Outi of Cairo is coming to teach belly dance workshops at the MAC Harbor East! This is a unique opportunity to study with a dancer who lives and works in Cairo.

Outi of Cairo is a Finnish dancer who lives and works in Cairo, Egypt. She is fluent in English and very generous teacher. You may be familiar with the wonderful CDs she has produced or some of the informative articles she has written during her time in Egypt.

Outi’s dance style is very soft and natural. Click here to see her dancing to the Abel Halim Hafez classic, Gana al-Hawa.

“I have learned so much”, says Outi, “about musical interpretation, the layers within Arabic music, interaction with the audience, the meaning of the dance itself. In fact, just being here among the people of Egypt has further opened my eyes and ears to this form of expression. They live from the heart. That’s how we must dance.”

We are lucky to have her come to Baltimore, MD to share her knowledge of Egyptian dance and culture with us.

Feel free to contact event sponsors Mariza and Shems for more information on the Outi workshops or for more about Baltimore belly dance classes and community events.

Internal Muscles/Working with Mawwal (1:15 – 3:15PM)
Outi guides us in finding the inner muscles and how to put them in the dance: the technique of the inner goo! We will then use those techniques to explore dancing to a Mawwal. Outi will share ideas about how to listen to a Mawwal and some different things you can do with it.

Shaabi and Baladi (3:30 – 5:30PM)
Technique, style and cultural background – We’ll explore what each is, where they came from, the music and what differentiates Shaabi from Baladi. Then Outi will delve deeper into teach the technique, steps and the feeling of these styles.