Last week’s Yasmina Ramzy workshop was simply wonderful. Najmat and Hanan, both of Boston, were excellent hosts. Very organized, chose a great space (Melina of Boston’s studio in Waltham).

The first part of the workshop was working on technique. There were some good moments within that, my favorite being the idea that in Middle Eastern dance, the floor is our partner and using that to our advantage rather than work our bodies so hard. Another great moment was an exercise we did where 5-6 of us made a small circle while a person danced in the center of the circle. The idea was to get the feeling of what people do in the Middle East.

After lunch, we learned a choreography that was both simple but challenging and absolutely gorgeous. Although I don’t normally dance choreography, I liked working in the choreography to get a sense of how Yasmina hears music. After we worked through the choreography, Yasmina performed it for us and then took questions related to anything dance.

Yasmina is an enthusiastic and terrific instructor. She explained everything so clearly, is encouraging, and the love for this dance radiated from her every step of the way. I hope to learn from her again.

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