Astarte Studio Online Classes

* Class Timetable
* Class Descriptions
* Dance Safety for Online Classes
* Setting up a Dedicated Home Dance Space
* Tips for Getting the Most Out of your Online Dance Classes 

CLASS TIMETABLE APRIL 25 - JUNE 30

TUESDAY
6.00pm Belly Dance Foundations - A-Z NAWARA with Kylie 
(10 WEEKS - Live/streamed class weeks 4, 7, and 9 - recorded for online members**)
7.00pm World Fusion - PUNCHY PERCUSSION (FCBD/NAWARA CHOREO) with Kylie
(10 WEEKS - Live/streamed class weeks 4, 7, and 9 - recorded for online members**)

WEDNESDAY
10.00am Bellydance Tech & Choreo - MEGANCE CHOREO with Kylie x 5 WEEKS
10.00am Bellydance Tech & Choreo - FAN VEILS with Kylie x 5 WEEKS
(** MEGANCE Choreography is open to students who have attended term 1 classes only as content is carried forward. FAN VEILS are open to all new and old students and levels.)
6.00pm FCBD DUESTS World Fusion Bellydance with Mandylynne
(10 WEEKS - 5 x weeks online learning via Zoom, and 5 x weeks Live in studio**)
7.00pm LIVE Specialty Classes and Workshops  with Kylie*
(5 x WEEK Sword intensive running week 6-10.)

SATURDAY
​9.30am Steampunk Vagabonds professional troupe rehearsals (*Closed rehearsals)
​All our classes are recorded for students to access for up to 12 weeks..
​classes run for approximately 45-50 minutes, allowing for check in and chat time, as well as questions. 
​*See workshops for specialty class information
​**Live classes will take place in Kylie's home studio in Oak Flats (unless otherwise notified).
ONLINE CLASS PACKAGES
Single class enrolment - $125
One class per week over 10 weeks (plus access to class recordings, selected live classes, and online library for 12 weeks) 
Additional Classes $75 each
Unlimited Online Class access $300 (*Excluding specialty workshops)

Combinations, community and connection is the focus of the FCBD, and certified FCBD teacher Mandylynne will guide you every step of the way.
This term we are running a mixed format class with 5 x classes via Zoom and recordings, followed by 5 x live and interactive classes in my Oak Flats private studio so students can apply their knowledge and learn how to dance the combinations in formations. Our live classes will be streamed or recorded for any of our distance learners so you can also join in and see the beautiful and creative ways the combinations can be applied.
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Sign up early to access our online library before formal classes start. You'll find a whole bunch of fun warm ups and cool downs, conditioning exercises and drills to keep you conditioned or to get you started, as well as some excellent FCBD Tutorials by Mandylynne, and some demonstrations of simple duets by Mandylynne and Kylie.
If you love drums, percussion, and energetic combinations, this is the class for you. In this class we will be exploring the fast and percussive techniques from the FCBD and the A-Z Belly Dance Nawara repertoire and fusing them into a punchy percussive choreography.

All of the techniques we learn will have inbuilt cues, so participants will also be able to utilise the combinations for improvisation or personal work. 
A beautiful earthy introduction to bellydance and culture through the A-Z Belly Dance format.
Participants will learn 11 different combinations (P-T and U-Z) over the 10 week course that work with specific styles, drum rhythms, and cues.

Suitable for absolute beginners through to experienced dancers, this format is designed so students can improvise with each other, or take the movement format and make it their own as a solo. 

Part of this terms learning will be exploring the integration of frame drums and finger cymbals. If you don't have a drum, don't worry. A round cake pan or biscuit tin will suffice. 
This 5 x week course introduces students to fan veils, building from the basics through to advanced fan veil techniques. This course will primarily focus on utilising the fan veils as a feature or a frame, culminating in a fun and simple fan veil choreography to help consolidate skills and knowledge. 
This 5 x week choreography class is a continuation of skills and techniques learnt in term 1 classes. 

In this 5 x week block we will be integrating techniques into a megance routine for performance on the stage or at a special event. 

Kylie will be offering two optional live intensive Double Veil workshops over term 2, on Thursday evenings. Details TBA
This 5 x week course is a continuation of skills learnt in 2022's sword intensive and course 1, 2023. 

This block will focus on drills, and skills, and learning and drilling a multi-directional cuts pattern. We will then work on stylising the pattern to suit a dance aesthetic, and work into a choreography.
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**This class is a 75 minute 5 week course with strictly limited numbers, and will thus have a separate enrolment.
Our Belly Dance Styles - An Overview
Bellydance is a beautiful and diverse art with many different traditional and modern forms. Always evolving, yet with roots that run deep, it is an art that one can continue to learn and grow in for a lifetime.

