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Zanbaka Offers Private, Semi-Private, and Group Dance Instruction in the Seattle Area.

Group Instruction

with Zanbaka

Technique, Conditioning, & Drills for Bellydance

-Sharpen staccato isolations and shimmies for drum solo technique

-Purify smooth and fluid isolations 

-Refine arm/hand movements and precision of turns

-Improve your body's synchronization with rhythm and tempo

- Clarify movement definition to expand your bellydance vocabulary

Tuesdays
Beginning Technique: 7:30-8:30pm
Intermediate Technique & Combos: Tuesdays, 8:30-9:30pm
Belltown Ballet and Conditioning Studio is located at 2306 4th Avenue between Bell and Battery, on the East side of the street. Free Street Parking Available in the Vicinity. Intermediate students, please bring a veil and finger cymbals.

Sundays (On Hold until June)
Beginning Technique: Sundays, 7:30-8:30pm
Intermediate Technique & Combos: Sundays, 8:30-9:30pm

 Single Class (Tuesdays or Sundays) 4-Week Session, $50 (Cash, Check or Paypal). If your schedule cannot accommodate all 4 classes in session, Drop-In fee is $15/class. Both Classes 4-Week Session, $90 (Cash, Check or Paypal). No make-ups or refunds on full session payments, please. To register for the full session or to rsvp as a drop-in, contact me at: zanbaka@hotmail.com

Next 4-Week Session Dates
Current: (Please note that there is a weeklong gap during this session)
April 29, May 6, 20, 27
Next: June 3, 10, 17, 24 

    With an emphasis on moving from the core muscles, Zanbaka's approach to belly dance offers students the vocabulary, skills, and freedom to pursue whatever style they prefer.  The Beginning Class is appropriate for those who have never taken a dance class in their life and for more experienced dancers who want to perfect the basics. This class includes:
1) A multitasking warm-up utilizing common foot-patterns and arm movements while raising heart-rate, lubricating joints, increasing blood flow/oxygen to all parts of the body, and sharpening our alertness.
2) Slow finger cymbal rhythms combined with simple foot patterns/arm movements
3) Conditioning to strengthen muscle groups used in bellydance and to improve alignment and control
4) "Light" stretches to open up areas of the body that may have become stagnant or tight during the course of the day
5) Technique exercises for postural alignment, beginning turns, and arm positions
6) Various isolation drills for the head, shoulders, arms, wrists, hands, ribcage, abdominals, and hips. In addition to developing muscle memory, our goal with the weekly drills is to build speed, clarity, and precision, since they are the basis for so many advanced movements in bellydance.
7) Combinations to strengthen transitions between movements.
8) A cool-down with deeper stretches and relaxation

 In addition to more advanced versions of the Beginning Class content, the Intermediate Class includes work with layering, traveling steps and combos/topics from a revolving array of bellydance styles: Folkloric, Orientale, Tribal Improv, Funky Modern, and World Fusion.

  About the Instructor...

Zanbaka's instruction focuses on a strong foundation in technique and a variety of belly dance genres ranging from traditional folkloric and oriental to more modern styles such as tribal and world fusion. Her vision of dance is a balance between the old and the new, tradition and innovation. Zanbaka is an accomplished soloist, choreographer, one of the founding members and principle dancers of Raqs Halim Dance Ensemble (1998-2005), as well as a dancer with Rubina Carmona’s La Peña Flamenca de Seattle (2001-Present).

Followed by early training in music, tap, ballet, and jazz, Zanbaka’s background and experience lies in fitness, movement, and a variety of dance genres (Flamenco, East Indian Orissi, West African Dance, and of course... Belly Dance).  Having earned her Bachelor of Arts in Near Eastern Languages and Civilization from the University of Washington, she possesses a passion for the language, history, music, and culture which inspire belly dance.  Through her belief that the best teachers are lifelong students themselves, when Zanbaka is not teaching, rehearsing, or working you can usually find her in a dance class. She has studied with a long list of renowned master instructors through private lessons, weeklong dance intensives, and seminars.         

With an emphasis on using core muscles to power isolations, she has an ability to breakdown movements into their basic components and offer alternative explanations/visualizations to suit a variety of learning styles. Known for her refinement exercises and drills, she uses a 'building blocks' approach to help students master the more challenging movements of belly dance while perfecting the basics. She stresses the importance of studying and mastering a fundamental groundwork of bellydance technique, rather than pigeonholing oneself into a particular style. In addition to the physical aspect of technique, knowledge is key. She feels students should strive to educate themselves on the background of traditional and contemporary bellydance styles, history, cultural issues, language, music, and performer ethics.

Zanbaka is recognized throughout the Pacific Northwest for her well-conceptualized performance pieces, researched fusion styles, and elaborate group and solo choreographies.  In addition to teaching numerous workshops locally and nationally, she is sought after as an instructor by absolute beginners who want a thorough foundation in technique to seasoned performers who want to challenge their limits.

Class/Workshop Offerings: