Monica RAQS :: Egyptian Dance

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Monica offers weekly musically-driven Egyptian style dance classes at Alonzo King Lines Dance Center, where she has been on faculty since 2003.

Classes are held every Monday from 6 to 7 PM, and are currently taught live over Zoom. 

This is a mixed-level class suitable for all levels of folks wanting to work with Egyptian style raqs sharqi and raqs beledi. We'll spend each week exploring and being inspired by Egyptian and pan-Arab movement and music while focusing on respect for the dancers, respect for the form, cultural, political, and artistic context, and fun. Classes include a warm-up, technique breakdown, combinations, improvisation, lyrics and singing, rhythm recognition, folkloric influences, and dance circles. Dancers newer to the form as well as experienced movers are all welcome.   

Register for classes directly with Lines

Cost is $13 per class (one hour, live remote)

Only public performances are listed here. 

November 11, 2024

Aswat Presents:

The Music of Baligh Hamdi

Benvenuti Performing Arts Center

Sacramento, California

Tickets available here

November 18, 2024

Arabic music at Mills College

Jeannik Méquet Littlefield Concert Hall

Music Building

Mills College

5000 MacArthur Blvd 

Oakland, California

Free, but please register here

I send out a seasonal newsletter with upcoming events, class news, videos of inspiring or interesting dancers, songs, or musicians, and more. 

You can sign up for it here. I promise to never spam you!

I'm also on instagram  and facebook and YouTube (oh my) under the moniker Monica Raqs.

Monica is a San Francisco based dancer, musician, and instructor who has been studying dances, songs, instruments, languages and percussion of Southwest Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean since her teens, with a primary focus on the movement arts of Cairo, Egypt.

She worked for many years as a performer at countless venues, weddings, parties, and celebrations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Monica has an extensive solo and group performance history, and a  track record of successful, accessible instruction in both studio and academic environments, with an ability to move between the social and staged styles at the heart of the dance forms she works within.

Monica teaches ongoing classes and workshops, performs occasionally, plays Arabic music and percussion as a performing member of Aswat and the Aswat Womens Ensemble, and continues to dance and learn.

Monica offers private classes and coaching in person in San Francisco or online anywhere in the world. She has worked one on one with many dancers, duets, and groups who are creating or polishing a piece, looking for inspiration, or need a  critical eye on their work, progression, or style.

Rates start at $75 per hour, plus studio rent, if any. Monica has access to very  affordable studios in San Francisco and can help keep this cost low. Travel  in the greater Bay Area or beyond is also possible, but will incur extra  fees.

Private lessons can also take place on Zoom.  

Please contact Monica for a questionnaire and initial email consultation so she can make sure that lessons are focused and on point for your  needs.

Need choreography? Please contact Monica for current rates, references, and details of how it all works.

I occasionally have some sweet dance related printed garments over at The Little Black Egg, including What Would Fifi Do? tees and tanks.