Level Overview Cost & Register Preview Workshop Level 1 - Level 2 - Level 3 - Level 4 - Level 5 - Level 6 - Level 7
Quick 
Summary
Certification exams are offered in Early Summer (around June) and Early Winter (Before Christmas). For lower levels, a practice test is scheduled about a month before. For each level, you are typically tested on certain technique and two choreographies. These are specified on the respective page and taught in the preceeding months. At the test, you will perform/demonstrate your skills in small groups. You will receive a score card with comments, and if you pass all parts, the certification.
Why do we offer a certification program?
In a regular group class, you share the feedback from the instructor with your peers. While your teacher can correct individual moves on a case-by-case basis, there is often not enough time to formally evaluate each student’s mastery of each technique. In fact, many students are doing this just for fun and aren't interested in detailed feedback. Our certification program is for those students who strive for perfection and want to know if they are doing it right.
The Nazeem Allayl Studios Belly Dance certification program gives our students a clear path to progress, coupled with objective measurements of how much progress they have achieved. Each step of the certification program clearly identifies the objectives. We help each student achieve her goals & obtain the skills tested through level specific course work, workshops, and private one-on-one instruction
Benefits of level certification
1) Gain Access to Upper Level Courses
Certain courses are for upper levels. This allows us to assume participants have the knowledge that was tested at the prerequiste levels and we can focus only on the new material.
2) Give Structure to Your Studies
Each level has specific technique, choreographies and overall objectives that you can use as a guide to structure your dance studies.
3) Set and Achieve Goals
For dancers who are very goal-oriented, preparing for and taking certification tests is a great form of motivation.
4) Focus Your Studies
By focusing your attention on the tasks & choreographies that need to be achieved at each level, you avoid being distracted. Each level focuses on different sets of skills and enlists certain props that help to focus your ability to obtain the skills & technique of a particular level.
5) Become a Better Dancer Faster
Focusing your technique studies and learning different props to help in your mastery of technique & styles while learning new & varied choreographies all ensure that you learn faster & become a better dancer in a shorter amount of time. Taking the certification test is a great way to check your progress.
5) Personal feedback
Going through the certification process allows you to get personal feedback on where you are at the moment. The certification process itself is not just the test. It is you preparing with your instructors for the test, which gives you the opportunity to receive valuable feedback on ways you can develop your talent, up your skill level & become a better and more well-rounded belly dancer.
The best way to prepare for the test is to take the respective level NAIT (Nazeem Allayl Intensive Technique) course and then the pre-test. With the feedback from the pre-test, you can then focus your preperations on the moves that need some more work.
6) Demonstrate Your Commitment
Participating in the certification program is a way to not only show your teachers, but to prove to yourself that you are a serious student, who wants to progress and grow into the best dancer that you can be.
7) Proof of Your Skills
When you pass the test, you receive a certificate & a t-shirt to show to the whole world that you passed!
8) Gain Credibility
A level certification is a formal acknowledgement that you mastered the skills of the current level and are ready for the next level.
9) Raise to the Challenge
If you are motivated by challenges, then our level certification program is perfect for you. Each level has clearly defined goals that you can achieve.
Where does the Nazeem Allayl Studios Belly Dance Style originate?
Middle Eastern dance is a thousands of years old dance form with many contributing cultures. The result is that even within a culture, there are different ways to perform belly dance technique. Consequently, over the thousands of years of its history, many techniques and styles of belly dance have evolved, with contributions from each generation of teacher-student. The Nazeem Allayl style of belly dance traces its roots to one of the most famous choreographers, Ibrahim Farrah. Our director and founder of the Nazeem Allayl studios, Schadia (Atlanta, GA), studied as a member of the Pyramid Dance Company under the director Sadiia (Memphis, TN). Sadiia in turn studied under Ibrahim Farrah in New York City.
 Schadia |
 Sadiia |
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After graduation from Pennsylvania State University, he performed in Washington, D.C. He then taught at his own and other schools in New York City. In the early 1970s, with a grant from Doris Duke, a dance enthusiast, he formed the Ibrahim Farrah Near East Dance Group, which performed in New York City and around the United States. Farrah's choreography was inspired by traditional Syrian, Lebanese, and Egyptian dances. |
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Ibrahim Farrah, a performer of Middle Eastern dance and the publisher of Arabesque (since 1977), a magazine devoted to ethnic dance, died in New York City on February 7, 1998. Pennsylvania-born and of Lebanese descent, Farrah learned to perform Middle Eastern dance at family parties.
Overview of the levels
As we are just starting this program, there are more details on the first levels available, but you can already get a good idea on what the higher levels are about. We'll complete the details for levels 5+ soon.
| Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 |
| Prop: None Chor: All Abs & Desert Dream (aka Amir Beledi) |
Prop: Sword for Isolation Chor: Ra Ahsa + Oriental Sword Dance (L2) |
Prop: Veil for Traveling Chor: Leilet Hob + TBA |
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L1 Technique Horizontal Hip Work
Vertical Hip Movements
Combining Vertical & Horizontal Hip Movements
Upper Body
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L2 Technique Upper Body and Hips
Hip Isolations & Shimmies
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L3 Technique Traveling Technique
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| Level 4 | Level 5 | Level 6 | Level 7 |
| Prop: Zills Technique: Layering |
Prop: Choice (Cane, Wings, or Fanveil) Technique: Taksim/Freestyle |
Prop: Candles Technique: Stage Use |
Prop: Candles Choreographing Teaching |
