Review by Joanne Pico,  
"Secrets of Dancing like a Queen with a Professional Arabic Orchestra" June 24th and 25th, 2006

 As a girl whose goal is to become a Professional Belly Dancer, I
Know that I will need the proper instruction to make it all become reality and to be able to perform the art properly. I have enrolled myself in a few classes locally so that I can start on a journey to learn this art and all it has to offer. Both of my teachers here in Edmonton have taken different courses with Hadia and have often recommended her and spoken very highly of her work.
After hearing so many good things about her I decided to go to her website to find out more about her. First I read up about her to find that she has a long list of prestigious accomplishments and world recognition as a performer, master teacher and choreographer.(You can read more into this at www.hadia.com) She was very well educated as a student, which is why she has so much experience to share as a master instructor and choreographer today.

On the website I see that she offers opportunities like no one else:
Her Fully Certified 3 Level Teacher Training Program made accessible in various locations throughout Canada, the US and soon in Europe;
Professional Oriental Dance Training Courses; International Workshops which she teaches Worldwide in 4 different languages; flamenco workshops; world recognized and recommended instructional DVDs and
adventures to Egypt, Turkey, Acapulco, Bali, Brazil  etc....

These are all fabulous opportunities for people who want to go to these countries to further their belly dancing experience, while they get to do and see all the things that you would want to without all the hassles of being on their own in a foreign and unfamiliar country. (You can read more about these cultural learning experiences under the adventures and upcoming events sections.)

I was completely amazed by her, her experience and all she has seen and done as a dancer. She agreed to allow me to come to Montreal to participate in the workshop "Secrets of Dancing like a Queen to a live
Arabic Orchestra", which was part of her first annual professional training program for oriental dance.  Although the course had been sold out for over a month already, I was so happy to be able to attend this workshop, which no one has ever done before.  An entire professional 6 piece orchestra there for us, just to help us to understand, to hear and to feel this beautiful and real music was a huge opportunity.

When I arrived the workshop was split into a 2 full-day sessions.
Hadia and the Orchestra (master drummer Joe Nachef, and his bothers
Elie and Alex; Sami Rizkallah, the Nai player: Fadi Akiki, the accordion player; Charlie aka. Salim the violin player and Nizar
Tabsharani, the Qanoon player) greeted the studio full of eager-to-learn dancers from all across Canada, the US, New Zealand, Yugoslavia, Hong Kong etc.... and began their work.

Each Musician told us about his training and his history, including
the great dancers that they had worked with in the Middle East, as well
as very interesting details about his unique traditional instrument. 
Then he played a beautiful and flawless taksim, which is pure improvisation on the spot.
It was amazing to hear each on its own, to loose yourself in the music and fly away with each instrument's unique and beautiful sounds.
This gave me a real appreciation for how the musicians carry out the flow of rhythms and melodies for the dancer to express with all her feelings.
Hearing these various traditional Arabic instruments separately such as the accordion, oud, violin, nay and qanoon was simply incredible. As beautiful as music can be from a CD, it could never replace the feeling you and your audience will get when you get to hear and dance with a live Arabic Orchestra.
The workshops gave us an amazing introduction to interpretations of Oum Kalthoum, Baladi Eshra, Taksim and other classical favorites.  Joe and
Hadia also went into detail about of technique Structure & communication for dynamic and improvised drum solos. In this workshop you get an idea of how to listen to and interpret the rhythms as well
as to interact and communicate with the music, the musicians and an audience. We also worked with the Zills (Finger Cymbals) learning to answer the drummer's combinations with our cymbals, or vise versa. It was very tricky, but became easier and more fun each time.
The musicians at the workshop took my breath away, both when they performed individually, then all together with such feeling, understanding and obvious mastery and love of their music.
Hadia would first tell us about how she felt and moved to the different instruments. Then she show us an example of how to dance to each new type of music and instrument as well as how to improvise during a drum solo ALL with grace, beauty, relaxation and fluidity, perfectly intertwining with the instruments. It was the most beautiful sight that my eyes have ever seen with sound that my ears have ever heard. Hadia really did transform the music into her movements. Then we would all get up and try to improvise to the same music. While we did this she would move through the room, dancing with each one of us, helping and guiding us individually.
It was all so touching and moving to be a part of this that I had to hold back my tears of happiness. I have never had an experience quite like this before.
I highly recommend this entire workshop to anyone who wants to take belly dancing seriously. Hadia, Joe and everyone in the orchestra were simply unforgettable.
I have purchased Hadia's instructional DVDs, as I could not travel home without being able to bring Hadia back with me and learn from her every day on DVD, even though I live far away from her. She has many workshops and programs that I plan to attend in the future also. I will work very hard this year in order to be accepted for next year's professional training course in Montreal.  She is an amazingly inspiring, wonderful woman. She dances beautifully and her love for the art shines as she moves.
There is so much that I and many others can learn from the knowledge
and expertise that Hadia is now sharing with thousands of students all over the world.  I am honoured to be one of them and look very much forward to everything that I will be learning from Hadia in the near future.
She has wonderful teaching methods and I and many others highly recommend her to anybody who wants to pursue this dance as a career. She is some one whom you can trust and know that she is teaching you properly and accurately, happily sharing over 30 years of knowledge and expertise of this beatiful work of art we all love... this "Dance of the Orient" "Raqs Shaqi".

