Karim Nagi in Seattle!

"Karim Nagi is a native Egyptian drummer, DJ, composer and folk dancer. He is the creator of Turbo Tabla, and has released four internationally distributed CDs of this unique brand of Arab House/Electronica using acoustic instruments. Karim has authored instructional DVDs for the Tabla/Doumbek, Riqq tambourine, Maqam Taqsim, Drum Solo for Dance, and Arab Folk Dance. He is well versed in the ultra-traditional styles of music, and has lead the Sharq Arabic Music Ensemble since 1999. He promotes and… Show more fosters the study of Arab dance in the USA as the director of the Arab Dance Seminar. Karim performs and teaches Tahteeb Cane Dance, Dabka Line Dance, and Zikr Sufi Dance. He taught at the New England Conservatory of Music for 5 years, and has lectured and presented at Harvard, MIT, Yale, Bowdoin, Princeton, Stanford, William Mary, Georgetown, and several Community Colleges. Additionally, Karim Nagi's Arabiqa program has conducted over 300 school assemblies across America, exposing young audiences to Arab traditional arts. His performances boast a dynamic concoction of live drumming and dance, done in unison. Because of his proficiency in both music and dance, his workshops deliver students to a new physical understanding of the connection between these two disciplines. As a dance and drum teacher, Karim has taught in dozens of festivals in the United States, Asia, Europe and Cairo, as well as all major Arab Culture festivals in the USA. Karim Nagi is a true crossover artist, uniting the Cabaret and Tribal, Traditional and the Modern, the Ethnic and the Urban. " - www.karimnagi.com
What? Sagat ("Zill" finger cymbals): "Karim has developed a comprehensive zill method that utilizes drum techniques, and an Ambidextrous approach. He uses the Egyptian Sufi Zikr aesthetic with multiple sounds, open and closed, sizzle and rapid combinations. Students will learn the Arabic rhythms by name and how to play them while dancing! Dancers will learn to use the cymbals to communicate rhythms to a band and accent solo dancing and body movements. Dancers and percussionists of all levels are welcome. He will also teach dance combinations, solo patterns, train the dancer in musicality, and teach when-and-when-not to play within an Arabic song. Karim promises to transform dancers into musicians with his finger cymbal teaching approach. " www.karimnagi.com
DANCER--DRUMMER Communication: "This workshops bridges the gap between the two disciplines. Students will learn how interpret sound into movement by aligning body parts and motions with drum sounds and riffs. Once the movement-to-sound coorespondence is established, students will prepare to perform to drum solos. The six-part drum-solo will be explained, theme by theme. Students will then perform to any combination of these 6 major drum solo themes. Students will learn how to both lead and follow the drummer by maintaining the common language. Improvisation skills will be encouraged, and the daunting prospect of dancing to a Live drum solo will be demystified. This dance workshop can also be configured to include drummers as well. " www.karimnagi.com
ARAB Folk Dance Intensive: "This class is an intensive introduction to the traditional group dances from the Arab world. These dances are primarily unisex, and emphasize synchronicity and group cohesion. This workshop includes Dabka Line Dance, Basic Tahteeb/Assaya Cane Dance, and the group-healing ritual motions found in Zikr and Zar practices. Each dance is taught efficiently as an introduction to the style, and is an initiation into possible future study. These dances are less glamourous than the performance-oriented heroism of the solo dances found in the Arab world. These are the dances done by "The People" in social, celebratory, and spiritual group settings. They can be taught to dancers at any level, as both a cultural and artistic experience. The group movements and concepts can later be extrapolated into performance-calibre skills and themes." www.karimnagi.com

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