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Created by Cairo-based Oriental Dance star Shahrzad, the Desert Soul instructional program takes you to the roots of modern belly dance technique by exploring traditional folk dance styles of Egypt and adjacent regions of North Africa. Hipwork and footwork performed at Egyptian family and village celebrations to the beats of traditional Arabic music has inspired many features of technique and layers of the vocabulary in both modern Oriental Dance and other belly dance styles, such as Tribal Belly Dance.

Shahrzad focuses on four distinct folk dance traditions of Egypt: Ghawazee, Saidi, Hagallah, and Zar. First she teaches the most iconic steps for each dance to its traditional rhythm, and then introduces modern variations of these movements in contexts typical for contemporary belly dance styles. Shahrzad also offers belly dance combinations incorporating these traditional steps and leads you in practice that will clean up and enrich your technique while increasing your endurance.