Thank you and happy dancing!

Reviews from 2006 pro course

I learned that an Oriental dancer needs to be multi-faceted. It is not enough to be skilled in one or even a few areas. The dancer needs to be the visual embodiment of the music and even needs to be a musician herself.
...I learned about staging - different performance venues, and how important entrances and exits are to the professionalism of the performance.
I had the rare opportunity to work with live musicians to learn nuances of various instruments - how they look and sound and the feelings they invoke and how that translates in movement.
I worked extensively on improvisation techniques, which affirmed the importance of movement technique as a base. I learned dance technique that respects the health of the body so I’ll be able to dance for a long time in my life.
I learned so much about playing music, too, with finger cymbals. It’s a whole study in rhythm and is an instrument in its own right.
My heart is captured by this rich, beautiful and emotional art form. My experience at Hadia’s training program has taken me to a new level of performance and love for Oriental dance.
Hadia taught a wonderful dance from her own repertoire...I look forward to sharing this dance in performance. More than that, I look forward to using my new skills to create my own dances. I am so inspired!

I first met Hadia last year in my home country, New Zealand, last spring.  I had heard many great things about her and she was very highly recommended to me by a friend who had attended a number of her workshops and dance training retreats held in Turkey and Acapulco. I was very happy to attend her class at the Medanz Festival, held in Wellington, and really liked her teaching style and skills and decided that I wanted more.

I found out through my friends that Hadia was offering audition a 10 day intensive Professional Oriental Dance Training Program in Montreal, Canada, this summer. I sent off my audition tape and registration and was very excited when I heard that I had been one of only 15 students that Hadia had  accepted into this course. The other students came from all over North America and as far away as Hong Kong. The dancers had unique and individual styles, but were all very accomplished artists. I was impressed with the competence, skill and quality of my classmates, but the Montreal ladies, most of who studied regularly with Hadia, impressed me the most. They were already such beautiful dancers and so professional, as well as very friendly and sharing.  Actually, everyone there had such a positive and supportive attitude, which seemed to fit very well with Hadia’s unpretentious and generous personality and approach to teaching. This helped hugely with confidence building and made the experience and the new friendships that developed very special to all of us.

I suppose that you could call me a bit of a workshop addict, as I have studied with virtually all the top teachers and I have learned many wonderful things from them.  However, most of these workshops have been choreographies, some with technique breakdown, some without, but this was the FIRST time ever that I actually received information and tools that could help me become a better dancer and to TRANSFORM MY OWN PERSONAL STYLE of dancing, presentation and performance, which made this perhaps THE best learning experience I have had to date.

Hadia’s 46 hour, 10 day course was very complete.  Although at times, I was not totally sure what she was up to, the entire program actually fit together as a very complete package, covering a wide range of topics with a lot of variety. Her teaching technique is unique - fun and highly effective at the same time. Hadia is truly a Master Instructor with a depth and breadth of knowledge about this art form that I have not encountered before. She is also a highly skilled registered massage therapist, which allows her to present very complex technique in a really simple and logical way, clearly explaining and teaching us how to find exactly which muscles we need to create our movements.

I had also heard that Hadia is an award winning choreographer and this skill was clearly evident in her interpretation of Layali Zaman, a complex piece of traditional oriental music produced by her friend and colleague Sahra Saeeda. Her choreographed sections were complemented with sections of individual and personal improvisation.  She managed to somehow guide us through these improvised sections, giving us ideas and inspiration but still encouraging us to let what was inside of us come out in our own unique ways.  Her approach and delivery was so sensible and easy to understand.  And she is such a genuine person, very easy to talk to and such an engaging instructor.

