at http://alaskaawalim.com/classes.php

Registrants also receive a $5 coupon for finger cymbals or rhythm
tutorial CDs from Alaska Awalim at Space For Movement.

Weekly class:
Introduction to Egyptian Style Belly Dance
March 22- May 24, Tuesdays 5:30-6:30.
This class is a little different from my typical beginning
classes, in that it focuses on the specific technique and aesthetic of
classic and modern Egyptian style, rather than a broader, more
universal introduction. Great for beginners looking for classic
technique, or advanced dancers who want to get a handle on this
dynamic style of dance. $125 for this special 10 week class or $15 drop in.

Preregistration is also open for the
Torso, Arms & Hands Workshop.
April 16 4-6pm at Space For Movement.
We will cover basic upper body conditioning, posture, various stylistic variations for arms and
hands, and (by special request!) belly rolls and undulations. $25

Summer plans:
We will continue holding monthly workshops through the summer-
I am taking requests for topics right now, so let me know if there is anything you are eager to work on! A list of possible workshop topics is at the bottom of this page http://alaskaawalim.com/classes.php
A costuming class would also be an option.
I am thinking of doing either a basic beading class or a bra construction class
(not decorating, actually starting with fabric and ending with a bra base!)

Looking forward to hearing from you!
Lara Lotze
Alaska Awalim

Looking to the New Year

Special events for January & February:

ShimmyFit workout, January 1, 11am-1pm

. $25, open to all levels & appropriate for beginners.

Tunisian Dance workout, January 15, 4-6pm
. $25, open to all levels- survey of Tunisian dance styles & music.
Brothers of the Baladi music workshop, February 12, 4-7pm
. $40, Middle Eastern drumming at Space For Movement,
. Eastern modes & melodies at The Music Room (adjoining)
Brothers of the Baladi Concert, February 13, 4pm
. Local dancers collaborate with this Grammy nominated Global Rock
. band for a smashing good show!
. Pioneer Park Centennial Center Theater- $28, tickets available at
. www.midnightmuseproductions.com, Space For Movement Studio
. and Grassroots Guitar

Regular classes

January 4-April 26
Beginning Belly Dance, Tuesdays 5:30-6:30
Advanced Belly Dance (with instructor permission only), Tuesdays 6:30-7:30