Teaching and Coaching

I teach privates,semi-privates, mini-workshops, and can accommodate your small group in Dedham, Ma. I am also available for larger workshops constructed to meet your particular needs. Contact me

• Performance Level Class, Dedham
• Beginner Belly Dance Class, Newton
• Spring 2012 Phaedra's Finishing School Workshop
• Mini-Workshops by request
• Day-long Workshops by request
• Phaedra's Finishing School by request

Private Coaching

I feel that a successful and well-rounded belly dancer must master four things:

• belly dance technique - those movements that make belly dancing unique and distinguish it from any other dance form, such as isolations, finger cymbals, props
• overall dance technique - those techniques that are universal to all dance, such as posture, and use of arms and feet
• understanding the music and appropriate interpretation
• performance skills - how to make yourself compelling and entertaining to watch

I am experienced both with improvisation and choreography in both Arabic and Turkish styles. I can provide coaching from beginner to professional levels.

Performance Level Belly Dance Class*

8 week session, Sat Jan 14 - March 17 (no class Feb 18 or March 10), 1:30-2:45 pm - $96. prepaid in advance only.

This is an advanced level class for students who either are performing or aspire to perform. We will work on stage presence, musicality, techniques for making what you know even better, and special requests from the class. This class assumes that you understand what is entailed for both Arabic and Turkish style shows, can play finger cymbals and dance at the same time (at least a little), and have a mastery of intermediate to advanced belly dancing moves.

*Instructor permission is required. See location and directions above.

Send check to above address or pay via Paypal below. Please note that your payment guarantees you spot in the class and is non-refundable.

Mail registration to Mary Anna Brown, 19 Violet Ave, Dedham, MA 02026 or pay via Paypal below. Please note that your payment guarantees you spot in the class and is non-refundable.

Location and Directions - 19 Violet Ave, Dedham, Ma in my home studio

Route 128 to route 109 towards Dedham. At the second set of lights (Mobil station on your right, Hess gas station on your far left) take a left. Violet Ave is on the right. If you come to a fork, you went too far. Take a right onto Violet Ave. I am the second to last house on the left at the end. There is a concrete table and chair set in the front. The studio entrance is under the deck to the right of the house.

Sat Advanced Paypal $100.00

Beginner Belly Dance Class

Beginner class, eight week session, Newton North High School, starting Mon Jan 9, 2012 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm (no class Jan 16 or Feb 20) for Newton Community Education. To register, see www.newtoncommunityed.org or call (617) 559-6999.

Phaedra's Finishing School Workshop

March 24-25, 2012, 10:00-3:30, $225 before March 1, $275 thereafter.

- Make what you know better

- Learn techniques for making your performance compelling to watch

- Explore techniques for connecting to the music and finding yourself in it

This workshop is designed for advanced students and professionals who want to bring their dance to the next level, no matter the style.

Sat Schedule

10:00-1:00 - Creating Stage Presence, Polishing Movements, and Wowing the Audience

1:30-3:30 - Continuation of Wowing the Audience

Sun Schedule

10:00-1:00 - Using Your Space, Conecting to the Music

1:30-3:30 - Continuation of Connecting to the Music, Improvisation, and Individual presentations and feedback. Each participant will present a dance to music of her choice up to five minutes.

The class size is limited. A $50 non-refundable deposit holds your spot. The full fee is $225 if paid by March 1, 2011. It is $275 thereafter. The fee includes class notes and a follow-up private to be taken within six months of the workshop. The workshop will be held in my home studio at 19 Violet Ave, Dedham, MA 02026. Make check payable to Mary Anna Brown and inlcude your name, address, phone number, and email address. Pay via PayPal below.

Phaedra's Finishing School $230.

Mini-Workshops

Mini-workshops are specialized classes that last for an hour and a half. I can customize a mini-workshop to meet your needs or those of your group. I am available to travel to your location or if there are seven or less in your group, you can come to my studio. Some topics that I have previously given mini-workshops on are listed below.