Hadia also worked with each student to address each of our own particular needs and issues. She has an uncanny ability to “see” and understand exactly what needs fixing and the ability to tell us exactly HOW to correct it on whatever level it may be.

The 10 day program also included a weekend workshop for with an entire six piece Arabic orchestra, including qanoon, accordion, oud, nai, violin, organ and percussion.  For two days we had the unique, unforgettable and highly enriching experience of learning with these consummate musicians, who had all played for the great Arabic dancers in Lebanon before coming to Montreal. Her partner in crime, Joe Nachef, is a phenomenal and charismatic percussionist who surprised us all with his hidden talents as a singer and oud player!  Each musician told us about his instrument and its history, his training and experiences, then played a taksim solo for us. Hadia then explained her relationship with the instrument, how she feels and translates this through her movements and then danced a taksim with the instrument. Then she helped us learn to interpret and express these instruments as we explored improvisation.  We also had a few jam sessions with the entire orchestra playing together. There is nothing more incredible than dancing with live musicians and to have an entire orchestra in a studio for a dance class was a totally unique and awesome experience. Joe and Hadia also did a fabulous job taking us on a tour of the base rhythms for drum solos and explained from their different points of view how the lead drummer and the dancer run through accent progressions.  They would again demonstrate a section together, then run through it again while Hadia helped us with our technique and gave us ideas. Their final finger cymbal/drum call and answer game was way too much fun and opened up all kinds of creative possibilities to us.

Hadia also hired a singer for us for one class, to sing and interpret the words to a couple of Oum Kalthoum’s songs. Understanding and interpreting this Diva of classical oriental music is a fundamental part of any professional dancer’s education.  Understanding the words for the songs and listening to the singer helped me to really connect to the meaning of this music for the first time. 

For the grand finale for our 10 day of hard work, we were able to showcase what we had learned with a performance at a small and intimate club. The place was absolutely packed, the audience was fabulous and most of us performed our auditions pieces to give as a real “before and after” experience. I could see that we had each grown through our time and training with Hadia.  The show was highlighted by Hadia’s dynamic and powerful performance to our workshop music Layali Zaman followed by Huwa Sahiyah, her favourite Oum Kalthoum. She was fabulous!

And Montreal is a fantastic city! Boundless creativity, a wealth of cultural activity, fabulous restaurants, character, European charm and unpretentious, creative, individualistic people (an appropriate place for Hadia I would say). Hadia also organized a group outing to a performance by Joaquin Ruiz, who has just arrived from Spain as the feature artist in Montreal’s Annual Flamenco Festival. It was a real eye opener to see such a level of professionalism and mastery of an art form.  Hadia is also an accomplished flamenco artist and after seeing the caliber of professionalism of this art form, it does not surprise me why she sets her standards so high as an oriental dance artist. 

Hadia’s Professional Oriental Dance Training Program was such a rewarding and enriching experience for me that I will certainly be studying with her again (possibly in Acapulco in December or in New Zealand in February).  I would also love to take her program 2007. Next year Hadia has expanded the Professional Dance Training program to begin with an additional 5 days of training in her unique technique. This was a very wise investment of my time and money. Thank you Hadia for providing me such an incredible opportunity!

Teachers Intensive with Hadia

I don’t usually travel very far for workshops because of my own time-commitment to teaching.  But if one plans to teach well, one must be willing to continually learn.  Therefore, this July when I found myself with an assistant that I trusted well enough to teach my classes, I took the opportunity to fly to Ottawa and attend a four-day intensive Teachers Training Level One with Hadia. 

Hadia is one of my biggest inspirations in Oriental Dance.  I respect her work and what she is trying to do for the dance community.  It was the chance to study with her again that gave me the courage to get on a plane for the first time in my life.  As I said, I don’t usually travel.    Hadia is a brilliant technician of dance and the anatomical knowledge arising from her other work as a massage therapist, serves her well. 

The four-day course was held at Denise Enan’s lovely Studio Oasis in Hull.  It started with the presentation of a dauntingly thick folder of information and homework for each participant.   I glanced over the contents of the folder scanning anatomical drawings, graphs and a psychological questionnaire thinking. “All this in four days?” Hadia announced that some of the contents of the folder were for reading on our own time. I breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, maybe my brain won’t explode on day three after all.”

Unlike some other teachers of Belly Dance Hadia has studied many dance forms, and is well versed in the dangers and benefits of all dance.  She focused on anatomy, and injury prevention / recognition / management in her class.  She also covered warm ups and cool downs, learning styles, finger cymbals, music interpretation and appreciation, dance styles, history, technique, variations, class planning and feedback.

