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Descriptions of the Choreographies taught in the advanced and professional level Classes

Schadia teaches many different styles, including American Fantasy Turkish Egyptian & Lebanese Beledi Egyptian-Spanish Fusion Tabla Solos Note: All pictures were taken from live performances showing Schadia and her dancers from her two troupes, Nazeem Allayl and Nazeem Alsabah, and are copy right protected (c) by Liegle, 2004. The text descriptions were written by Schadia - if you want to use them, please contact for permission.

Ya Albi

ADVANCED LEVEL CHOREOGRAPHY CLASS

PROFESSIONAL LEVEL CHOREOGRAPHY CLASS:

Behebak Behebak is beautiful love song which means “I love you” in Arabic. Graceful and romantic is the best way to describe this choreography, which should be delivered with lots of feeling. Props Required: None Video (requires fast internet)

Beledi Beledi is a fast paced song, interpreted by Samora's choreography with lots of spins. Since it has a strong simple main rhythm and an upbeat happy feeling, it is easy to clap to and altogether a crowd pleaser. Props Required: None Video (requires fast internet)

Brick House Brick House is a well known oldie by "The Commodores". Nazeem Allayl took it on to interpret the timeless lyrics (i.e. How can she lose with what she use, see below) by using a stunning costume that highlights the curves and combines belly dance with the Amazon look the song calls for. Definitely an American Fantasy piece with little resemblance to classical Egyptian dance, it is a great hit with American audiences. Props Required: None Video (requires fast internet)

Caravan Sword Dance Caravan Sword Dance is a choreography by Samora. Sword dances are a great crowd pleaser, as they look and indeed are a little dangerous. Great skill is required to balance a sword on the head while performing bends, shimmies and turns. American Tribal dancers usually "cheat" and perform these kind of dances with turbans, which not only protect the head, but also act as a stable platform preventing the sword from sliding or falling off. Cabaret dancers, on the other hand, have to use skill to maintain balance. While the swords used for sword dances are blunt (else they are illegal in most states and count as weapons), they still can seriously injure toes once they fall. Props Required: Sword Video (requires fast internet)

Sword Partner Dance Sword Partner Dance is a choreopgraphy by Schadia and She'nez that shows a playful interpretation of a male sword fight. The two dancers perform many moves "mirrored", i.e. if one dancer goes left, the other goes right. A great challenge are the fast drips to the floor and the fast forward/backward movements. Applause is yours if you can pull it off. Props Required: Sword Video (requires fast internet)

Tray Dance Tray Dance is a choreography by Schadia. It features a tray with flowers that is balanced on the head. Balancing trays is much more difficult than balancing swords, as swords have a lower center of balance than the actual head, and thus only need to be stabalized. Trays, on the other hand, have their center of balance above the head and therefore require true balancing skills. American Tribal dancers use turbans to create a more stable and wider platform than a head when performing their basket or jug balancing acts. Cabaret dancers, on the other hand, have to rely on skill - which the audience recognizes and very much appreciates. Props Required: Tray Video (requires fast internet)

Sherihan Sherihan is a beautiful piece of classical Egyptian music with a choreography that is a mix of elegance, grace, folksy spunk and feminine power. Yes! All of this is possible in one choreography, especially if you are dancing to Sherihan! This is a dance is of the American Fantasy Genre and was choreography by Schadia. It encorporates the use of both a silk veil and zills. Props: Veil and Zills

Hüp "Hüp" is a very popular song by the Turkish heartthrob Tarkan. He sings to the woman he loves --- pledging his love to her and appreciating her love for him. He says that he wants her to breath him in, so that they can become one. The style of the dance is playful & sexy. Choreographed by Schadia

Ay! "Ay!" is also a song about love, but in this song Tarkan talks of being totally in love with a woman, who didn't seem to know he exists. He writes her name in the sky with thousands of stars. She laughs and doesn't pay attention. He pierces the mountains, conquered the deserts and the seas, but still she didn't notice him. Ah, isn't that always the way with women! Choreographed by Schadia & members of Nazeem Allayl.

Shikidim "Shikidim: Hepsi senim mi?" Yet another Tarkan hit. Shikidim, which means "dirty dancing" in Turkish is a song filled with street slang & colorful language. The dance is sassy and filled with lots of at-ti-tude! Choreographed by Schadia

Karasin Duenyam The song Karasin Duenyam means "Let My World Go Dark". Karasin Duenyam is quite a contra point to Ay. It is also about a scorned love, but here, it is a woman in love with a man, who has left her. The dance shows us a woman who is eaten up by her one sided love, with nowhere to turn to but a dance of misery. Choreographed by Schadia

Haberi Olsun Haberi Olsun is a Turkish Karsilama choreography. It is a high energy skirt dance modeled loosely after the Turkish romani (a.k.a. gypsies) dances, but is not your typical romani dance, but a style that Nazeem Allayl calls "gypsy nouveau." This choreography is definitely gypsy in heart and spirit, but rather than using a classic Turkish romani music, Nazeem Allayl chose a super modern 9/8 song, which was a recent number one hit on the Turkish charts. Choreographed by Schadia & members of Nazeem Allayl.

There are many different styles of Egyptian dance. Perhaps one of the most popular styles comes from the Ghawazee of Upper Egypt. The Ghawazee are gypsies and have always made their living playing music and dancing. The Ghawazee style of dancing is characterized by large, earthy, grounded and energetic movements.

Beledi dances often use similar moves to that of the Ghawazee. In Arabic, the word "Beledi" means "Dance of the country," hence 'Egyptian Beledi' would be the dance of the country of Egypt.

Schadia & her Dancers do not perform straight & strictly traditional folk dance, but a style called "Urban Beledi," which has glitzier costumes & mixes cabaret & folk styles.