• Listening to the music: Exploring how what you hear can help you with what you can do to enhance both improvisation and choreography.
• Harnessing the power of your hips or getting your hipwork tight, precise, and controlled. We will work on articulating the hips so that the many variations and subtleties can be appreciated and used to their fullest.
• Bringing power to slow movement. We will focus on how to make slow work compelling and interesting.
• Working with one and a half beledi (wad el wah nos). This rhythmic progression can be fun and dramatic. We will focus on breaking it down into it's parts, adding drama and breath to the movements, and what to do when it seemingly gets out of control.
• Working with fast Armenian/Turkish music. How to "jump around" without looking or feeling frantic. Embracing the bounce.
• Articulating the drum solo.
• Unusual pairings. Layering shimmies with other movements. We will focus on combinations that may seem impossible but once mastered create some interesting textures and dynamic movements.
• Slow movement focusing on the use of arms and upper body to create a bigger than life presence.
• Movement sandwiches or techniques for improvisation and choreography for using the logical phrasing of the music to create combinations that are one with the music, interesting, dramatic, and that will serve you well when your mind goes blank during improvisation.
• Comparing and contrasting movements to create dynamics, interest, and surprise, or how to get the most out of every movement.
• Chifte telli, making it interesting standing up.
• Techniques for improving stage presence. We will explore how the proper use of the upper body, arms, feet, and eyes, enhance and complement movement to make your dance more interesting and compelling.
• Working with heavy beledi.
• 9/8 for nightclubs.
• Working with taksims with or without rhythm.
• Making a dramatic entrance. We will use classical Arabic music to explore ways to capture the audience's attention with dramatic effect.
• Demystifying the drum solo with live drumming by Leon Manoogian. We will break down the common patterns in the drum solo, count them out, and experiment with variations of both movement and music.
• Becoming bigger than life. Techniques for fully communicating your expression of the music.
• Techniques for sharpening hip work. Have you ever wondered why some dancer's hip work is really striking and interesting and another dancer's just falls flat? This workshop will provide some techniques and combinations designed to help you sharpen and clean up your hip work so that every move is distinctly it's own.
• Standing Still. Have you ever felt exhausted watching a dancer, just wishing she would stop long enough for you to appreciate what she's doing? One of the hardest things to do in dance is to stay in one place. This workshop explores why stopping is interesting and what you can do in place to various types of music.

Other Workshops

I can customize a workshop to meet your time and topic needs or those of your group. I am available to travel to your location or if there are seven or less in your group, you can come to my studio. Some topics that I have previously given workshops on are listed below.

Choreography Workshops - Learn a complete choreography to music that is challenging in terms of rhythm and mood changes or is of a particular style. Learn to handle transitions and interpretation while perfecting technique through choreography. Some music I have used: Diamond in the Roug by Hossam Ramsey, Tears of Love by Freddie Elias, Bitwannis Beek.

Veil Work - This workshop will focus on often forgotten techniques for taking your veil work from ordinary to extraordinary. We will work on connecting the veil work with the body and breath to make even the simplest movements beautiful and compelling. The workshop can conclude with short routine or full choreography depending on how much technique you want.

Hip Work - This workshop concentrates on techniques for making hip work sharp and precises. It progresses from simple movements to more complex and layered movements and ends with a short routine.

Turkish Style Entrances and Endings (9/8) - This workshop will concentrate on the exhilarating and lively entrances and kashlimas finales of the Turkish-style show. We will work on common footwork for moving around the stage, discuss the stylistic differences between Turkish style and Arabic style, practice finger cymbals with kashlimas, and end with a short routine.

Improvisation: How to Get it Flowing - Have you even been stuck in a seemingly endless repetition of steps? Are you frequently asking yourself what should I do next? Does improvisation seem impossible? This workshop presents techniques for improving improvisation, for letting the music flow through you, and for getting the dance out of your head and into your body.

Costume Making Workshop - Learn how to construct a bra and belt and bead it in the style of Egyptian made costumes. Learn to make a one of a kind costume that fits you and costs 90% less than a commercial costume to make.

Understanding and using the phrasing of the music. This workshop focuses on listening to and using the phrasing of the music to create interest, dynamics, and musicality in your dance. Using short combinations, we will explore how to take your dance from flat to multi-leveled, and from accidental to intentional.

Improvisation - Techniques for finding your dance- This workshop will focus on responding to the music to improvise a dynamic and expressive dance. The goal is learning how to create a dance that reflects both the mood and dynamics of the music and looks organized and pleasing to the eye By developing one's ability to identify and then put to use the music's basic phrasing and modulations, we can draw the audience in and wow them with a dance that follows and fully expresses the music. We will work on deconstructing the phrasing, examining the music's symmetry and anticipating where it will go.

Phaedra's Finishing School^TM

Weekend Intensive

Have you ever wondered why you are compelled to watch one dancer and not another? Have you ever been surprised that the performer was smaller than she looked on stage? Have you ever wondered why some dancers look like they are doing steps, and others create magic, merging with the music?

This workshop is designed for advanced students and professionals and will answer those questions and many more. It will give you specific techniques for bringing your dance to the next level no matter what your style is.

The following topics will be covered:

• Creating Stage Presence or How to Command Attention Polishing Movements or Making a Transition Without Falling Down and How Not to Look Like a Paper Doll, that is, Flat
• Wowing the Audience or How to Make them Sit on the Edge of Their Chairs
• Using Your Space or How not to Wear Someone's Dinner and Finding the Power Spot
• Connecting to the Music or How to Dance Like You Know the Words
• Individual Presentations and Feedback

What students said about this weekend:

"All dancers new and old to belly dance could and should attend this workshop. Feedback is excellent and improvements attainable."

"Too many teachers emphasize steps, and not how to create a show, be interesting, etc. They can at least get that in this workshop."

"Loved it. Would attend another Phaedra workshop anytime!"

Contact Information

email me

phone: (781) 329-1484 evenings and weekends. Please be patient if the phone rings and the machine does not pick up - the computer may be in use.