Hadia teaches by what I like to call the Alphabet Soup Method.  Stir it up, dip out a spoonful and “ta-da” next we will cover a, b, and w.  Don’t get me wrong, that’s not a criticism, she teaches with an anecdotal style that flows rapidly from one topic to the next, but in a tangential fashion. It is like covering everything at once, but in a way that makes sense because it is all interconnected.  Hadia’s head is so full of great information sometimes it all tries to escape her mouth at once.  The result is a style of teaching that will never, ever bore you.  But will certainly keep you on your toes.

I am not a good note taker but experience has taught me that I need to write some things down or I won’t remember.  Having studied with Hadia in the past I chose to bring a hardbound sketchbook for notes so I would not be restricted by lined pages when recording her wisdom.  I now have over thirty pages packed full of drawings, notes, titles of cd’s, famous dancers names, videos to see or to avoid, breakdowns of moves and messages to myself like, “Change the way you teach Saiidi Kick, the big H. says you do it like a guy”.  That’s not counting the many observations I wrote in the margins of the pre-printed pages she provided.  My point is that she had oodles of great information to share.  And she freely did so, complete with permission to use that information because, in her own words, “Why would I teach you this stuff if I didn’t want you to use it.”

Her love of what she does is evident in the passionate way she talks about her art.  She is trying in her own way to make the information she had to learn by trial and error available to everyone who wants it. I think it is about time.  We have a wonderful resource in Hadia and should all be accessing it.

Over the four days Hadia covered a great deal of information; some that I was already aware of and some things that were new to me.  She managed the class dynamic well, not allowing too many interruptions and distractions while allowing each student to contribute to the class. 

She successfully shut down without hurting the one student in the class who was there just to argue with or challenge the teacher.  There is one of those in every class.  Why do they do that? If I am going to give someone my hard earned money in exchange for their information I am going to hook myself to their brain like a leech and get as much out of them as possible before they can reach the salt shaker. 

In a total of twenty four hours, give or take an hour or two due to running over at the end of the day as Hadia is prone to do, we covered what could have easily taken twice that long.  We did not get to cover everything in as much detail as we would have liked, but that was not due to Hadia’s time management issues, of which she is totally aware.  It was mostly due to the fact that there is so much to know.  The fact that she even tries to cover it all proves her desire to enrich this art form and those who study/teach it.  This is a refreshing change from teachers who are loath to give away too much out of paranoia.

I personally loved the anatomy portions of the classes, but that just me.  I once borrowed Grays Anatomy from my high school library to learn how to draw hands and found it so fascinating that by the time I returned it I could have bought my own copy for the price of the fines.  Some of the vegetarians in the class were not so pleased with the medical video of real cadavers she used to show muscle and skeletal structures.  My only problem with it was that I had to force myself to see them as human.  I used to be a chef and I constantly perceived the isolated muscle tissues as meat. Ugh!  I didn’t share my thoughts with the class; though now I wonder how the vegetarians would have handled it.

For anyone who is teaching or even considering teaching belly dance I highly recommend taking this course.  There are far too many people out there teaching without proper training.  Mostly that has been the case because the training was not available.  Now that it is, we should all take advantage of the opportunity.  Working with people’s bodies is not something to be taken lightly.  So if you think you know enough to teach belly dance, get yourself to Hadia’s next teacher training workshop and find out just how much there is to know.  I can’t wait for her Level Two Intensive.

If we all try to teach from an informed standpoint the art form will be stronger and better, and as a result be taken more seriously.   Wouldn’t that be nice? 

by Belinda Ferguson

Article sur Formation de Profs Jan 2005

Des orientations pour une intervention adaptée de la danse. 

Depuis un bon moment, un mot clé revient sans cesse dans l'univers de l'enseignement auquel j'appartiens, un mot qui dérange et bouleverse un vieux système essoufflé, un concept dont les paramètres bousculent les idées et provoquent des changements incontournables….LA RÉFORME… 

Voilà la pensée qui m'habite depuis la formation de professeur vécue avec HADIA à Montréal durant 2 fins de semaine intensives. Un groupe de 18 femmes venues de partout ayant en commun ce goût du renouveau enfin possible, ce besoin de valider la pertinence et l'importance de la mission qui est la leur envers l'apprentissage de la danse orientale au Québec. 