TRADITIONAL BELLYDANCE
(Bellydance Foundations, and Bellydance Technique & Choreography)

Also known as Raqs Sharqi or Oriental Dance, bellydance is a beautiful and diverse dance form, with its origins across Egypt, the Middle, the Levent, Turkey, and even into India and Greece. 
Our bellydance classes focus primarily on Egyptian and Contemporary styles of bellydance, utilising Keti Sharif’s A-Z Original and Advanced bellydance dialect as a foundation for movements and combinations. This provides our students with a solid basis in bellydance technique, and provides a strong platform from which to explore the colour, beauty, and diversity of different styles within the bellydance genre.
Our Bellydance Foundations class is suitable for absolute beginners and focuses more deeply on technique, with a slower pace for learning well. Our Technique and Choreography class assumes a base knowledge and builds on skills, integrating layering techniques, performance skills, and props.
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FCBD WORLD FUSION with Mandylynne

Our FCBD World Fusion bellydance classes are founded in FatChanceBellyDance® Style (formerly American Tribal Style®). It is a modern, group improvisational style of belly dance created by Carolena Nericcio with movements inspired by folkloric dances of the Middle East, North Africa, Spain, and India.  It is a uniquely modern creation that does not represent an “authentic" dance from any particular region.
FCBD®Style is a method of improvisational choreography, using a vocabulary of natural movements and cues allowing the dancers to communicate via gesture and eye contact when dancing together.

WORLD FUSION with Kylie

Our World Fusion class is an open level class exploring various forms of World Dance, through a belly dance lens. We utilise  the FCBD format as our key technique base, and integrate A-Z NAWARA, Contemporary Fusion, and World Fusion influences and styling.
Most suitable for dancers with a base knowledge of FCBD or Belly Dance styles, or a strong background in movement or dance.

Dance Safety for Online Classes

In any dance or exercise program, your health and safety always comes first. Please read through the following information to ensure you are aware of potential risks, and how to alleviate them. 
  • Ensure you have completed a pre-exercise health screen, and that your information is up to date (available at www.bellydanceshellharbour.com ).
  • Please inform your teachers of any illness, injury or unusual pain that may be interfere with your ability to exercise at the beginning of any live class. If you wish to keep it private, you can use the personal message option on Zoom.
  • Please ensure you have a clear and clean space to dance in, with no obstacles that could be a potential trip hazard, or loose or hanging objects that could pose a danger, or potential threat in terms of injury.​
  • Be aware of the surface you are dancing on. Slippery surfaces may require soft soled shoes.
  • Every physical activity, however gentle, can still pose an element of risk. Understand that you are participating at your own risk, and that self monitoring is essential.
  • Move within your personal capacity. If a specific movement causes you unusual pain or discomfort, cease the movement immediately, or choose a modified variation.
  • Please do not hesitate to ask questions or seek advice, especially in a live Zoom class. Your teacher is there to help you and will be happy to offer a modification or variation.
  • If a specific exercise or movement results in continuous or chronic pain, or you experience unusual shortness of breath or change in heart rate not related to exercise, please cease the activity and seek the advice of a health professional.
  • If you are arriving late to class, or catching up online, please ensure you are adequately warmed up in your muscles and joints prior to commencing the class. If you are not sure what to do you can refer to our Astarte Studio Belly Dance library, where you will find a variety of different 3-5 minute dance warm ups posted.

Setting Up a Dedicated Home Dance Space

Ensuring you have a dedicated space for dancing in will assist you in creating a mindset and routine for regular classes, as well as providing you with a space for personal practice. Your dance space doesn’t need to be expansive, just big enough for you to be able to move relatively unencumbered with most basic movements.
  • Choose a space with a level floor, and adequate lighting.
  • Ensure you have enough space to travel forward, back and to the sides, and that you have room to stretch up and lift up your arms.
  • Clear your space of any potential trip hazards or unstable objects. Take note also of any hanging lights or fixtures that may inhibit movement or need to be worked around.
  • Have your dance props stored in the designated space or close by. A stylish basket or small shelves or bookcase can store most bellydance items.
  • Room dividers and screens are handy for creating the feeling of a whole new space, and also for maintaining an element of privacy.
  • Set up your screen so it can easily be seen. If you are fortunate enough to have a space set up with a smart TV, this is the best option. However, laptops and tablets can also work extremely effectively when positioned on a table or at eye level.​
  • If participating in live classes, ensure that your teacher is able to see your whole body, and if not, that your camera can be adjusted if needed for any focused work.
  • Add a personal touch to your exercise space that makes it feel nice to be in, such as a plant, an inspiring image, motivational quote, a splash of colour, draping fabric, or piece of decorative furniture. Mirrors are entirely optional.
  • This is the space I have set up for teaching live Zoom classes from home. It is in my front lounge area, close to my wi-fi router.

Tips for getting the Most out of your Online Dance Classes

  • Make sure you have the latest update of Zoom installed on your device.
  • Ensure that your device screen can easily be seen from your exercise position, and/or adjusted accordingly.
  • Ensure you have all the dance props you need close by or set up for each session. Your teacher will let you know what you need ahead of time.
  • Check in at the allocated time for a pre-class chat, and discussion of any tips, techniques, or things you need to know.
  • Do not be afraid to ask questions at the beginning or end of each session, or even throughout sessions. Zoom classes are meant to be interactive and your teacher is there to help you.
  • Use the comments/chat box if you are having difficulties with your microphone, or wish to send a message to your teacher or the group.​
  • Try not to watch the screen the whole time. Once you are settled into a movement, focus on your posture and alignment, and how the movement feels in your body.
  • Get to know your fellow online attendees, and feel free to engage in positive discussion with them both onscreen as well as in your class groups. Although we may not be in the same physical space, we are all here to support each other in the virtual space.
  • Dress up for class and practice, even if it is just adding a hip scarf, putting a flower in your hair, or adding some lip gloss. Make it feel like a special occasion, or a special date with dance.
  • Mirrors are entirely optional. If you do not have mirrors, but want to check your movements, you can put your camera on reverse and use it like a mirror, or even film yourself dancing.