March 22-23, 2025; 5631 Cypress Avenue, Carmichael, California 95608, United States
Capital City Raqs 2025 Workshops
Workshops with Master Instructors
Enjoy workshops with Master Instructors Karim Nagi, Roxxanne Shelaby, and Jacques Al Asmar alongside Fusion powerhouse Shannon Burla, and an Intensive plus performance opportunity with Amy Sigil! (Photo of Drum Solo with Andalee and Mike Owens from Capital City Raqs 2024.)
Festival Bundle
$200.00
Sat March 22- Sun March 23, 2025
Bundle your festival and save! Take your choice of workshops Saturday and Sunday and enjoy free entry to both festival days, a Benefit Showcase Ticket, 2 raffle tickets, and a guaranteed festival performance spot to your choice of live or recorded music!
Saidi Tahteeb & Assaya with Karim Nagi
$60.00
Sat. March 22, 2025; 9:00am - 10:30am - Ballroom
Dancing with sticks and canes is a quintessential expression in Egyptian village dance. The southern half of Egypt, know as Upper Egypt due to its higher altitude, is called "al-Sa'id" in Arabic (pronounced iSa-yeed)". The Saidi people are famous for this semi-acrobatic stick dance called "Tahteeb" for men and "Raqs Assaya" for women. It is essentially a form of martial art where the manipulation of the stick and the demeanor of movement replicated village life or battle scene. Grace is more valued than aggression. This dance is done solo or in groups where the sticks are operated in unified motion, and men and/or women play together.Karim teaches with the strait cane (any dowel between 3' and 4'). This workshop features essentials, dance steps, the body demeanor, and the main motions with the stick including spinning, twirling, rowing, flipping and striking.
Foundational Finger Cymbals/Sagat
$60.00
Sat. March 22, 2025; 10:30am - 12:00pm - Ballroom
You are a dancer and a musician at the same time. Your hands can play any rhythm that a drummer can play. You can accent the orchestra, follow the dynamics of the song, or simply choose the right moment to not play. Sagat (Egyptian word) and Zills (Turkish word), when played correctly, can add to a dancer's dynamism and effect. Each dancer will be transformed into a moving musician. We will learn multiple sounds per hand, standard patterns, rhythms, travel steps, and more.
Cultural Elements of Raqs Sharqi with Roxxanne Shelaby
$60.00
Sun. March 23, 2025; 9:30am - 11:30am - Ballroom
Explore the elements that connect Raqs Sharqi to the cultures of origin. Learn the elements of the dance that remain grounded in the culture-Music, movement, gestures, character & feeling.
Sword Magick with Shannon Burla
$60.00
Sun. March 23, 2025; 9:30am - 11:30am - Lodge Room
Sword Magick™: Steel and Bone - Delve into ritual sword dance with Shannon Burla and Sword Magick™. Students will learn foundational sword dance movements, connect them to ritual elements, as well as dip their toes into learning how to create their own ritual sword vocabulary.
Jacques Al Asmar
$60.00
Sat. March 22, 2025; 9:30am - 11:30am - Lodge Room
Topic TBA
Hot Pot Family Intensive with Amy Sigil
Wed March 18 - Fri March 21, 2025
Calling all Hot Pot Family - it's time for a Reunion! Join Amy Sigil for three days of rehearsals leading to a performance at our Sunday Evening Finale Showcase! Register at AmySigil.com
About Our Instructors
About Karim Nagi
Karim Nagi is a native Egyptian immigrant to the USA, and a true crossover artist uniting the Arab tradition with the global contemporary world. He has released fourteen CDs, ranging from traditional Arab music to fusion and electronica. He has authored instructional videos for Arab percussive instruments and Arab dance styles. As a dance and drum teacher, Nagi has taught in dozens of festivals in the United States, Asia, Europe and Cairo, as well as most major Arab Culture festivals in the USA. He is also a public speaker with a TEDx talk.
He taught at the New England Conservatory of Music for 5 years, and has lectured and presented at Harvard, MIT, Yale, Bowdoin, Princeton, Stanford, Berea, William & Mary, Georgetown, Virginia Tech, University of Chicago, University of Georgia, plus several Community Colleges. He has lectured internationally on Arts & Diversity at Kaoshiung (Taiwan) University, Beijing University, and University San Francisco de Quito Ecuador. Additionally, Karim Nagi's Arabiqa program has conducted over 500 school assemblies across America, exposing young audiences to Arab traditional arts.
About Roxxanne Shelaby
Roxanne Shelaby performs throughout Southern California bringing her unique dance style combining her Lebanese heritage and Egyptian soul. Roxanne is fortunate to have grown up surrounded by Middle Eastern Arts. Her love of Middle Eastern music and dance flourished as a child, growing up at the family owned The Fez and Cascades nightclubs.She began performing at the age of 16 at the request of Farida Fahmy (lead dancer of the national dance troupe of Egypt) to represent The Reda Troupe. Roxanne has studied extensively with master teacher and choreographer Sahra as well as with Farida Fahmy, Zahra Zuhair, Vivianne and Feiruz Adam. Roxxanne is the producer of the pivotal documentary The Fez, as well as the Arab Film Festival, and many dance programs that focus on the Cultural Elements of Raqs Sharqi.
About Shannon Burla
Shannon Burla is an international performer and teacher hailing from Oakland, California. Shannon is inspired by the seasons and by change...by the crossroads, mist and wildflowers. She is the creatrix of Sword Magick™ and an ordained Priestess of the Elements in The Order of the Stag and the Rose. She is a certified Bohemian Bellydance Foundations Instructor, and is also certified to teach DanceCraft, a fusion bellydance format created by Bellydance Superstar Zoe Jakes. Shannon is also the director of her own theatrical dark fusion company, The Dancers of Nyx.
About Amy Sigil
Amy Sigil Amy Sigil is an international instructor in dance and team building, director of UNMATA, owner of Sigil School, and the creator of Improv Team Sync, practiced by dancers all over the globe. Amy Sigil is a choreographer who loves working with teams and novel ideas. She enjoys bringing movement to people in a variety of settings to facilitate team building, self-understanding, and growth. She aims to create safe and inclusive space for all bodies.