La formation que nous avons choisie avec cette personne exceptionnelle qu'est devenue Jocelyn Chouinard, est centrée sur le développement des compétences appelant un regard différent sur la relation entre les danseuses et leur corps. Comme thérapeute, elle nous place dans une perspective de la connaissance du système musculo-squelletique et nous démontre abondamment la complexité de ce mécanisme au cours d'une pratique à la fois visuelle, auditive et kinesthésique. Cette approche nous permet ainsi l'intégration de ces " SAVOIRS " et constitue par la suite une base solide pour notre enseignement. Ainsi, au fils du temps, chacune d'entre nous réalise que maintes fois durant les ateliers de danse chorégraphique auxquels nous avons participé et auxquels nous nous inscrirons encore encouragent les danseuses à se centrer sur leurs efforts plutôt que sur leurs capacités.

 HADIA nous oriente en fonction de connaissances et de compétences qui ne s'opposent pas…. elles se complètent. A condition d'OSER, un mot qu'elle nous a souvent répété. Ses connaissances de l'histoire de la danse, de la musique et ses instruments, des rythmes, du langage du corps, des scénarios visant des buts différenciés, des objectifs précis et réalistes font parti du menu servi par HADIA avec son dynamisme de lionne humaniste, son rire communicatif, sa spontanéité exprimée dans un français accessible et coloré!! 

Ces compétences transversales soutenant l'apprentissage nous permettent des ajustements et deviennent des ressources essentielles qui proposent d'agir adéquatement pour propulser la danse orientale dans une chorégraphie complexe. Mais le savoir-agir propre à une compétence suppose une appropriation et une utilisation de ces notions et de ces habiletés en cause. Tout cela sans blessure!! Quelle évolution!! 

Pour ma part, j'enseigne maintenant une pratique de la danse orientale basée sur l'amélioration posturale, la prise de conscience progressive des savoirs utiles à l'exercice de la danse. J'adopte la conception évolutive du développement des habiletés par le plaisir de l'effort en toute sécurité.! 

La formation m'a confirmé que l'apprentissage de la danse épouse un mouvement en spirale à l'intérieur duquel les compétences servent à l'acquisition de nouvelles connaissances de soi qui, à leur tour, font évoluer la danse orientale…Merci HADIA… 

A suivre….Liette Prévost

Perfection in Paradise – Acapulco Dec 10-17, 2004 

Picture this ... the beautiful sandy beaches of Acapulco, heavenly sunshine, crashing ocean waves, luxurious resort and belly dancing with world renowned Hadia EVERY DAY for a week.  It was as amazing as it sounds.  

We as eager students of Hadia, were fortunate that the group was small, allowing us more individual attention with her than we expected.  The group taking part in the weeklong workshop consisted of 6 students. Three were from Calgary, one from Vancouver, and two from the United States.  All of us hail from different backgrounds and have varying personalities, yet meshed so wonderfully as a group.  

I was impressed immediately at how beautiful and luxurious the resort was (as I am somewhat of a princess when I travel).  The room I had was private, with a king-sized bed, Jacuzzi tub, shower and private bathroom.  It would have been perfect for bringing along a ‘special someone’ on the trip.  It adjoined to a one bedroom suite which had its own soaker bathtub, bedroom, kitchen and living area.  The adjoining rooms and suites can be combined to accommodate a group of friends traveling together.

The first couple of mornings we had a buffet breakfast at one of the several restaurants on the resort.  The food was fantastic, fresh tropical fruits and juices, Mexican specialties, made to order omelettes, and pastries.  Needless to say, after that breakfast a two hour dance class was essential to burn off all those calories.  The rest of the week we had breakfast as a group in Hadia’s suite. 

After a leisurely breakfast, we would have a two hour class each morning.  Our ‘studio’ was an outdoor stage under a backdrop of palm trees, the lake and ocean beyond that.  It also happened to be very close to a restaurant and the walking path, so there was often a curious audience watching our practices.  A few brave tourists, thinking this was a complimentary class offered by the resort, joined in, which was quite fun. Some days we would venture down to the beach instead of the stage for finger cymbol classes.  Seven bikini clad women playing cymbols under a cabana created quite a lot of interest from people on the beach.  In fact it wasn’t long before most people on the resort knew who we were.

After our morning class, we had the afternoons free to enjoy how we pleased.  Whether it was lounging by the pool, boogey boarding in the ocean, shopping from vendors on the beach (which I did a lot of) or taking Salsa and Spanish lessons, there was plenty to keep busy if that was what you desired.  Our second session of classes for the day would begin late in the afternoon. 

