Baladi Improvisation

Baladi is a very important folklore style for all belly dancers to know. It can be performed not only as a separate piece, but also as a part of an oriental song. For instance, if you hear a baladi section in your mejance (entrance song), you still need to add some baladi elements to your belly dance performance, acknowledging that you recognize the style.

Baladi is not only about hips technique, but also about a certain mood and musicality.

The goal of this intensive is to help you break free from the fears of improvisation, and guide you on your music exploration. The main focus is on understanding the music, and letting your body respond naturally to all melody and beat changes.

Difficulty: All levels

Workload: Medium

Suggested duration: 3 weeks

If you follow our suggested duration of three weeks, get ready to invest 40-60 minutes per week in your training. But remember, you can go through this intensive at your own pace. Three weeks is just a suggested structure.

Week 1:⁣⁣

- Short introductory lecture⁣⁣ (5 min)

- 20-min dance tutorial: Learning to Listen to the Music. In order to improvise or do choreographies you need first to know how to listen to the music. That's exactly the focus of this drill on the example of a baladi improvisation.

- Your own improvisation time!

Week 2:⁣⁣

- 20-min lecture⁣⁣ to give you extra tips and inspiration

- 20-min dance tutorial: Baladi Progression. Let's break down the structure of the baladi progression, and practice our improvisation skills!

- Podcast recommendations for better understanding of the essence of baladi

- Your own improvisation time!

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Week 3:⁣⁣

- 30-min lecture⁣⁣ addressing most common questions about baladi

- 20-min dance tutorial: Slow Down. Let's fight our tendency to speed up, or to put one million movements at the same time... It's important for any kind of dancing, but especially for Baladi style improvisation!

- Your own improvisation time!

- 10-min summary lecture