ORLEANS RAQS 2025 Registration & Details
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WHAT + WHO: Iona Productions is proud to host the return of Maestro Ahmed Hussien for a Spring weekend of Oriental dance!
WHEN: MARCH 15+16, 2025 from 9a.m. to 3p.m.; Showcase March 15 at 7p.m. at an eclectic club in the Healing Arts Center--Cafe Istanbul. Doors open at 6:30pm. WHERE: Classes held at the social meeting hall at Hampton Inn, 501 Elysian Fields, New Orleans, LA 70117 USA near historic French Quarter. (OR25 room rates $169: ROOM BLOCK IS CLOSED) Showcase nearby on Saturday Night at Cafe Istanbul, 2372 St. Claude Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70117 in the Marigny. HOW: See registration details below to reserve your spot now! |
Registration Pricing & Details
- Use QR Code above to PAYPAL to IONA directly or Paypal [email protected] "Friends and Family" to help avoid fees.
- VENMO @KimKarnell *last 4 digits of phone 5403.
- CASH or CHECK: Email [email protected] or FB message IONA KIM. Sorry there are NO REFUNDS.
*EARLY BIRD PRICING until OCT 31, 2024; REGULAR PRICING NOV 1, 2024-FEBRUARY 28, 2024; LATE LARK PRICING MARCH 1-16, 2025. There are a limited spots available for participants.
- ENDED $240--EARLY BIRD FULL WEEKEND!
- ENDED $150--SINGLE DAY
- ENDED $320 REGULAR ROBIN FULL WEEKEND SAT-Classic Oriental, Shaabi, Fellahi, SUN-Drum Solo, Beledi, Saidi
- ENDED $185 REGULAR ROBIN SINGLE DAY available until spots fill.
- ENDED $65--REGULAR A la Carte Class after JAN 1, 2025 as available
- LATE REGISTRATION March 1-16, 2025
- $390 LATE FULL (6 classes)
- $210 LATE SINGLE DAY (3 classes)
- $75 LATE/ DROP IN A la Carte Class as available
- There are no refunds; you can transfer/ sell your spot to another dancer if life happens; please PM on FB or email me.
SHOWCASE TICKETS in ADVANCE: $15 each, Venmo accepted
TICKETS AT THE DOOR=$20 per person (cash preferred, but Venmo also accepted at door. NO CHARGE CARDS)
DANCERS: Showcase performers do NOT need tickets. Thank you for sharing your gift and joy of dance! Please do support Cafe Istanbul by purchasing a bar item! No outside drinks, y'all.
SHOWCASE: Cafe Istanbul in the Healing Arts Center Room 252, 2372 St. Claude Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70117. SHOW starts 7pm. Doors open 6pm. Event ends 9:30pm. Dressing / restrooms on site. Music should be no greater than 4m:15s. FB message or email Iona your MUSIC, TYPE OF DANCE, DANCER/TROUPE NAME, YOUR LOCATION, 1-2 sentence BIO or STATEMENT by January 31.
TICKETS AT THE DOOR=$20 per person (cash preferred, but Venmo also accepted at door. NO CHARGE CARDS)
DANCERS: Showcase performers do NOT need tickets. Thank you for sharing your gift and joy of dance! Please do support Cafe Istanbul by purchasing a bar item! No outside drinks, y'all.
SHOWCASE: Cafe Istanbul in the Healing Arts Center Room 252, 2372 St. Claude Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70117. SHOW starts 7pm. Doors open 6pm. Event ends 9:30pm. Dressing / restrooms on site. Music should be no greater than 4m:15s. FB message or email Iona your MUSIC, TYPE OF DANCE, DANCER/TROUPE NAME, YOUR LOCATION, 1-2 sentence BIO or STATEMENT by January 31.
OR25 Workshop Schedule
Saturday, March 15, 2015SAT 9:00 am-10:30 am Classic Oriental
SAT 10:30 am-12:00 pm Shaabi LUNCH 12-1pm (light refreshments & water available) SAT 1:00 pm-2:30 pm Fellahi SHOWCASE: doors open 6 pm, show 7-9 pm, exit 9:30. |
Sunday, March 16, 2015SUN 9:00 am-10:30 am Drum Solo
SUN 10:30 am-12:00 pm Beladi LUNCH 12-1pm (light refreshments & water available) SUN 1:00 pm-2:30 pm Saidi After classes: Group photos and visit time |
Ahmed's Class Descriptions
Beledi: Master Ahmed Hussien combines the urban, grounded feeling of this self-expressive musical style along
with modern Oriental movements resulting in a soulful and deeply expressive Beledi choreography. He
incorporates gestures with the lyrics for a complete understanding and interpretation of the music.
Classic Oriental: The Egyptian Master of Oriental Dance ignites passion and romance in his Oriental Workshop Class. Ahmed Hussien will lead you though a warm up of vivacious and playful technique and dance combinations which develop into a choreographic masterpiece. Prepare to be inspired by the unparalleled grace and style that only Ahmed Hussien can deliver.
Drum Solo: Master Ahmed Hussien’s high energy drum solo is both playful and artistically creative. His genius
method of choreography and instruction is evident by the way he combines both body isolations and
dance combinations which result in a dynamic performance piece. Come and learn to shimmy in ways
you never thought you could.