Every evening we all had dinner together at different restaurants on the resort.  Our evenings usually ended fairly early, despite several attempts to go into town and dance the night away.  With all the dancing we did during the day, we were all too tired.  

We did go into town on two occasions.  The first trip into town was on the Sunday, which also happened to be a national holiday, Dia de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, the day the Virgin Guadalupe is celebrated.  On this trip we toured an 18^th century fort, Fuerte de San Diego, which is a pentagon shaped fort built to protect the city against pirate attacks.  We also found time to indulge in some shopping at a local market.  Our next stop was to meander through old Acapulco’s main hub, the Zócalo or main square.  This tree lined square surrounded by ancient buildings housing small stores and restaurants fronts the Nuestra Senora de la Soledad (Our Lady of Solitude) church which hosts the festival Virgin of Guadalupe celebrations.  We all enjoyed our dinner at a sidewalk café eating authentic Mexican food, sipping margarita’s and soaking up the local culture.  Our day ended with a trip to Walmart to stock up on snacks, fruit, juice and of course wine!   

Our second trip into town was on the second last evening, to observe the La Quebrada cliff divers.  The divers climb 136 foot cliffs to their diving perch.  From there they time their dives into a narrow inlet of crashing waves.  This trip into town was organized by Rosario, a dear friend of Hadia’s and a local resident.  She had wonderful insight into life and love in Acapulco which I won’t soon forget.  After the dives, she took us to one of her favorite restaurants with live music and enjoyed a fabulous dinner over looking the bay. 

Now this was all wonderful, but lets not forget the real reason why we all came…. to be trained by Hadia. 

It was energizing to be in Hadia’s classes again. Her teaching technique is so precise, she can articulate a movement in a manner that everyone can comprehend.  I haven’t met another teacher who can break down a move into its intrinsic parts as concisely as Hadia can.  All her years of training, dancing, teaching and her background in anatomy and massage therapy has culminated into a unique and inspiring teaching style.  She has the uncanny ability to adapt to a group of students’ varying learning styles so that everyone benefits from her instruction. 

Each of us also received a one hour private lesson with Hadia.

The class outline for the week of Professional Development Training was varied and all encompassing.  Over the week we were exposed to some exciting and challenging new technique and combinations.  We had lessons in finger cymbols, muscle finding and application, music listening and interpretation, and improvisation techniques.  We also had a review of different styles of dance and learned some Folkloric technique. In addition to all this, we were taught the choreography to Talakeek and Faddah.  

I can sum up the week in one word: INSPIRING!  

I was inspired to continue dancing, to strive be a better dancer and work harder, and to stay true to the technique and theory that Hadia taught me when I was a beginner and what I learned on this trip.  For me, this trip was the perfect balance of being challenged creatively and physically and having time for solitude and relaxation. I am sad that she is not longer in Calgary and I am no longer her regular student, but if it means I get to go to Acapulco once a year to study with her, well then, what more can a girl ask for?

Corinne Doroshenko

Ever the innovator, Hadia organized the “Rocky Mountain Retreat: Teacher Training and Professional Development” course held August 6-9 in an attempt to lay the foundation for the careful and proper instruction of Middle Eastern dance.

            About twenty participants took part in the fifteen-hour course that covered an introduction to anatomy, technique and fundamental moves, learning styles of students, and how to organize a class. 

           The participants ranged from people who had not taught before, to those who had been teaching for over twenty years.  The group got to know each other well.  Anecdotes from each other’s experience mingled with Hadia’s brilliant instruction served to form a warm learning environment in the comfort of Hadia’s beautiful home.

            Students received a colorful, fat folder filled with handouts covering topics to be covered in the span of the course such as; student learning styles, examples of warm-up movements and stretches, anatomy coloring sheets, and guiding principles for teaching.   

            Hadia used her knowledge of massage and manual therapy for an extensive introduction to anatomy, which served to better explain the technicalities of different movements and safe movement.  She provided color handouts that labeled muscles and used a video to teach students about our muscles, ligaments, joints and bones.

            We also learned warm-up and cool down moves and got to practice technique in her studio.  Her expert eye can spot technical flaws and her excellent teaching skill enables her to offer advice to perfect a dancer’s movements.  We learned by watching her teach us.  With over twenty year’s experience, just being in Hadia’s presence while she teaches is invaluable.

            Hadia taught about different learning styles of students and how to accommodate to each learner’s needs.  Participants also shared stories of their own teaching experiences, which made the discussions very practical and applicable.

