Learn with Elizabeth and Shane

Current class offerings include (but are not limited to) dancing with a drummer which is co-taught by Elizabeth and Shane, dance workshops with Elizabeth, and drumming workshops with Shane! Please read the workshops descriptions below and contact Elizabeth at redmuise@hotmail.com if you would like to book a workshop at your festival or studio!  

Learn the ins and outs of how to improvise live with a drummer! In this class you will learn basic rhythms and accents and practice embodying these musical embellishments in your dance. You will learn improvisational skills to apply to the beginning, middle, and end of your exciting drum solo and Elizabeth and Shane will teach you how to communicate with the drummer before and during your performance. You will walk away with skills to deliver a dynamic and entertaining performance while connecting with the drummer and your audience. Dancers will have the opportunity to dance to live drumming and class will conclude with a Q&A with Elizabeth and Shane to answer all of your drumming and dancing questions! This class is suitable for all levels of dancers, from beginner to professional, with skills that can be applied for Raqs Sharqi dancers and fusion dancers alike. 

Discover the energetic source of your movements to cultivate grace, seamless transitions, and deliver stunning performances. Elizabeth will challenge you with combinations which integrate ballet and modern movements with bellydance vocabulary to practice new approaches to this beautiful dance form. In class dancers will work on acceleration, deceleration, momentum, and stillness in their dance. You will leave with the skills necessary to polish your movements and transitions and deepen your body awareness in your own choreographies and improvisations outside of class. Drawing from her training in modern, ballet, theater, and over 20 years of experience in various forms of bellydance, Elizabeth will teach a class that is suitable for all levels of dancers, from beginner to professional, with skills that can be applied for Raqs Sharqi dancers and fusion dancers alike.

In this class Elizabeth will give you the tools to deliver a strong and dynamic improvised dance in a live performance setting that will dazzle your audience. You will walk away with the skills and confidence to dance in various settings with different kinds of music and deliver a show stopping performance. In class dancers will experiment with how to structure an improvisation from beginning to end with movement choices, stage presence, dynamics, and more in a fun, encouraging, and supportive environment. Drawing from her training in modern, ballet, theater, and over 20 years of experience in various forms of bellydance, Elizabeth will teach a class that is suitable for all levels of dancers, from beginner to professional, with skills that can be applied for Raqs Sharqi dancers and fusion dancers alike.

In this class Elizabeth will give you the tools to create an interesting, dynamic, and refined choreography. You will walk away with the tools to really know your music, develop an idea or theme, select movements, apply dynamics, and continue to refine your choreography with stage presence, energy, and connection with your audience. In class dancers will apply these skills to a combination in class and create a combination of their own. Dancers will be given additional resources to help them cultivate their own creative and choreographic process. Drawing from her training in modern, ballet, theater, and over 20 years of experience in various forms of bellydance, Elizabeth will teach a class that is suitable for all levels of dancers, from beginner to professional, with skills that can be applied for Raqs Sharqi dancers and fusion dancers alike.

 In this class you will learn the basics of how to play the amazing middle eastern drum- the doumbek! You will learn how to tune your instrument, proper posture and hand placement, technique to create the correct tones of the drum, middle eastern rhythms, and tips for how to create a home practice to continue to improve at your instrument. By the end of class, students will be playing their doumbeks together in a fun and relaxed environment. Each student will also be given a rhythm sheet to take home with them to continue in their learning. Beginners are welcome, no experience necessary.

In this class Shane will teach you how to to put middle eastern rhythms together to create musical compositions. He will cover common accents that you may hear in a drum arrangement and how to embellish the basic rhythms in fun and creative ways. Students will walk away with the skills to improvise during a drum solo and will also learn the skills to drum with other musicians and for dancers as well. Shane will teach you the skills that it takes to stand out technically as a percussionist. Drummers must have the basic strokes and rhythms in their musical vocabulary to be able to take this class.