Summer School 2015
Sorry, we’re now sold out for Summer School.
The SMBA Summer School is the key to keeping your bellydancing looking and feeling red hot this Summer! The programme is more packed and diverse than ever before with everything geared towards cultivating your skills, confidence, mindfulness and joy as a bellydancer.
What can I expect from Summer School?
Summer School is made up of three 90 minute sessions. You can come to one, two or all three of the sessions.
Over the course of two 90 minute sessions I will take you through my brand new drills and conditioning routine. I’m also thrilled to announce that there will also be one session dedicated to Yoga and Meditation for Bellydance where I’ll be joined by my dear friend and yoga expert Harri Earthy to lead us through the class.
Drills and conditioning
In sessions one and three I will led you through a top to toe workshop on:
- Abdominal strengthening and preparation for undulations and reverse undulations
- Hipwork development for clean, sharp and strong movement
- Shoulder and arm conditioning for strong, flexible, confident armwork
- Combination development for fluid and seamless transitions in your dance
- Technical development on layering your movements
There may be some overlap in the material for both the sessions, though we will mainly focus on different elements for each workshop.
Yoga and meditation for Bellydance
Harri, your leader for this class, can explain to you much better than I ever could what to expect from this session. So here’s a note from Harri …
Open up your body, quieten your mind, bring peace to your heart and get ready to dance. Through yoga, learn the foundations of the body and how it relates to the movements of bellydance. Learn how to isolate the limbs, find your center, feel your strength, move with grace and discover the power of presence.
In this class, Helen and I would like to introduce you to a sequence of yoga poses that are specifically designed to aid the bellydancer. Yoga and Bellydance share their roots in the foundation of the body. When your feet are grounded and the knees and hips are aligned we can best attain control, strength and freedom of the self.
“The secret of a correct pose lies in the feet. A good foundation enables the whole body to find its space and the soul to unfold in harmony” B.K.S Iyengar
In this class you will learn to open the hips, and bring freedom to the neck and shoulders. You will learn to connect to your legs and feet and root yourself to the ground. You will gain an understanding of the isolation of the limbs and learn to have control of the body without any force, only with grace. And yes, there will be plenty of attention on core strength too.
During this session we would also like to introduce you to a meditation which will connect you to your breath and bring you to a place of peace within yourself, where you and your breath have the freedom to work together, and where you have the opportunity to let go of your mind and focus on the present. This is a tool that will enhance your ability to dance like nothing else!
There is a state of being we all can attain, where the mind and body are in harmony, where thoughts and worries leave us, and nothing stands between ourselves and the dance. When we find this state of being it is as though the bars of the cage have open and we are freed to dance from our wildest selves. With just a little encouragement, the more we inhabit this state, very soon we not only dance, but we live this way too.
This is the place I want to take you to.
By using yoga to still the mind and focus the body there is a depth that can be explored in dance that connects us with our truest reflection. Yoga is an ancient practise and has for many centuries opened a doorway for humans to find peace within. The deep wisdom of yoga comes with the movement of breath, the quietening of the mind, the centering of the soul and the honouring of the body. Yoga invites us to go on a journey within, it invites us to leave our worries at the door and step into a place of discovering who we are and who we have the potential to become.
Bellydance is the portal to express.
Yoga is the portal to explore stillness and depth.
By combining these two art forms, it is our aim to help you free your mind and open your body so we may bring you to the place where you can dance your wildest and most graceful truth.
Yoga teaches us interconnectedness and I can see nothing more beautiful, graceful and connected than a group of women on a ( hopefully ) warm July evening, all coming together to find peace and discover a truth within their bodies which has long been forgotten.
“It is through your body that you realise you are a spark of divinity” B.K.S Iyengar
* Please bring a yoga mat and a pillow to this session
It sounds fantastic! How do I book my place for one or more Summer School sessions?
Places are limited to 13 for each session so pre-booking is necessary (we won’t be overfilling the class). If there are places left on the day it may be possible for you to join us though it’s not guaranteed.
Look at the sessions below then scroll down to select your booking.
Session 1: Drills and conditioning
Venue: Allenova School of Dance, 1 Berkshire Drive, Thatcham, Berkshire, RG19 4EW
Date: Monday 13 July sold out
Time: 7.00-8.30pm
Coach: Helen
Session fee: £15
Book all 3 Summer School sessions for £35
(Scroll down for booking and payments)
Venue: Kendrick School Sports Centre, Dance Studio, East St., Reading, RG1 5BN
Date: Tuesday 14 July Sold out
Time: 7.30-9.00pm
Coach: Helen
Session fee: £15
Book all 3 Summer School sessions for £35
(Scroll down for booking and payments)
Session 2: Yoga and Meditation for Bellydance
Venue: Allenova School of Dance, 1 Berkshire Drive, Thatcham, Berkshire, RG19 4EW
Date: Monday 20 July Sold out
Time: 7.00-8.30pm
Coach: Helen and Harri
Session fee: £15
Book all 3 Summer School sessions for £35
(Scroll down for booking and payments)
*Please bring a yoga mat and a pillow to this session
Venue: Kendrick School Sports Centre, Dance Studio, East St., Reading, RG1 5BN
Date: Tuesday 21 July Sold out
Time: 7.30-9.00pm
Coach: Helen and Harri
Session fee: £15
Book all 3 Summer School sessions for £35
(Scroll down for booking and payments)
*Please bring a yoga mat and a pillow to this session
Session 3: Drills and Conditioning
Venue: Allenova School of Dance, 1 Berkshire Drive, Thatcham, Berkshire, RG19 4EW
Date: Monday 27 July sold out
Time: 7.00-8.30pm
Coach: Helen
Session fee: £15
Book all 3 Summer School sessions for £35
(Scroll down for booking and payments)
Venue: Kendrick School Sports Centre, Dance Studio, East St., Reading, RG1 5BN
Date: Tuesday 28 July Sold out
Time: 7.30-9.00pm
Coach: Helen
Session fee: £15
Book all 3 Summer School sessions for £35
(Scroll down for booking and payments)
Book your place now!
Yey! I’m delighted you’ll be joining us for Summer School. Well done for snapping up a place, they are limited to 13 for each session so pre-booking is necessary (we won’t be overfilling the class).
If you wish to book two sessions, please make your first selection > click Pay Now > go back and make your second selection and click Pay Now > complete your transaction.
Book the full Summer School for Thatcham £35:
Sold out
Book the full Summer School for Reading £35:
Sold out
Book one Summer School session in Thatcham £15:
sold out
Book one Summer School session in Reading £15:
Sold out