            In an exceptional example of value for your money, meals were included in the cost of the course.  She provided delicious and nutritious meals. One evening we headed down to the Pegasus Restaurant in Calgary for a Greek Night.  Participants dined on delectable Greek fare and danced with each other. 

            More fun was had in Banff.  A whirlwind tour of the National Park included a picnic at Morraine Lake, a hike up to the Lake Louise Tea House, and a viewing of spectacular Johnston’s Canyon.   Classes were held at the Banff YWCA allowing participants the most magnificent setting for learning.    

            The finale of the course was the ultimate in pampered perfection.  We eased our sore muscles and packed-to-the-brim minds with a day spent luxuriating at the Banff Springs Hotel Spa.  As part of the course fee, each participant received a massage or Turkish scrub and spent hours delighting in pools of different temperatures, steam rooms, and saunas.

            Hadia’s Teacher Training and Professional Development Course is well worth the money.  It is a chance to get to know other dancers, share one’s experience, learn from a world-class instructor, and delight in the intricacies of a dance that has so much to offer.  Treat yourself and participate in Hadia’s next course – you will be glad you did.

             I think that Hadia should be commended for her foresight in offering this type of course.  It is truly a one-of-a-kind experience and a necessary evolution of the dance form.  Her commitment to informed, experienced and knowledgeable teachers is a positive step for the art form.  Look for her Level I course this summer and be sure to sign up! 

Kim Mayberry 

           
           My most recent adventure took me to Alberta, a land not commonly known as the belly-dancing hub of Canada. For the past few years, Hadia has been changing that. This time she organized a festival complete with guest speakers on various topics followed by a teacher-training course. I would like to share with you readers my thoughts about the latter.

           Middle Eastern Dance (MED) is an art form that has been around for thousands of years; however, in the past 30 years alone it has experienced tremendous popularity. In its entire history, this dance has never encountered so much change as now, and the need to have it accepted by the general public as a legitimate art form has been identified. According to Hadia to achieve this, the idea of accreditation for teachers has been circulating in places like the United States, Germany and Canada. In the meantime, dancers/teachers can improve their physical skills and acquire a solid technique. In order to achieve this successfully, Hadia believes in the importance of having a “basic understanding of anatomy and its practical application to technique,” hence the main focus of the teacher-training program. By learning which muscles are involved in different dance moves, we can gain a thorough understanding of both the dance and our bodies. Hadia has identified the particular muscles that make us dance the way we do; she uses DVDs and Video in addition to handouts and exercises to show us where in the body these muscles are found and how to use them properly. This knowledge is an excellent tool for teachers to have in order to prevent injuries. I also find that, by visualizing a muscle, movements become easier; this becomes important when the subject of isolations comes up, and let’s not forget that MED is basically about body isolations.

           While a large component of the course was on applied anatomy and body awareness, other subjects were also discussed. Among those, we were taught how to structure a class and what things to keep in mind. For instance, attention should be paid to learning environment, class plans, dancers’ different styles of learning and processing. Current dance styles were identified, i.e. goddess dancing, American tribal, fusion, American belly dancing, etc., besides the already established ones. Also, a lot of emphasis was placed on music interpretation and the use of the proper name of the dance. The material in this course is aimed at instructors who primarily teach dancers; the attention to detail encouraged could be overwhelming for some.

           The most interesting aspect of this course is the practice and research ahead. I got to dig out my human anatomy and physiology text as well as other papers. This is not for lack of information given to us – there is lots of stuff in the printed material to keep me busy for a while – but who is David Kolb anyway?

           Something else that I found interesting is Hadia’s teaching style. She presents information in a very casual way, almost as if just conversing with a friend. Because of the relaxed atmosphere, I felt that we could have covered a lot more material, but now that I am back home going over the information, I can honestly say that there is a lot of stuff already, and she warned us that there is a Part II coming up too!

            After 15 hours of instruction over 2-1/2 days, there was sightseeing or hiking around Banff. And to top it all, inner beauty was also nourished at the Willow Stream Spa, probably the most luxurious spa in Alberta! There, we were given 2 choices for treatments, the Turkish scrub or the Swedish massage. I went for the second and what a wise decision that was – old cramps from my neck and shoulders were removed and I felt clean from the inside out. My masseuse made me feel like silk, maybe the best I ever felt. As it turned out, she is also one of Hadia’s students, who teaches post-graduate courses to body therapists. Yeah, that too.

