Virtual Belly Dance Class Updates

Dear Dancers!

Great news - we are set to go live with virtual belly dance classes through the South San Francisco Parks and Rec! The office staff have worked so hard to get this going for us on their secure online meeting platform.

Our first class this way will be Weds 4/22 at 7PM.

The classes are completely FREE but you need to pre-register via the South San Francisco Parks and Rec online catalog. Click the link and then enter code SP1-471 in the box underneath the word ‘Filter’ on the left-hand side. This will bring up our class which is called ‘Belly Dancing - Virtual’. You can follow the instructions to register from there.

Please contact me if you have any questions or problems with the registration process and we will sort it out.

It is important to register as soon as you can so we can make sure everyone who wants to take class gets an invitation to join.

I am very excited that we can do this. I can’t wait to dance with you all on Wednesday!

Very best,

Alisa

Aziza - Naima Akef (نعيمة عاكف)

Hello Dancers,

I find great joy and comfort in watching old black and white movies - both American and Egyptian. I want to share this clip today because it features the song we are learning in our online belly dance class.

This is Naima Akef performing in a scene from the 1954 Egyptian movie “Aziza”. In this movie she plays dual roles as Aziza and also her younger sister. Emad Hamdi plays Hassan the policeman who has a soft spot for Aziza and also starring were Zeinat Sedki and Said Abou Bakr. Farid Shawki plays Khalil who becomes obsessed with Aziza. . Trivia: The movie was directed by Hussein Fawzi who was Naima Akef’s husband between1953-1958.

The song Aziza was originally composed by the great Egyptian composer Mohammed Adel Wahab. It is a belly dance classic here in the US as well, and almost every band you can dance with, at least in the Bay Area, can play this one so it is a good one to learn if you have dreams of performing live one day.

You will notice that the tempo of this version is faster than the version I am using in class. I feel like this is closer to how I hear it played by the bands.

I hope you enjoy it! The caption is courtesy of The Caro Van, an essential resource for any belly dance lover.

If you liked this post, please subscribe to my Monthly Newsletter for more. I never share your email address.

If you are interested in my online classes, please contact me for info.

A little bit more about Naima Akef here.

New Class Information - Spring 2020

Dear Dancers,

I have lots of news to share today.

Belly Dance Class Cancelations due to Covid-19

First of all, due to the extension of the shelter-in-place order to May 3rd, the City of South San Francisco has cancelled all Spring 2020 in-person classes. If you were registered for either of my belly dance classes through the SSF Parks and Rec you will be issued a credit or a refund directly from them.

Future In-Person Belly Dance Classes

I have information below about how we can keep dancing together while honoring the vital shelter-in-place rules. But first a look ahead: I’ve updated my Classes Page with info on the Summer 2020 sessions of Beginning Belly Dance and Intermediate Belly Dance. Our scheduled start date for the Summer Session is Wednesday June 24th. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!!

Registration for the Summer Session opens on Monday, May 3rd for South San Francisco residents and Monday, May 18th for non-residents. If you are on my mailing list, I will send out an email reminder on the 18th. Not on my list yet? Contact me and I will put you on!

Let’s Keep Belly Dancing in the Meantime…

We can still dance together while saying safe! I’ve had a lot of fun learning to teach on Zoom. I am currently offering mini online dance lessons for free so we can keep dancing. Please contact me if you would like an invitation to join us.

I am also working on recorded belly dance instruction for the South San Francisco Parks and Recreation Department website. It is my understanding that these videos will also be offered for free to the community, so please stay tuned for more information about that when I have it.

I’m working on a few other goodies to keep us inspired as well, so please check back back or sign up for notification of new blog posts. I have a great archive of belly dance clips here on my blog, many annotated with what I like about the clip and how it relates to the things I teach in class, and I will be updating and adding to this over the next weeks.

How Can I Help?

Of course, there are many ways to help, probably most essentially donating to food banks or other charities on the front lines, and making masks. However, if you are interested specifically in supporting the belly dance community at this time, a great way is to support the venues that host live music belly dance events. You can purchase a gift certificate or order takeout from your favorite Middle Eastern restaurant to help ensure that they are still there when this is behind us and we can all get together and dance again. Not sure where to help? Please consider purchasing a gift certificate to Al Masri Egyptian Restaurant in San Francisco. Al Masri is owned and operated by a belly dancer and provides a wonderful venue for live music, Student Nights and professional belly dance shows. It is an irreplaceable part of our community.

Thank you

I’d like to end by offering my thanks to all the essential workers in our community. Words are not enough to express out appreciation for your sacrifices, but they are all we have. So thank you for keeping our society going and keeping the rest of us safe.

Spring 2020 Class Update

Dear Dancers,

Our Spring 2020 sessions of Beginning Belly Dance and Intermediate Belly Dance through the South San Francisco Parks and Rec which were set to start on March 25th are now- of course- delayed at least two weeks due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The earliest start date for our classes would be Wednesday, April 8th, but that is not a confirmed date at this time as things are changing so rapidly.

I still recommend that you sign up with the SSF Parks and Rec if you would like to take class. This will ensure that you are in their database for any updates. You will be reimbursed by the Parks and Rec for any missed classes.

I am currently looking into online teaching options and I will send out an email when I have the details settled. If I don’t have your email address, please contact me if you would like receive my class updates (both online classes and in person).

In the meantime, I will try to post frequent belly dance inspiration here for us. Reach out if you have any questions, need music, or just want to talk belly dance! Stay safe and healthy- move and dance however you you are able to!

xo Alisa

ps- live music shows and dance festivals are also postponed. I will update you when I know more.

Live Arabic Music and Belly Dance Show!

We’re just one week away from our live Arabic music and belly dance show at Tannourine Restaurant in San Mateo. I always encourage my students to see a belly dance show so you can see what you are working towards! Also, there is nothing like hearing the music live to appreciate the beauty and emotion of these timeless songs.

Alisa Greer Dancing at a live Arabic Music and Belly Dance Show at Tannourine Restaurant in San Mateo, presented by Sensational Singer Khalil Abboud.

I’m always happy to put together a student table, so contact me if you’d like to go and sit together with some of my other students, or if you have any questions about this or future events. The full show flyer is below.