Wendi's Workshops
Texturize!
Friday 3:30-5:30pm $50 through 6/19 | $55 after In this workshop, Wendi will share some of the movement concepts she applies to create dynamic textures and musical moments in her dance. From gooey to sharp, controlled to explosive, this workshop explores a variety of movement concepts based on using precise muscular contractions to mimic the shapes and sounds of music. Wendi will demonstrate applications of each of these concepts as combos, then we’ll explore more ways to apply these ideas together with a some drills that you can expand upon further with your own practice. Dancing to Live Music Saturday 9:00am-noon $75 through 6/19 | $80 after Yearn to dance to live music?? Want to become a vessel for the music? Whether planned and rehearsed with the band beforehand or with a completely unknown song on the fly, and song structure patterns common to most folk tunes. Knowing the ‘rule of 4’s’ of phrasing is incredibly useful in predicting when songs will repeat, start over, go to into taqsims, or end. Once we have these structures in mind, Wendi will share some tips on how to use them as the framework for your dancing. From finding repetitive parts in the music good for traveling about your performance space, or settling into those moments you want to musically dig into, Wendi will help provide you with concepts to help you mentally organize your dance on the fly. We will discuss themes such texture and musicality, combo building, staging, repetition, variation, and building dynamics. Wendi will also discuss elusive taqsim and provide tips and tricks with examples on how to improvise along with a musician who is also improvising. To help us really get into the groove, we will practice with a live musician! Finally, Wendi will discuss tips for communicating with the band, both before the performance in negotiating your set, or during to cue transitions or endings. Once we are done, we will have a mini dance party with the live band to practice what we’ve learned. Wendi and her gang of musician pals will help you get comfortable jumping on stage and boogying with the band! Middle-Eastern Music for Belly Dancers Sunday 9:30-11:30am $50 through 6/19 | $55 after In this workshop, Wendi shares what she’s learned playing Middle Eastern music, but through the lens of a dancer. First, we will start with the fundamentals of music theory, and go over time signatures, phrasing, instrumentation, and the melodic and rhythmic layers of music. From there, Wendi will introduce a few basic Middle Eastern Rhythms, along with common patterns, fills, and variations. Once we have the rhythm section down, we will talk about different melodic instruments and the textures/sounds they create. With all of this in mind, Wendi will go over common structures of folk tunes. Finally, together we will break down and analyze one to two common Middle Eastern Standards (to be voted on in class!). Class will also include a list of popular artists, composers, and songs to learn. |
About WendiWendi Wampler, AKA Amirah, is a dancer and musician originally from Indiana, currently
living in Bend, Oregon. In her over 20 years of belly dancing, Amirah has had the pleasure of teaching and performing all around the Midwest and Oregon. Her experience studying educational research and pedagogy has led to the development of a super nerdy, biomechanic, movement framework driven bellydance curriculum. Amirah’s other passion is playing Middle Eastern and Balkan music on clarinet and doumbek. Amirah was a member of il Troubadore for many years, led the Nomads of Bend, and has been more recently playing with Jeshua Marshall and the Flood, Alovitiman, and the Bedoiun Spice Orchestra at Oregon Country Fair. |
Performance and event photos by:
The Dancer's Eye Photography All Rights Reserved All other photographs used with permission |
BLUE LOTUS TRIBE NFP
1127 Bellevue Ave. Elgin, IL 60120 773-454-6498 |