Egyptian Sha’abi Dance: Join Ahmed Hussien’s Egyptian Sha’abi workshop and learn exciting, high energy dance combinations
and choreography. Egyptian Sha’abi dance is a fun street dance with a lot of facial expressions. It is playful in nature and uses imaginative “knife” gestures to accompany the movements. Most of it is done with improvisation to match the many rhythm changes . Sha’abi is typically danced at weddings and celebrations. For men, Sha’abi is danced with a lot of heavy movement similar to hip hop and break dance that was done in the US in the past. For women, Sha’abi dance is more subtle with lots of hip action, sway
movement, facial expressions and hand motions. Also, the Sha’abi music beat makes it easy for anyone to want to dance.
Fellahi Dance is inspired by the farmers (Fellahin means Farmers in Arabic) of Egypt. The dance and movement styles vary depending upon which Arabic speaking country the dancers are drawing inspiration; Morocco, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon Fellahi Dances will all look slightly different. The concept of a Fellahi dance is the same however, it depicts the everyday work of the farmers; tasks dealing with irrigation and agriculture such as collecting water in jugs or gathering the harvest into baskets. It is a
playful dance, with lots of interaction between the dancers. The costuming for this folkloric dance is a loose fitting dress, mimicking a smock type dress the farmers would wear to do their work. Dancers also perform Fellahi in a more narrow cut dress, sometimes referred to as a galabeya or baladi dress.
Saidi Dance is an ancient folkloric dance form Upper Egypt. It combines martial arts movements (known as tahteeb) performed with a staff or cane (assaya). Traditionally, men perform tahteeb, as the ancient Egyptians used it as combat training for battle. The women perform a more theatrical style of tahteeb, called raqs assaya, celebrating the specialized combat skills, which was popularized by Mahmoud Reda, an Egyptian choreographer. They dance with lighter weight canes, and flaunt the ease of maneuvering them with lots of twirls, sometimes dancing with two canes simultaneously. Footwork in this dance often mimics the majestic white Egyptian horses. Traditionally, a loose fitting galabeya is worn both by men and women when performing, with a turban or headscarf. Women will also wear a scarf tied around their hips to showcase the movement.
with modern Oriental movements resulting in a soulful and deeply expressive Beledi choreography. He
incorporates gestures with the lyrics for a complete understanding and interpretation of the music.
Classic Oriental: The Egyptian Master of Oriental Dance ignites passion and romance in his Oriental Workshop Class. Ahmed Hussien will lead you though a warm up of vivacious and playful technique and dance combinations which develop into a choreographic masterpiece. Prepare to be inspired by the unparalleled grace and style that only Ahmed Hussien can deliver.
Drum Solo: Master Ahmed Hussien’s high energy drum solo is both playful and artistically creative. His genius
method of choreography and instruction is evident by the way he combines both body isolations and
dance combinations which result in a dynamic performance piece. Come and learn to shimmy in ways
you never thought you could.
Egyptian Sha’abi Dance: Join Ahmed Hussien’s Egyptian Sha’abi workshop and learn exciting, high energy dance combinations
and choreography. Egyptian Sha’abi dance is a fun street dance with a lot of facial expressions. It is playful in nature and uses imaginative “knife” gestures to accompany the movements. Most of it is done with improvisation to match the many rhythm changes . Sha’abi is typically danced at weddings and celebrations. For men, Sha’abi is danced with a lot of heavy movement similar to hip hop and break dance that was done in the US in the past. For women, Sha’abi dance is more subtle with lots of hip action, sway
movement, facial expressions and hand motions. Also, the Sha’abi music beat makes it easy for anyone to want to dance.
Fellahi Dance is inspired by the farmers (Fellahin means Farmers in Arabic) of Egypt. The dance and movement styles vary depending upon which Arabic speaking country the dancers are drawing inspiration; Morocco, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon Fellahi Dances will all look slightly different. The concept of a Fellahi dance is the same however, it depicts the everyday work of the farmers; tasks dealing with irrigation and agriculture such as collecting water in jugs or gathering the harvest into baskets. It is a
playful dance, with lots of interaction between the dancers. The costuming for this folkloric dance is a loose fitting dress, mimicking a smock type dress the farmers would wear to do their work. Dancers also perform Fellahi in a more narrow cut dress, sometimes referred to as a galabeya or baladi dress.
Saidi Dance is an ancient folkloric dance form Upper Egypt. It combines martial arts movements (known as tahteeb) performed with a staff or cane (assaya). Traditionally, men perform tahteeb, as the ancient Egyptians used it as combat training for battle. The women perform a more theatrical style of tahteeb, called raqs assaya, celebrating the specialized combat skills, which was popularized by Mahmoud Reda, an Egyptian choreographer. They dance with lighter weight canes, and flaunt the ease of maneuvering them with lots of twirls, sometimes dancing with two canes simultaneously. Footwork in this dance often mimics the majestic white Egyptian horses. Traditionally, a loose fitting galabeya is worn both by men and women when performing, with a turban or headscarf. Women will also wear a scarf tied around their hips to showcase the movement.