Although the Egyptian Cabaret dancing has developed far beyond its roots, you can still see the influences of the Ghawazee & Beledi styles, as well as the influences of western dances, such as ballet. Modern Egyptian cabaret dancing is very controlled, elegant, and refined. It is done usually in a rather small space & does not include a lot of traveling or turns. Muscular control is emphasized and movements are small and internalized.

Egyptian Raks Al Assaya Raks Al Assaya is pronounced "rocks all uh SI yuh", with the "SI" syllable rhyming with "pie". This is the Arabic term for the cane dance. This dance originated in southern Egypt, in the region known as the Said (Sigh eed) or Upper Egypt. Traditionally, in the Said, men carried long sticks with them, which they used as weapons. Eventually they developed a dance in which they feigned fighting with these sticks. Women then began dancing with canes as a way of playfully imitating this men's dance, and eventually raks al assaya developed into a distinct women's dance. Cane dance movements therefore originate from an exhibition of skill and prowess and accent the dancers' movements.

Hadil Cane Dance Cane Dance by Hadil is a classical egyptian cane dance. Cane dances are playful interpretations of men's stick fights and stick dances, and are often performed in beledi dresses. Props Required: Cane Video (requires fast internet)

Bedauia Bedauia is a Ghawazee dance choreographed by Jasemin Jahal. The Ghawazee have their origin in Upper Egypt. The Ghawazee were always in high demand for their skills at dancing and music-making. The Ghawazee are, in some ways, a living expression of the dancer's dream -- to live amongst the shifting sands, and to dance every night away...for exotic costumes and rich foods, and for music that never, ever ends...

Hagallah The Hagallah is an energetic traditional Egyptian folk dance. The Hagallah a dance of celebration, usually performed by the Beduin in Western Egypt. It is often performed during the date harvest, which also happens to be the wedding season. The Hagallah is about women representing power and showing their beauty as individuals. Doing Hagallah is not only fun, but a really great work out as the entire dance has traveling 3/4 shimmies. Get ready to shimmy, shimmy, shimmy! Video (requires fast internet)

Melaya Leff Melaya Leff is a type of character dance done by Egypt's folk troupes. It uses a shawl-type of garment known as a melaya as a prop. In the melaya leff folkloric dance, the dancer plays the role of a mischievous young woman who flirtatiously plays a "conceal and reveal" game with her wrap. Props Required: Melaya Video (requires fast internet)

Ala Nar This is a choreography in the old style of Egyptian Cabaret dance. In the last half of the 20th Century Egyptian Cabaret has been highly influenced by western forms of dance. Schadia’s dance to Ala Nar harkens back to the days, before those western influences, when Egyptian cabaret was closer to the folk and gypsy dances of Egypt. The song Ala Nar, which means “On Fire!” in Arabic is a classic favorite among Egyptians and Middle Easterners alike. It is a song about love and being on fire with passion! Oh la la.

Nour el Ain Habibi Ya Nour El Ain, which translates to "My Darling, You Are The Glow In My Eyes", was a huge hit in 1996 by Amr Diab, not only in the Arabic world, but world wide, since its style has a strong Spanish-Andalusian touch. This dance was originally choreographed by Nourhan Ole'

Ya Albi This dance has a fusion of many stylings including Egyptian-Spanish fusion and Turkish. The idea behind the song was a love between two cultures separated by thousands of miles. Written by Hakim (Egyptian), Antonio Hernandez (Mexican), and Olgui Cherino (Cuban-American), the song shows Hakim in a vulnerable position asking his love, Olga, to come back to him. Olga responds saying, 'I love you too, but you have to come and get me.' Kemo raps on the track, making comments as he watches the love affair from the sidelines. Admirer with Style

Efred Efred was originally choreographed by Bahijah. The choreography is in the Egyptian Cabaret style, with an undertone of American Fantasy. The feel is much like the song itself, sweet & lovely with a bit of sass. The song Efred, which means "Just Suppose" in Arabic, is sung by Hakim, another of Egypt's hottest stars Video (requires fast internet)

Abgal Alena Abgal Alena was choreograph by Schadia in the Nazeem Allayl signature style of "gypsy nouveau," which is a modern take on the romani dances of Turkey. This choreography is just 4 minutes of skirt swishin' fun! Bring your skirts & get ready to throw some attitude around while you dance & prance to Abgal Alena! Prop: A "gypsy skirt" is required for this dance & can be purchased at the studio. Video (requires fast internet)

When a live drummer is not available and/or for staged and group performances, recorded drum music is used & the dancers perform choreographed drum solo pieces. These dances are really fun to watch. They show the stamina of the dancers and their ability to live & breath the beats of the drums.

Jillina Drum Please change the Jillina Drum Description to the following: This drum solo was originally choreographed by Jillina, but not much of the original choreography remains. Schadia & the members of Nazeem Allayl changed the majority of the dance to reflect her style, energy & finesse. This version of Jillina Drum is definitely a Nazeem Allayl dance!

Margo Drum This dance was choreographed by Margo Abu Odell as the sister drum solo for Irkosily. It has some of the same moves & goes beautifully with Irkosily. The choreography of this drum solo is really wonderful & it can stand on its own or go with almost any Egyptian or American Fantasy style dance. We love it! Video (requires fast internet)

SuSu Drum Our newest & most exciting drum solo is SuSu. It is 4 ˝ minutes of pure adrenolin. This drum solo was choreographed by Schadia & the members of Nazeem Allayl. It not only has the shimmies & locks traditionally found in drum solos, but also encorporates Turkish gypsy moves, lots of spunk & a very sassy attitude!

Aseelah Drum Aseelah Drum is, as the name implies, a drum solo, choreographed by Aseelah. Video (requires fast internet)