Learn a simple and elegant choreography incorporating Reda-style movements and music composed in a traditional form called Tahmila. The Tahmila is a 19th-century musical form consisting of a brief refrain played by the whole Takht in unison. Then each instrument improvises a measured taqsim over an ostinato pattern. Then they all join for the refrain, and then another instrument improvises, etc. This choreography is a modern interpretation based on the movement vocabulary of Egypt’s esteemed Reda Troupe - famous for elevating the art of Arab dance to the theater stage. Though the Tahmila well predates any visual recording of dance accompaniment, movements have been gleaned from historical sources and re-imagined for this choreography. The materials for this workshop comes from Bahaia’s commissioned dance with the National Arab Orchestra. In January 2020, she was asked to choreograph a small “takht” ensemble composition to “Tahmila Rast” for the orchestra’s first ever dance performance.

Skill Level: All Levels

Saturday, 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm CDT.