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American Tribal Style (ATS) Bellydance Classes

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Flissy Floreos

Fundamentals of American Tribal Style Bellydance

Wednesdays 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

NEW 6-week session begins Wednesday, July 21st
$84 session
$17 drop-in

B.Funk Dance Studios
10291 Baltimore National Pike
Ellicott City, MD 21042


Registration Options




You may also contact me to pay by check or cash.

Tribal bellydance is a fun and empowering dance form that creates camaraderie among women, celebrates the feminine form, and builds core strength. This class will be specific to American Tribal Style (ATS) as established by Fat Chance Bellydance. ATS utilizes non-verbal cues to allow a group of dancers to improvise and dance together in the moment.
Over six weeks, you will learn basic tribal bellydance posture and movements, as well as the cues and formations to dance in a group improvisationally. Each week will also include drills and conditioning as a foundation to build the strength and flexibility to execute movements safely and gracefully. Other topics, such as costuming, dance history, and music appreciation will be presented.

No dance experience is necessary. Please wear comfortable, close-fitting attire, and a quiet hip scarf (no coins) if you like. You will need zills by week three of the session.

This class follows the FCBD Level 1 Format

For more about tribal bellydance, check out my dance resources.

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ATSclassflyer.pdf389.67 KB

Dance Bio

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My yoga practice is so closely tied to my dance... and I mean just more than physically! Investing in my inner self is allows me to dance with more freedom. I know myself better, so I can express myself better. Spiritually, it makes that "sweet spot" when I'm dancing that much sweeter and it's something I really want to shine out when I'm dancing!

Tribal bellydance is a fun and empowering dance form that creates camaraderie among women and celebrates the feminine form. Flissy's primary interest is in American Tribal Style (ATS) bellydance, which utilizes non-verbal cues to allow a group of dancers to improvise and dance together in the moment.

Flissy has been a dedicated student of tribal bellydance since 2006, when she started taking tribal improv classes at Avalon Studio with Rebecca/Kumari and Jessica/Bastet. Since those early days of her studies, Flissy has studied regularly with Asharah and has most recently been following her passion for pure ATS by working with Jen from Sammati, and completing her ATS General Skills Certification with Fat Chance Bellydance founder, Carolena Nericcio in July 2009. She has supplemented her regular studies with workshop hours from nationally recognized dancers such as Kajira of Black Sheep Bellydance, Lisa Zahiya, and Maria and Olivia of Zafira.

Flissy can be seen performing with her dance partner-in-crime, Chris, with whom she formed Verve Tribal bellydance duo in 2007. Verve Tribal is an improv based duo that also incorporates choreographed elements to create a funky and contemporary tribal bellydance experience. Chris is the creative mastermind behind the beautiful jewelry at Sihaya Designs.

Flissy is also the newest member of Kallisti Tribal. Kallisti Tribal is a home grown Baltimore troupe that draws from a solid base in American Tribal Style belly dance while honoring the influence of other dance and movement traditions in a style Amy calls "ATS-esque."

Dance Resources

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General Tribal Bellydance info



Local Resources



Videos



Tribal Bellydance Troupes

  • Fat Chance Bellydance
    The original American Tribal Style troupe, founded by Carolena Nericcio.
  • Black Sheep Bellydance
    Founded by Kajira, a student of Carolena. They are also an improv based troupe that have developed their own moves, and also lead from both directions! Kajira is also the organizer of Tribal Fest.
  • n.o.madic tribal
    One of my favorite tribal troupes! Check out their amazing posture!
  • Zafira
    This amazing troupe shows tribal, cabaret, folkloric, and theatrical influences. They're truly amazing and I love to study with them whenever I have the opportunity!
  • Kallisti Tribal
    I perform with this super sassy Baltimore based all-mprov troupe.



Music



Costuming

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ATSstudentressources.pdf491.66 KB

Music for ATS

Sun, 01/24/2010 - 14:23 by flissy   Tags:

This information is primarily for my ATS bellydance students, but other dancers might find these resources useful as well.

Music Theory by Mary Ellen Donald. This is a brief, clearly written article that defines basic music terms like "rhythm" "measure" and "time signature." This extremely helpful for communicating about music with other dancers or musicians.

Carolena's Music FAQ for ATS is less about music theory in the technical sense, and more about the theory behind our choices for music for ATS. In this article, Carolena lays out what music is most appropriate for ATS, and also explains other points, such as how it is that we use slow moves with songs that have a fast tempo. Throughout the FCBD CD catalog, tracks are labeled with fast, slow, and sometimes a description of the piece. Very helpful!

Zill Speak by Artemis Mourat is a fantastic CD that comes with a booklet. She breaks down rhythms very clearly, with a variety of techniques to remember them by. While not all the rhythms are relevant to ATS, they are all common to Middle Eastern music, and therefore good to know!

Learning about music theory is definitely an ongoing process. It takes some initiative to investigate the variety rhythms and instrumentation to flesh out your knowledge. While there are tons of resources available for learning the basics, there is no replacement for just sitting down and listening to A LOT of music!

Here is a jumpstart to music for ATS! I've made an iMix featuring my favorite songs for drilling and dancing:

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