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Artwork © 1997 by JenJai.
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BEACH BLANKET BELEDI 2021
Celebrating twenty-six years of oceanfront fun!
** Classes & Schedule Subject to Change **
Beach Blanket Beledi
is an annual seminar and dance party held in Nags Head, NC,
on Columbus Day weekend. The twenty-fifth annual event is on
October 8-9, 2021. The
focus of Beach Blanket Beledi is that dance is serious fun.
The emphasis is on
creativity, exploration, and innovation.
For more information, go to:
Classes, Dance Party,
Schedule, Location,
Cost, Registration.
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CLASSES
Beach Blanket Beledi offers three instructors in three different, but often
complementary, subjects that are guaranteed to pique your interest
and expand your dance horizons.
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COVID-19 Considerations
Subject to Change
- Participant safety is the primary concern; Chelydra reserves the right to postpone the event
to October 2022 if she deems conditions unsafe regardless of any public policies in effect.
- Participants in Beach Blanket Beledi must comply with any federal, state, and local public
health restrictions.
- If the event is postponed, all registrations will be rolled forward automatically. Refunds will
be issued to those dancers who cannot accommodate the new dates.
- Due to the higher percentage of high-risk participants attending BBB, full vaccination
is highly recommended.
- As a private event, and for the protection of everyone, expect to wear a face mask in the ballroom even if not mandated by public health restrictions.
- No additional dance party guests are allowed. The dance party will be participants and staff only.
You will be notified via email or Facebook post if this policy changes.
- There will be no snack table at intermission.
- No touchless water station is anticipated; Bring your own refillable drink bottle or bottled water.
- Individual serving pre-packaged snack only at the dance party.
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Sahra Saeeda
Sahra is a dancer, teacher and Dance Ethnologist. As a performer, Sahra performs Orientale and Egyptian
Folkloric worldwide. Los Angeles California based, she moved to Cairo to research in 1989, and within the
month received a contract with the Meridian-Heliopolis 5-star hotel. She held a continuous 6-night a week
contract there for nearly 6 years. She holds the record in Cairo Egypt for the longest running contract
of a foreign dancer at a 5-Star Hotel with over 1600 shows in Cairo, Egypt alone.
As a teacher, Sahra has taught (and performed) Egyptian style Orientale and Folkloric dance on five continents.
She continues teaching a full tour schedule 11 months a year. Her warm style of teaching encourages
students to grow, learn and enjoy.
As a Dance Ethnologist, Sahra has University degrees in Dance Ethnology (Master of Arts UCLA),
Cultural Anthropology and Archeology (Bachelor UCSB), and Dance (Associate of Arts Palomar College).
After living, researching and performing in Cairo for 6 years (1989-1995) she returns to research in Egypt annually.
Sahra will present Taqsim, Tarab, and Saltanah, an exploration of musical improvisation and the emotional a
nd healing effect of music from the Arabic perspective. A distinguishing feature of Arabic music is the concept of tarab
(enchantment).
Sahra will also present Baladi Awad and Tet Baladi. Baladi literally means "my country", but to Egyptian-style
dancers it can refer to a specific progression of musical sections. We will explore the classic structure of the musical/rhythmic
sections in the two basic types of baladi, Baladi Awad and Tet Baladi, and learn steps and movement for each section.
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Chelydra
Chelydra has been a student of middle eastern dance since 1978,
and began performing professionally in 1981. She was the artistic director
of the Caravan East dance troupe from 1981-1997, and has performed and taught dances of
North Africa and the Middle East
at the award-winning Fields DanceStudio since
1985. A two-time featured cover artist and current contributing author to Zaghareet! magazine, she
is also the producer of the No Frills series of instructional
videos. In 2004, her Andalusian-Moroccan Romany choreography was one of the entries selected to be
featured in the Old Dominion University Local Choreographer's Showcase, and in 2006, a
ghawazee duet choreographed by both Chelydra and Aegela was chosen for showcase presentation.
Chelydra presents authentic folk dances of the Middle East and North Africa along with modern folkloric
fusion adaptations, including a tap-dancing melaya leff, a hip-hop khaleegy, and a techno ghawazee.
She considers dancing to be serious fun.
Chelydra will present Hot Disney Princess and Other Personas. Using simple step combinations,
we will experiment with evoking different emotions and personas through variations in timing, posture,
visual focus, and movement emphasis.
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Dance Party
The stars are out at the beach, and the stars are YOU! The evening dance party is a
great time to try out your latest & greatest costume
and choreography. Have you always wanted to try something just a little bit different -
but never had the right setting? This is it! Be experimental! Be daring! Be playful!
Time limit is seven minutes (but remember, less is sometimes more).
Performing slots for the dance party are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Ten openings are served for returning performers, and six are reserved for new participants.
THE POLICY FOR RETURNING PERFORMERS HAS CHANGED. Returning performers who were wait-listed
at the last BBB are given priority through June 30th of the following year. Performers on the
wait list will receive performance slots as they become available. Openings have become available as
late as the day of BBB, so do not despair if you are wait-listed!
To be fair to everyone, performers may only dance once (group or solo).
You must register for the seminar to qualify for a place in the programme.
SCHEDULE
| Subject To Change |
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| Time | Activity |
| Friday, October 8 |
| 8:00-9:30 PM | Welcome Wagon & Flea Market |
$5 per table space |
Saturday, October 9
Subject to Change! |
| 9:30-10:30 | Registration |
| 10:30-12:30 | Sahra Saeeda | Taqsim, Tarab, and Saltanah |
| 12:30-1:30 | Lunch (On your own; due to time constraints,
brown bag is recommended) |
| 1:30-3:30 | Sahra Saeeda | Baladi Awad and Tet Baladi |
| 3:45-4:45 | Chelydra | Hot Disney Princess and Other Personas |
| 8:00-?? | Dance Party | Bring individually pre-packaged single-serving snacks to share! |
LOCATION
Beach Blanket Beledi is held at the Comfort Inn South
Oceanfront at milepost 17 on the Beach Road in Nags Head, NC. For reservations,
call 1-252-441-6315.
Be sure to specify Beach Blanket Beledi when you call to get the special seminar rate!
Room rates are $90 bay view/$113 ocean view for 1-2 persons. A limited number of King rooms are
available for $113 (ocean view). Add $10 each for a
third or fourth person. At the current time, room tax is 12.75%.
Reservations must be cancelled
48 hours in advance, or a 1-night stay will be charged.
Check-in time is 4 PM; check-out is 11 AM. No more than
four persons per room are allowed by the local fire/safety code.
The hotel is usually full over the holiday weekend, so call early
to guarantee you get the room you want. Reserve rooms by
Friday, 9/07/2021, or rate and availability are not
guaranteed. The hotel frequently sells out over this weekend, so don't procrastinate.
The nearest airports to Nags Head are Norfolk International (ORF) and
Newport News/Williamsburg International (PHF). A rental car is required to
reach Nags Head.
COST
The fee for the seminar and dance party is $80 if registration is received
by 09/07/2021, and $90 after that date. Groups of five registering together receive
a $5 per-registration discount.
No additional dance party guests are allowed at this time.
REGISTRATION
Individual registration is available online or via check or money order. Group discount
registrations are only available via check or money order. To register online, visit
Eventbrite.
To obtain a registration form,
email or write to the address in the footer, or download a PDF copy of the
flyer.
(Adobe Acroread is required. The download may take some time to complete
even after the Acroread window opens.)
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