Despite the threat of weather (wintry mix) and the mysterious line of traffic getting to Waltham, the semi-private class with Shadia of Boston ran. Shadia taught at MassRaqs this past fall. Although she is a well-established instructor in this area, I didn’t know much about her. Her workshop at MassRaqs convinced me that I should study under her at some point; she is a very knowledgeable instructor, patient and encourage but unafraid to correct. In other words, what instructor really should be.

Because of school, attending pretty much any Middle Eastern dance class in the area is difficult; pretty much all teachers use the 6-8:30 time slot. Getting out my academic classes and making it on time to my dance classes would be quite difficult, even if the classes were to begin at 7:30 PM. I initially went through a pouting phase about not being able to take classes with Najmat then realized it may be a good motivator to try a new teacher and work on goals.

The semi-privates were established, because I enjoy the social aspect of my classes and wanted to save money. I found some people, we decided what to do study, recruited some more, and the class was created. . Zills are weak spot for me, because I’ve had only a handful of classes that have taught those and only occasionally motivate myself to work on them. Shamadan is something I’ve tried exactly once, but I’m interested in all things folkloric so I wanted to learn more. The first class gave me a lot to work on until the next class. Shadia gave plenty of information and corrections out. She emphasized the idea of a frequent (daily) but short (5-min.) practice of balancing and zills. I’m going to try to be very faithful to that, despite my SO’s disdain for zills (the noise can be a bit grating). I had begun prior to the class and feel like there is an improvement; at the very least, my fingers aren’t fatiguing as much.

I’m really looking forward to the rest of the classes. I highly recommend learning from Shadia; she is a true gem to this area and this dance.

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