            After our treatment, we got to indulge in what the facilities have to offer. It’s all designed around the concept of hydrotherapy. Picture yourself sitting in an outdoor Jacuzzi surrounded by fresh mountain air and majestic mountains; or you could be gently floating in the pool of Hungarian minerals listening to soothing underwater music, or purifying yourself in the inhalation room, or simply enjoying a cup of wild berry tea sweetened with Swiss honey while wrapped in a plush terry robe. No, I did not get paid to tell you this. It’s just that one day in that spa gave me enough serenity to feel balanced and at peace with myself, so I had to share this with you. I am positive that the other 21 ladies who took part in this program feel a similar sentiment. Oh yes, in case you were wondering, 22 dancers participated, coming from the East Coast, BC, Ontario, Alberta and 3 of us from Winnipeg. There were also ladies from various cities in the United States, altogether a very interesting and harmonious group.

           Looking in retrospect I can say that my time was well utilized. That was how I felt last year, so I came back to take this training course a second time. The only regrets, if any, are that we did not have much time to get to know the other people, all highly accomplished women, and that we didn’t stay longer in Banff. Then again, I went there to learn from a master who pretty much has life figured out; I wasn’t there to waste time shopping or the like.

           Even though I am still digesting it all, this is an experience I strongly recommend. You have a whole year ahead, so start planning ladies - you will not be able to prove me wrong. Inshallah.

Karla Yanina

Review Hadia’s Teacher Training Retreat 2003

If you are serious about teaching dance classes, Hadia’s teacher’s retreat is not to be missed! Hadia generously shares her vast knowledge not only of dance, but also of anatomy, physiology and kinesiology. She in fact teaches instructors how to teach. The classes cover not only how to teach the actual dance movements, but also how to recognize and deal with the different learning styles of your students and how to efficiently run your classes.

I attended the retreat in 2003 which followed closely on the heels of the Festival of the Nile. This year we had a free day in Calgary between the festival and the retreat to explore, shop or just rest. The workshops were fabulous but exhausting, so we all appreciated a day off. What did I do? Went shopping of course!

The following morning we packed up and car pooled to Banff, stopping along the way to enjoy the amazing scenery at Lake Minnewanka and snap some photos. Then we checked in at the Y Mountain Lodge and met for a working lunch. Hadia handed out folders of the classroom material that we were going to cover, discussed the agenda and assigned homework.. Then it was off to the Banff Springs Spa experience! Now this was an afternoon of true luxury! We had our choice of either a massage or Turkish scrub and then got to lounge at the Banff Springs Spa for the rest of the afternoon, enjoying the mineral pool ( with underwater music ), the three waterfalls ( all different temperatures ), sauna and choice of either indoor or outdoor swimming pool. All with spectacular views of the mountains. Heavenly!

Then the work began. We started classes the next morning in the conference center at the Y Mountain Lodge. This was an ideal location for our needs. Its a separate building with its own kitchen facilities, a hardwood floor and huge windows. We started our mornings watching segments of an anatomy video over breakfast, while Hadia explained what we were seeing and how to relate it to various dance movements. Not for the faint of heart you might think, but the reality was that it was absolutely fascinating to see the mechanics of exactly how we move. Over the next several days we learned exactly how muscles work, how they’re connected to each other, how concentric and eccentric movement works and how to apply that knowledge to our dance. We learned how to safely warm up and cool down before and after class, how to recognize and correct improper alignment and muscle balance both in ourselves and in our students and how to break down simple and complex movements by the muscles required to accomplish them. We also worked with rhythms, learning to clarify them and to play zills while dancing. We studied class construction and how to formulate lesson plans. We also studied the different learning styles of students, how they perceive and process new material and how to deal with these differences. It was an amazing amount of material to cover and a lot of work. ( did I mention homework?)

It wasn’t all work though. We had classes every morning, one late afternoon class and one evening class, but we also had several excursions to admire the amazing scenery. I’m from the rolling green hills of the east coast and this was my first visit to The Rockies. They are truly awesome and Hadia wasn’t about to let us miss out on being tourists. She escorted us ( she calls it herding cats ) to a picnic lunch and hike at Lake Moraine and hot chocolate at the impressive Lake Louise Hotel. We toured Johnston Canyon and picnicked at Kananaskis. We stopped the cars and got out to marvel at huge elk grazing peacefully by the side of the road, completely oblivious to us or the cars whizzing by. We don’t have elk in New Brunswick.. We have moose. They are not peaceful and they especially don’t like cars.

I highly recommend Hadia’s teacher’s retreat. Its an intensive, informative and challenging few days filled with hard work and lots of laughter. You’ll leave inspired.

 Lorena Robertson